Singapore Math Source

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

From Accelerated Learning Primary Mathematics 3 by Ching Kheng Huat published in 1999 in Singapore. Have fun!

1. For both piles to have the same weight, which item belonging to the pile on the left should be exchanged with another item belonging to the pile on the right?

2. Replace the letters with numbers.

TEAR
+EAR
TALE

3. Fill in the boxes with appropriate numbers.

The National Center on Teacher Quality released a report entitled: Race to the top: Colorado may be used to high altitudes but can it compete in Race to the Top?

Commissioned by the Piton Foundation, the Donnell-Kay Foundation, the Colorado Children’s Campaign and the Public Education & Business Coalition, the report suggests 7 strategies the state might take while applying for the Race To the Top (RTT) funds.

• Strategy 1: Performance management (Teacher Evaluation, Tenure & Dismissal) – Given the tremendous impact teachers have on learning, no strategy a state will take on is likely to have a greater impact on student achievement than one that seeks to maximize teacher and principal performance.

• Strategy 2: Equitable Distribution of Teachers and Principals – Schools serving children living in poverty are more apt to employ teachers with lower qualifications than schools serving more affluent children.

• Strategy 3: Induction – CO should develop a statewide system of induction support for new teachers, particularly in its high needs and remote rural schools.

• Strategy 4: Compensation Reform – CO needs to move away from lockstep salary schedules towards a system that differentiates salary on a number of factors, including teacher effectiveness, the relative difficulty of a school setting and the demand for teachers with particular skills or knowledge.

• Strategy 5: Teaching in STEM fields: CO should develop a coherent state strategy to address the difficulty school districts face in attracting and retaining sufficient numbers of qualified STEM teachers.

• Strategy6: Statewide Adoption of an Effective Curriculum: Students achieve when 4 elements are in place: Standards, Curriculum, Teachers & Assessment.

• Strategy 7: Educator Preparation (Including Alternate Certification) – In spite of countless studies looking at the value of teacher education, we have only been able to learn (apparently) that no single method of teacher preparation yields more effective teachers than another.

I’ll be honest, I haven’t read through the entire report as yet, however I managed to get through Strategy 6, in which the authors recommend statewide adoption of Singapore Math at the elementary level. The report notes that:

…curriculum has been troublingly absent in conversations about education reform as well as ignored in the indifferent approach some educators take to curricula adoptions.

… the current emphasis on human capital and effective teachers has been at the expense of an equally urgent emphasis on the importance of good curricula.

And when discussing common standards, the report flat-out states:

We would go so far as to say that if the standards were in conflict with the Singapore curriculum, a state ought to consider opting out of the new standards.

Well, you don’t hear that everyday!
Read and enjoy.

(Cross-posted at KTM-2)

Rate problems provide some of the biggest challenges to students and adults. These come from Problem-Solving Processes in Mathematics -6 B by Fabian Ng.

1. At 10:15 am, a car left Town X for Town Y at an average speed of 86 km/h, while a truck left Town Y for Town X at an average speed of 74 km/h. At 3:15 pm, the two vehicles were 12 km apart. How far apart were the two towns?
2. At 10:30 am, a cyclist started traveling on a road at an average speed of 60 km/h. At 2:30 pm, a motorist started from the same place, traveling on the same road. If the motorist took 4 hours to catch up with the cyclist, find his average speed.
3. The distance from Town P to Town Q was 312 km. Winston started from Town P at an average speed of 76 km/h. He maintained this speed for 2 hours before increasing it by 4 km/ for the rest of the journey to Town Q.

a. how long did he take to complete the whole journey?
b. What was his average speed from Town P to Town Q?

Can you draw a model or diagram to illustrate each of these problems?

(Answers next week!)

Old School claims to be Singapore’s #1 Primary School site. From the site:

Old School aims to be the premier resource for FREE educational material from Singapore, especially Singapore Math and Singapore Science. We have a large database of test questions and assessments and are always adding new content.

Currently, they offer test papers as well as the ability to take tests online in English, Mathematics and Science. Registering on the site allows you to track your progress on the online tests (usually the “A” part of each). Best of all, you can search the questions by topic and select questions with either a multiple choice or free-response format.

As an example, the Primary Four 2009 Mathematics page offers:

• 3  Continual Assessment 1 tests
• 4  Mid-Year Examination tests
• 3  Continual Assessment 2 tests
• 4 End Year Examination tests

That include the following topics (with the percentage of questions):

• Angles (7%)
• Area and Perimeter (8%)
• Decimals (4%)
• Factors and Multiples (6%)
• Four Operations (22%)
• Fractions (18%)
• Geometry (2%)
• Graphs (2%)
• Measurement (7%)
• Non-Standard Questions (6%)
• Perpendicular and Parallel Lines (4%)

The majority of mathematics papers are a 2 out of 4 on the site’s scale of difficulty. There were some assessments with a difficulty rating of 1.

Here’s a problem from the 2009 Primary Four End Year Assessment for your enjoyment:

Fill in the missing number.

108 x 99 = 110 x 99 + 10 x 99 – ( ? ) x 99

1. 8
2. 2
3. 12
4. 228

Published in Singapore, Challenging Problems in Mathematics for Primary Schools: Intermediate by Dr. Y.H. Leong is a series specially written to provide enrichment activities for students.  The intermediate edition is designed for Primary 4 & 5 students.

Enjoy!

A farmer planted 22 rambutan trees in a straight row. The trees were spaced out equally. If the distance between the 3rd tree and the 10th tree was 42m, find the distance between the 2nd tree and the 22nd tree.