WhatIsSingaporeMath?

YoumaybewonderingwhatSingaporeMathisallabout,andwithgoodreason.This
isatotallynewkindofmathforyouandyourchild.Whatyoumaynotknowisthat
Singaporehasledtheworldinmathmasteryforoveradecade;itsstudentsbecome
competentandproficientmathematiciansatveryearlyages.Evenbetter,theygrow
tobecapableproblemsolverswhothinkmathematicallywithease.Wouldntitbe
niceifyourchildcouldenjoythesamesuccesswithmath?

Well,theresgoodnews:WereteachingSingaporeMathtoyourchildthisyear.So
letsdiscoverwhatitsallaboutandhowyoucanhelpyourchildsucceed.Itall
beginswithunderstandingthecurriculumandseeingsomeexamplesjustwhat
welldotoday.

First,youneedtoknowthatSingaporeMathtakesaslightlydifferentmathematical
approachthanwhatyoumaybeusedto.Itrevolvesaroundseveralkeynumber
sensestrategies:(1)buildingnumbersensethroughpartwholethinking,(2)
understandingplacevalue,and(3)breakingnumbersintodecomposedpartsor
friendliernumbers,onesthatareeasiertoworkwithinthefouroperations
(addition,subtraction,multiplicationanddivision).

Second,SingaporeMathdoessomethingdramaticallydifferentwhenitcomesto
wordproblems.Itreliesonmodeldrawing,whichusesunitstovisuallyrepresenta
wordproblem.Studentslearntovisualizewhatawordproblemissayingsothey
canunderstandthemeaningandthushowtosolvetheproblem.

Third,wehavementalmath,whichteachesstudentstocalculateintheirheads
withoutusingpaperandpencil.Sure,yourchildwillstillneedtocommitsomefacts
tomemory,butmentalmathwillteachhimorhertodocalculationsusingproven
strategiesthatdontrequirepencilandpaper.

Fourth,thestrategiestaughtinSingaporearelayeredupononeanother.One
strategyisthefoundationforanotherone.Youllnoticethisasyoureadthroughthis
letter.Forexample,studentsneedpriorknowledgeofbondinginordertobe
successfulatstrategiestheywilllearnlateron(likeverticaladdition).

Last,SingaporeMathteachesstudentstounderstandmathinstages,beginningwith
concrete(usingmanipulativessuchascounters,numberdisks,dice,andsoon),then
movingtopictorial(solvingproblemswherepicturesareinvolved),andfinally
workingintheabstract(wherenumbersrepresentsymbolicvalues).Throughthe
process,studentslearnnumerousstrategiestoworkwithnumbersandbuild
conceptualunderstanding.

Withtimeandpractice,theyeventuallymasterthetraditionalmethodsand
algorithms.LetstakeacloserlookatallthelayersofSingaporeMath.

PlaceValue

SingaporeMathisabase10system.Anumbersplacevalueisdeterminedfrom
righttoleft,startingwiththeonesandmovingthroughthetens,hundreds,
thousands,tenthousands,onehundredthousands,toamillionandbeyond.In
fourthgrade,weaddthestudyofdecimalsintothemix.Inclass,weusetoolssuch
asplacevalueboardswithdisksandcardstohelpusorganize,visualize,and
understandwhatthesenumbersactuallymeanandhowtheyrelatetooneanother.

Asweperformmathematicaloperations,wecanmoveplacevaluedisksfrom
columntocolumnontheplacevalueboardtodemonstrateregrouping(makinga
tenoutof10ones).

Algorithms

Analgorithmisasystematic,stepbystepproceduretosolveaproblemusinga
mathematicaloperation.Forexample,withsubtraction,wehavelearnedtolineour
numbersupverticallysothatthedigitsareinthecorrectplacevaluecolumns.
Wevelearnedtosubtractthedigitsmovingfromrighttoleft,usingregroupingor
borrowing,inordertogetthecorrectanswertotheproblem.

InSingapore,traditionalalgorithmsaretaughtandmasteredwiththehelpofthe
placevaluemat.However,wealsoteachalternativealgorithmsorstrategiesto
solvingequationsoftenbeforeweteachthetraditionalones.Thishelpsusbuildand
reinforceourunderstandingofnumbersenseandplacevalue.Thisalsoallows
studentstouseastrategythattheyarecompetentatusingforanyproblem.Rather
thanhavingonestrategy,theymayhaveseveraltochoosefrom,andtheycanuse
theonethatsmostintuitiveforthem.

Intherestofthisletter,Illbeexplainingsomeofthestrategiesthatyourchildmay
belearningtobuildnumbersenseandanunderstandingofplacevalue.Pleasedont
hesitatetocallmeorcomeandvisittheclassroomtoseefirsthandwhatSingapore
Mathisallabout!

NumberBonds:PartWholeThinking

Thebeginningofnumbersenseisviewingeachdigitasapartofawhole.Thisis
verysimilartofactfamilies,whereanumberhasspecificrelativesinitsfamily.
Letstakethenumber6asanexample.6is6and0,5and1,4and2,andlast,3and
3.Thisunderstandingbecomesveryimportantwhenstudentsstartdoing
operationswiththenumber6.

Afterstudentslearndigits19,theymasterwhatcombinationsmake10.10isan
anchornumberinSingapore.So,inKandgrade1,studentswillspendasignificant
amountoftimelearningtheirbondsthrough10.Numberbondscanalsobecreated

withmultiplicationanddivisionfactfamilies,usingtwofactorsandaproduct.For
example,16is16and1,2and8,and4and4.

Oncestudentsknowthepartsthatmakeupeachnumber,theycanaddanynumbers
togetherbymaking10s.Forexample,whenstudentsadd7+5,theyfindhowmany
10stheycanmake,andlabeltheleftoverpartsas1s.Inthisexample,thereisone10
andtwo1sremaining,sotheansweris12.Insteadofmemorizingjustthefact,the
studenthasastrategytoworkwithaddition.

DecomposingandBranching

Studentsspendtimelearninghowtobreaknumbersintoplacevaluegroupingson
theplacevalueboard.Thisiscalleddecomposingnumbersorusingexpanded
notation.Afterstudentspracticebreakingnumbersapartintoplacevaluegroupings,
weteachthemtoaddandsubtractbyplacevalue.Thisisbranching.Thegoalwith
branchingisforstudentstobreaknumbersintoplacevaluegroupingsandthendo
theoperationwiththoseplacevaluegroups.

Forexample,23+42wouldbebranchedintotensandones.Thenstudentswilladd
eachplacevaluegroupingseparately,andthenaddthegroupingstogether.

Takealookathowbranchingworks.

23+42

20+340+2

20+40=50
3+2=5
50+5=55

Thegoalforbranchingisforstudentstoeventuallybeabletolookattheproblem
andworkitoutmentally.Rememberthatmentalmath?

LefttoRightAddition

Thisalgorithmusesexpandednotationordecomposedplacevaluegroupingstoadd
eachplacevalueseparatelyandthentogether.Inexpandednotation,youwritea
numberhorizontallyandexpandorstretchittoreflectallitsplacevalueparts.

Forexample,thenumber8,735wouldbewrittenas(8,000+700+30+5).

Withlefttorightaddition,wetakeourexpandedpartsandaddthemtogether,
startingattheleftandmovingtotheright.Letstaketheequation45+33.First,we
decomposenumbersintoplacevaluegroupings.

45+33=
40+30=70
5+3=8
70+7=78

Withstudentsinfourthgradeandup,wewouldgroupthenumbersusing
parenthesis,anditmaylooklikethis:(40+30)+(5+3)=70+8or78.

VerticalAddition

Anotherstrategyforadditionistouseaverticalstrategyandworkwithnumbers
thatarelinedupverticallybutaddedmuchdifferentlythanyouandIdidwhenwe
wereinschool.Thedifferenceisthatinsteadofaddingcolumns,movingfromright
toleft,andregrouping,weaddeachcolumnseparatelyandwriteitdownbelow.
Thenweaddourpartialsumstogetherattheend.

Letstakealookathowthisstrategyworks.

124
+152
6
70
200
276

Itdoesntmatteratallwherewestart:intheones,tensorhundredscolumn.This
reinforcesthecommutativepropertyofadditioninthattheorderinwhichweadd
doesntmatter.

Letstakealookatonemoreexample:

567
+489
16
140
900
1056

MultiplicationandDivisionStrategies

InSingaporeMath,multiplicationanddivisionconcepts(repeatedaddition,equal
groupsof,andsoon)aretaughtstartinginfirstgrade.Webuilduponstudentsprior

knowledgewithadditionandsubtractionwithdisksonaplacevaluemattohelp
studentsvisualizethegroups.Wealsouseothermanipulatives,suchascounters,to
makegroupsandarrays(equalgrouprowsandcolumns).Thishelpsus
conceptualizemultiplication.

Bythirdgrade,werememorizingtimestablesinordertoautomaticallyrecallfacts.
Oncewegettomultidigitmultiplication,welearnsomevisuallyhelpfulmethodsto
organizenumbersinordertounderstandhoweachplacevaluegroupingrelatesto
theothers.

DistributivePropertyforMultiplication

Thedistributivepropertyallowsstudentstocalculateoncecomplicated
multiplicationproblemseasilybybreakingthemultidigitnumberintosmaller
factors.Wedistributethelargernumberintosmaller,moremanageableparts.
Letstakealookathowthismethodworks.

3x15=

First,welooktothemultidigitfactor,whichis15.Webreakitintoplacevalue
groupings,10and5.Oncetheyarebrokenintoparts,wetakeeachpartandmultiply
itseparatelybythefactor3.Then,weaddthepartstogether.

(3x10)+(3x5)
30+15=45

Thisallowsstudentstoworkthisproblemmentallyratherthanwriteitouton
paper.

AreaModelorPartialProductMethod

Usingtheareaorpartialproductmethodisafastandeffectivewaytomultiplyby
placevalue.Thismodelusesaboxdesign,wherefactorsarebrokenintoplacevalue
groupingsandwrittenoutsidethebox.Theneachgroupingismultipliedseparately
andaddedtogethertogetafinalproduct.

Forexample:45x26

405
800100
20

6
24030

1100+70=1170


Or45
x26
306x5Thisisapplyingthepartialproductmethod.
2406x40
10020x5Youmultiplyeachpartialproductandthenaddto
80020x40getyourfinalproduct.
1100
70
1170

DivisionStrategies

Bondingandbranchingcomeinhandywhenwerelearningdivision.Branching
numbersintobondstodecomposethemintofriendlier,moremanageablenumbers
allowsstudentstoworkwithpartsandsimplernumbers.Usingplacevaluedisks
andchartshelpsstudentstoseedivisionasrepeatedsubtraction.Italsoallows
studentstotradedisks(distributethem)fromplacevaluecolumntoplacevalue
column,takingthedividendandbreakingitapartintoanequalquantityinorderto
getaquotient.Anyleftoverpartsbecomeourremainder.

DistributivePropertyforDivision

Youcanusethedistributivepropertywithamultidigitdivisionproblemwhenyou
haveasingledigitdivisor.Youdistributeyourdividendintotwoormorefriendlier
parts.Thecatchhereisthatbothpartsneedtobeamultipleofthedivisororequally
divisiblebythedivisor.

So,whenyourdividendisdividedup,itmaynotbeintoplacevaluegroupings.Itis
worthtakingsometimetopracticebreakingnumbersintootherpartsbesidesplace
valuegroupings.Youcanusethemattodothis.Forexample,45canbebrokeninto
40and5;itcanalsobebrokeninto30and15or20and25.Also,yourchildneeds
tohavepriorknowledgeofdivisibilityrules.

Letslookatafewexamplesofhowtousethedistributivepropertytodivide.

524=
52needstobebrokenintotwoormorepartswithbothpartsbeingdivisible
by4.50and2doesntwork,30and22doesntwork,but40and12will
work.

(404)+(124)
10+3=13

755=

(505)+(255)
10+5=15

423=
(303)+(123)
10+4=14

PartialQuotientDivision

Partialquotientdivisionissimilartolongdivision,butinsteadofhavingtobeexact
onthetopwithaquotient,wemakepartialquotientsandthenaddthemtogetour
finalquotient.Youcanthinkofitasasuccessiveapproximationsorestimates.One
strategywouldbetousemultiplesof10s,100sor1,000sasyourestimatesbecause
theyareeasytomultiplyanddivideby.Thequotientisbuiltthroughverticalsteps
(whichresemblethegameHangman),andwedonthavetogettheexactquotient.

Wecanaskourselves,howmanytimesdoweknowforsurethatourdivisorcango
intoourdividend,orhowmanytimescanwepullitoutofourdividend?We
continuetofindpartialquotientsuntilwehavenoremainderoraremainderisless
thanthedivisor.Wethenaddourpartialquotientstoarriveatthefinalquotient.

Letslookatanexample:
19R1
358HowmanytimesdoIknowforsure3cangointo50?10
3010
28HowmanytimesdoIknowforsure3cangointo28?4
124
16HowmanytimesdoIknowforsure3cangointo16?5
155
R119

Thisstrategygiveseachstudentthefreedomtoworkwiththefactsthattheyare
competentat.Studentscanchoosethemultiplethatmakessensetothem,soeach
equationmaylookdifferentwhentheyturninthework.However,thefinalanswer
shouldlookthesame.

MentalMath

MentalmathisoneofthecornerstonesofSingaporeMathasitsemphasisison
helpingstudentstocalculatemathematicallyintheirheads,thusdevelopingnumber
senseandplacevalue.Itencouragesflexibilityandspeedwhenworkingwith
numbers.Wepracticementalmathstrategiesanddolotsoffunactivitiesthat
supporttheskill.Pleasecometoclassandparticipatewithusoneday!

ModelDrawing

ModelDrawingisthekeystrategyweusetosolvewordproblems.Startingin
secondgrade,weuseunits()tohelpuscreateavisualrepresentation
ofawordproblem.Welearnasetofstepstohelpusinternalizetheprocess.

Readtheproblemtogetasenseofwhatitisasking.
Decidewhoandwhattheproblemisabout.
Drawunitsforeachwhoandwhat.
Rereadtheproblemandadjustourunitstomatchthewordproblem.
Decidewhatthequestionisaskingofusandplaceaquestionmarkinplace.
Workourcomputation.
Writeouranswerinacompletesentence.

Summary

Well,thatsSingaporeMathinanutshell.Whatwerefindingasweteachthis
programisthatmathismath,nomatterhowyoupackageit.Numbersense,place
value,calculations,operations,puzzles,wordproblems,problemsolving,visuals,
relationshipstheseareallfamiliarpartsofmath.SingaporeMathjustprovidesus
withsomenewvocabularyandnumerousstrategiesthatenableallstudentstolearn
mathematicstomastery.

Thankyouforyourcontinuedinterestandsupportasyourchilddiscoversthe
curriculumoftheworldsmathleaders.