Recently, I received a question from an excited teacher who had just received a grant to spend on her classroom: “If you had a $1000 dollar grant and taught second grade, what would be the most important pieces of Singapore Math you’d buy?”
If I had a million dollars, ok $1000… here are two scenarios.
#1 Using the curriculum in 2nd grade as your main curriculum
- A classroom set of the 1B & 2A textbooks @ $9.00 each, so if you had 24 students + 1 for your self: 25 x $18 = $450
- Possibly a set of the 2B textbooks: 25 x $9 = $225
- A Teacher Manual for 1B, 2A & 2B: 3 x $21 = $63
- A workbook for reference and problem ideas for 1B, 2A & 2B = 3 x $9 = $27
- Challenging Word problems level 1 & 2: 2 x $8.50 = $17.00
- Intensive Practice: 1B, 2A & 2B: 3 x $8.80 = $26.40
- Process Skills in Problem Solving: $10.70
- Math Sprints Masters, Levels 1 & 2: 2 x $31 =$62
- Elementary Mathematics for Teachers by Parker & Baldridge: $29
- Place Value Strips: $12.50
That’s $625.80
I’d spend the rest on linking cubes, base-10 blocks, place value disks or other manipulatives and containers to keep them organized.
Keep in mind that for Number Disks/Place Value Disks you’ll need about 20 each of ones, tens and hundreds disks per student or pair of students sharing. Many companies sell these:
Place Value Disks, 100 Ones Disks
Place Value Disks – 100 Tens Disks
Place Value Disks – 100 Hundreds Disks
#2 Using Singapore Math to Supplement another core curriculum:
- Start a library at your school with one set of the textbooks and workbooks for every grade level at the school as reference (4 per grade level) x $9.00 each book – k-6 would be $36 x 7, k-5 would be $36 x 6
- A Teacher Manual for each level: $21 each book, 2 books per grade level = $42 per grade level
- Challenging Word problems are $11 each and there are 6 levels (1-6)
- Process Skills in Problem Solving vary in cost from $10.20 to $12.80 – levels 1-6
- SpeedMaths Level 1 – 4: $8.20 each (no higher than level 4!)
- Math Sprints Masters, Levels 1 -5: 5 x $31
- Elementary Mathematics for Teachers by Parker & Baldridge: $29 several copies for staff
- The Singapore Model Method for Learning Mathematics: $29 for grades 5 & up
- Teaching of Whole Numbers by Dr Yeap Ban Har, Singapore’s renowned math educator, $30.50
- Bar Modeling A Problem-solving Tool also by by Dr Yeap Ban Har, for lower elementary. $30.50
- Place Value Disks: get plenty of ones, tens and hundreds. $15.95 per 100 disks
- Place Value Strips: $12.50 and other manipulatives (if you don’t already have them on campus).
What did I miss? Are there any books or tools that you consider “must-haves” in your Singapore Math classroom?
About Cassy Turner
