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Highlights of Singapore
Mathematics
Visual representation of abstract
concepts in early grades – e.g. 21-9 (visually decompose one 10
into ten 1s and show the meaning of this abstract calculation).
Mental calculation techniques
are stress and imparted right from early grades e.g. 81-25 is
learned to be solved like → 81 = (31 + 50) – 25 = (50-25) + 31 = 25
+31 = 56
Identify relationship between
topics e.g. how percent, fractions and decimals are related →
50% = ˝ = 0.5
Reasoning and rational behind
formulas, concepts and procedures e.g. why is the circumference
of a circle = pi times diameter
Meaning of math concepts not
just procedure e.g. dividing a whole number by a fraction say 3
divided by ˝. If you had 3 oranges and divide each in half how many
pieces would you have → 6.
Teach Math comprehension.
After a skill is taught, children work on challenging problems that
serve to do a few things: (1) they look at the new concept from
different angles. (2) They're complicated, requiring several
operations to solve them. (3) They require skills which you learned
in previous lessons, thus reviewing old work while practicing new
work.
Challenging story problems:
Require multiple steps, and the steps often review something you
studied in a prior lesson. A conventional American math program
might ask, "What is the perimeter of a rectangle with a height of 12
inches and a width of 8 inches?" Compare that to a Singapore Math
problem, which might ask, "A rectangle has a height of 12 cm and a
width of 8 cm. A square has the same perimeter as the rectangle.
What is the height of the square?"
Can’t get away with memorizing
algorithms. You can solve a few problems by following the
pattern given in the text, but pretty soon the recipe-follower is
over their head. You HAVE to think the problems through, think
through what is really going on in order to solve most of the
problems. They are like puzzles, and require mathematical thinking.
Model drawing: without a
picture-drawing approach to solving these challenging problems, one
has to either use algebra or given up completely. It's a great
feeling to solve these problems (without Algebra), a real sense of
accomplishment. This also helps to understand the problem in
concrete terms.
Goal is to gradually and
systematically make children realize to view their skills as tools
which can be used to solve a wide variety of problems. You learn to
look at unfamiliar problems and try to figure out which of your
tools you can adapt to a situation.
For details visit
www.cybershala.com
or email us at
info@cybershala.com or call 630-445-5406
We also offer private
tutoring. We will introduce Science and Technology curriculums soon.
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