Why I LOVE Singapore Math
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As you know, I hate Everyday Math. I believe Singapore Math to be a far superior math curriculum.
Singapore Math allows children to master concepts with visual, concrete support. (As opposed to a brief overview in Everyday Math.)
I also love Singapore Math because my nine-year old, the one who hated math, now only sort-of-doesn’t-like-it and readily admits that her math teacher is the best teacher EVER. That’s a huge turn around from last year at this time!
Singapore Math
I’m not a Singapore Math expert but here’s what I can tell you . . .
Singapore Math Basics
Singapore Math “focuses on mathematical problem solving and emphasizes conceptual understanding, skills proficiency, learning of process skills, metacognition, and the development of a positive attitude toward mathematics,” writes Miss Seah Jiak Choo, Director-General of Education, Ministry of Education Singapore. (in The Singapore Model Method for Learning Mathematics) Read about the history of Singapore Math here.
Singapore Math Professional Learning Network says that the “authentic Singapore math pedagogy revolves the idea that fewer topics taught in greater depth at each grade level results in better understanding and retention.”
[printable] Singapore Maths Primary Syllabus
REASONING
My daughter’s teacher, Catherine Gozynski says, “Singapore Math develops reasoning. It’s not memorizing; it’s actual understanding. The big thing in fourth grade is, does this make sense?” She explains that in the primary grades, the emphasis is on place value.
TENS-FRAMES
In Singapore Math, tudents use ten-frames to support concrete and visual understanding of place value, numeracy, mental math, fact families, etc. This is what JJ does in first grade. Go to NCTM for an interactive ten-frame to get the idea. See how cool it is? Concrete to visual to abstract!
PICTORIAL or BAR MODELS
Students draw bar models to represent problems and concepts. Gorzynski explains, “The visual bar models help kids make sense of a problem. They are a problem solving tool taking the concrete to pictorial to abstract. It’s all about understanding the relationship and reasoning.”
I’ve copied a story problem below. Drawing the model helps a student solve this problem in a concrete-visual way.
Bar Model Apps for the iPad – here’s a screen shot:
Singapore Math in the United States
Where can you purchase Singapore Math in the U.S.?
1. Math in Focus (MIF) from Houghton Mifflin Hardcourt (This is what my first and fourth grader use.)
2. Primary Mathematics Standards Edition
3. Singapore Math options from Sonlight
4. We used these workbooks over the summer to get AJ used to Singapore Math.
another example:
More Articles
Comparison between Saxon and Singapore Math.
A dad explains why he prefers Singapore Math to Saxon.
Kelli Trainer’s blog, Singapore Math Professional Learning Network
Singapore Math Source from Cassy Turner, her best websites, & her Amazon Store
Kids Activities Learning Games
Schoodoodle
Number Bonds Game
Singapore Math on Let’s Play Math
Singapore Math on Teacher Blog Spot
A Parent’s Guide to Singapore Math
Singapore Math vs. Everyday Math – One School Who Switched
Homeschooling with Singapore Math on Five J’s
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Singapore math is very popular, and for good reason. It articulates the tools that help the most – natural drawings.
Often my students will ask for help on a problem and my first question is, “Did you draw a picture?” Sometimes they don’t know what picture to draw because it’s not of a fenced area or pizza. Instead it’s very much like the Singapore method: give your values something to hold onto.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this!
Oooh!!!! I had a love/hate relationship with math. I found it dull unless I was using it as a tool to discover something I wanted or needed to know. I think I was the opposite of many kids. I loved word problems, fractions, geometry (because there were shapes to figure out the size of, not just hundreds of practice problems with only numbers) and doing math in chemistry. I like this because it makes math practical and visual. I always did okay in math even though I often hated it because I was able to pick through information and make sense of it. This does that for you. It takes math out of the obscure and assigns purpose to it.
My district will be using Singapore Math this upcoming school year at the middle school level. I was just recently at a training this week learning about the “bar modeling” method. It is definitely going to be challenging to get students to realize the benefits of using this method. I am excited to go to a workshop this summer to learn more about this program and how to effectively introduce it to students.
I hope you love it as much as me — I think it’s so helpful for children!
I love Singapore too – in fact my 12 year old just sent me a text that said: “thank you for making me do Singapore”. She was helping her 8th grade cousin study for her science test – and said she had covered it all in 3rd grade in Singapore!
A curriculum I use alongside Singapore is “Life of Fred”. It goes one step further and the math is taught as part of a crazy imaginative story featuring a 6 year old who is a math professor. All the math is applied to life and my kids absolutely love it.
my kids, too – they’re so glad to be out of Everyday Math!
I’m really appreciative of this blog! I’ve learned so much! The links are awesome too! Thank you!