In second grade, the students are practicing with number bonds, which consist of three circles: the

F.T. is learning Singapore Math in his second grade class at Great Hearts Monte Vista . The school recently hosted a workshop for parents of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders so we could learn more about the curriculum and find ways to support our children’s learning at home. I took notes during the meeting, and promised my friends who couldn’t attend that I would type them up and share them. I hope these notes will also be helpful to families who are considering enrolling their children at Great Hearts in the future, and to families who may use Singapore bahan cutting sticker Math for their homeschool curriculum. If this blog post has mistakes, please blame me, not the teachers. bahan cutting sticker Likewise, this blog post does not do justice bahan cutting sticker to the energy and enthusiasm of the Great Hearts teachers.
First I will share some of the basic principles and terminology. Then, I will give examples of the types of problems the students are working on. Finally, I will share the teachers’ bahan cutting sticker tips about materials to use and ways to practice at home. Basic principles It’s more important for students to have a real sense of what numbers mean, than for them to memorize a process and crank it through the dreaded “drill and kill.” The teaching approach starts with the concrete bahan cutting sticker and moves to the pictorial and then to the abstract. A concrete example bahan cutting sticker might involve hula hoops on the floor, and groups of students standing in the hoops. A pictorial example could be drawing circles on a piece of paper. An abstract example would use numbers bahan cutting sticker and symbols ( e.g. , +, -, =). Classroom instruction starts with a math game, and then moves to group work so students can build communication skills while sharing and justifying their answers. bahan cutting sticker The way to show that you really understand a problem is to be able to explain it to a friend without getting bahan cutting sticker frustrated. Finally, bahan cutting sticker students do individual bahan cutting sticker work and homework. In real life, we have access to all kinds of conveniences (calculators, smart phones, etc.), so it’s not strictly necessary to learn how to do math in our heads. But, learning how to solve math problems teaches problem-solving skills that are useful later in school and life. Terminology Number sense: having the ability to use number in real-life situations, and understanding what numbers mean. Students with good number sense are able to read a story problem and understand it, and also to create their own story problems. bahan cutting sticker Number bonds: a way of drawing bahan cutting sticker math problems that illustrates the relationship of the parts to the whole, and differences between parts, using circles and lines. Here is an example of a number bond:
Bar models: a way of drawing math problems that uses bars of different lengths to represent different numbers, as a way of visually building up parts into a whole, or comparing a part to a whole. Making tens: starting with a number between 0 and 9, and adding a number to it to make 10. Mental math: solving problems in your head. Math facts: having quick mental access to basic information, e.g. , 2 + 2 = 4 or 3 x 3 = 9. Classroom examples
In second grade, the students are practicing with number bonds, which consist of three circles: the circle on top represents the whole, and is connected by lines to the two lower circles, which represent the parts.
In third grade, the students start with a story, and draw pictures to explain it. For example, let’s say the students are working in a math group of four, and two new students join the class. You could draw stick figures or smiley faces, but wouldn’t it be easier to draw squares?
The bar model above shows the parts and the whole; it helps you find how many altogether an addition problem. Then, let’s say that three students get the flu; you can use squares to show that, too.
This bar model shows multiplication: 25 x 3 is really 25 + 25 + 25; you can see that the bottom bar is three times as long. Drawing math is a problem-solving strategy; if you can draw it, you can explain it.
For multiplication, it’s effective to teach the stacked notation and also an expanded bahan cutting sticker notation bahan cutting sticker that uses number bonds. For multiplying 63 x 9, it may be easier to start with 63 x 10 and then go down from there.
Here’s the story. Sean has 15 baseball cards. Adam has twice as many baseball cards, bahan cutting sticker and then he gets a present bahan cutting sticker of 10 more. (Boo Adam!) We can mentally divide the 15s into 5s to find the size of a 10.
Here are the questions. How many baseball cards does Adam have altogether? As mentioned earlier, the bar model can be used to put the parts together into a whole. Next question: How many more baseball cards does Adam have than Sean? That question uses the bar model to make a comparison bar model.
For stacked math problems, the old terminology bahan cutting sticker was borrowed and carried. In Singapore Math, the terminology is different. bahan cutting sticker When adding, “ten 1s” is renamed as “one 10.” bahan cutting sticker When subtracting, “one 10″ i