Tweet from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics conference regarding a discussion of number lines.
Archived twitter conversations from last week’s conference can be found by searching #NCTM12 or #NCTM2012.
NCTM 2012 Conference Singapore Math Sessions
March 29, 2012 by 1 Comment
If you’re like me, you’re already excitedly paging through the NCTM Conference program book, choosing which workshops and sessions to attend. With over 700 sessions this year, planning your days can be quite a challenge. If you’re looking to check out some Singapore Math sessions, there’s good news and bad.
Good news? There are 11 sessions on Singapore Math this year and they are much more diverse than in the past. (Though the number of choices is down from the 14 offered last year)
Bad news? Anything listed below in pink is an overlapping session. Below are my thoughts on which session to choose, if you have a conflict.
The best news! I’m presenting a session on Friday, April 27 at 11 AM with Lauri Susi entitled, “Technology + Singapore Strategies = Number Sense.” (More on this below)
FYI – Four of the eleven sessions are Exhibitor’s Workshops:
Exhibitor Workshops (60 minutes) are set theatre style for at least 115 people. Exhibitors showcase their products and services away from the Exhibit Hall.
Thursday, April 26: 8:30 AM-9:30 AM – No conflict
EW – Differentiating Singapore Math Lessons with Yeap Ban Har
Exhibitor Workshop: Marshall Cavendish International
Understand how Singapore Math is designed to provide learners, especially struggling ones, with adequate scaffold. Suitable for educators teaching Grades 2-7.
Thursday, April 26: 9:30 AM-10:30 AM – No conflict (but you’ll need to hustle from the Convention Center to the Marriott)
79 – Let’s Mix Drinks: Ratio in Japanese and Singapore Textbooks
Lead Speaker: William Jackson
The Common Core State Standards have students learn about unit rate and equivalent ratios in grade 6. See how to bring to these ideas to life using Asian textbooks, bar models, and lesson study.
Thursday, April 26 12:30 PM – 01:30 PM
166 – Using Primary School Classroom Computer Gaming for Number Sense
Lead Speaker: Ashish Amresh
Co-Speaker: Tricia Salerno
Enhancing classroom math using video games develops number sense. Involving gaming keeps students’ engagement and motivation high. The speakers created the games from Singapore Math, because of its alignment to the Common Core State Standards. They will demonstrate social media that promote students’ success further motivation. Designed for teachers working with grades preK – 2.
Thursday, April 26 1:00 PM – 02:30 PM
207 – Model Drawing for Challenging Word Problems, the Singapore Way
Lead Speaker: Anni Elizabeth Stipek
Come on a tour of how to successfully solve challenging word problems using model drawing. This revolutionary tool will help students understand word problems by first drawing a picture and eventually move to the equation. Designed for teachers working with grades 6 – 8.
196 – Singapore Math Strategies You Can Count On!
Lead Speaker: Char Forsten
Come see specific Singapore Math strategies that will deepen and improve students’ number sense and problem solving skills. Learn practical, technology-friendly strategies that align with and support the Common Core Standards. Designed for teachers working with grades 3 – 5.
The first session will spotlight Rocket Solvers, a number sense app based on Singapore Math. Both Anni Stipek and Char Forsten work for Staff Development for Educators. All three are knowledgeable presenters, so you won’t make a mistake if you head to the grade strand that you teach.
Recommendations:
-> Need preK – 2 Number Sense ideas? Head to the first session.
-> If you’re looking for grades 6 – 8 content, head to Model Drawing.
-> Seeking grades 3 – 5 CCSS aligned material? Head to Char’s session
*Personally, I’ll be attending this one: Using Students’ Misunderstanding to Deepen Teachers’ Understanding
Friday, April 27 11:00 AM – 012:00 PM No conflict – Woohoo! -This is a session I’m presenting with Lauri Susi.
470 – Technology + Singapore Strategies = Number Sense
Lead Speaker: Cassandra Turner
Co-Speaker: Lauri Susi
Visual reasoning is a powerful tool for making sense of mathematics. Learn successful visual strategies and instructional methods from Singapore that allow students to develop a deeper understanding of number concepts using hands-on manipulatives and software. Walk away with strategies for guiding students’ learning that you can use tomorrow.
Friday, April 27 1:00 PM – 02:00 PM
EW – Math Buddies – The Singapore Online Math Program for CCSS
Exhibitor Workshop: Marshall Cavendish International
Math Buddies adopts the same pedagogical principles of our Singapore mathematics textbooks and combines multimedia technologies and instructional strategies to make teaching and learning Math easier. Gain insight into its various components and how these can help you transition to CCSS and an effective online teaching and learning environment.
Friday, April 27 1:00 PM – 02:30 PM
509 – Singapore Math: Building Blocks to Learning Volume
Lead Speaker: Katherine de la Garza
Learn how to bring hands-on Singapore Math to life in your classroom. Use blocks to build solids, share your strategies, and then watch classroom footage of students to understand how this concrete-pictorial-abstract approach can deepen students’ understanding of volume and encourage inquiry. Hands-on session designed for teachers working with grades 3 – 5.
The first session is an Exhibitor Workshop, meaning that you can find more information about their company on the exhibit floor.
Recommendation:
-> Interested in Singapore Math in an online environment, go to the first session.
-> Looking for “use it tomorrow” ideas? Head to the volume session.
-> Leave early to get to the next session with Dr. Yeap. This one will fill up fast!
Friday, April 27 2:30 PM – 03:30 PM – No conflict
EW – Intervention Strategies with Singapore Math with Yeap Ban Har
Exhibitor Workshop: Marshall Cavendish International
How does Singapore schools deal with middle school students who struggle with mathematics? This session includes a discussion on how curriculum design and teaching strategies can help such students recover enough to be able to cope with mathematics at the secondary level. Suitable for educators teaching Grades 5 – 8
Friday, April 27 4:00 PM – 05:00 PM – No conflict
EW – Singapore Math Is for Middle School Too!
Exhibitor Workshop: SingaporeMath.com
The international success of Singaporean students has led many elementary schools to use Singapore Math® textbooks. But Singapore’s students also perform at the top of the world in middle school. Come see how new Singaporean textbooks, aligned to the Common Core State Standards,can help students learn mathematics in powerful and meaningful ways.
Saturday, April 28: 11:00 AM-12:00 PM – No conflict
688 – Intriguing Lessons about Teaching and Assessing Math around the World
Lead Speaker: Steven J. Leinwand
It’s really not an accident that countries like Singapore and Hong Kong significantly outperform the United States. Take a look at some of the features, instructional approaches, and assessment items that can guide our own efforts to improve U.S mathematics teaching and learning.
NCTM Conference Singapore Math Sessions
March 31, 2011 by 1 Comment
Heading to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Conference in Indianapolis this year? Looking to check out some Singapore Math sessions? Well, there’s good news and bad.
Good news? there are 14 sessions on Singapore Math this year! (Two more than last year.)
Bad news? Anything listed below in pink is an overlapping session. Here are my thoughts on which session to choose, if you have a conflict.
Click to enlarge.
Thursday, April 14, 2011: 8:30 AM-9:30 AM
36.1- Making Mathematics Accessible: The Singapore Method
Exhibitor Workshop: Marshall Cavendish International
Participants will learn the basic principles in making mathematics accessible to average and struggling students while challenging the advanced students. Learn a few Singapore Math strategies from Dr Yeap Ban Har along the way.
36.15- Singapore Math and the New Common Core-It’s a Beautiful Thing
Exhibitor Workshop: SMARTTraining
The creators of the New Common Core Standards looked to the high performing countries, one of which was Singapore. This workshop will illustrate how the Singapore Math curriculum is uniquely positioned to support American Teachers in having students meet the new standards.
These are both Exhibitor Workshops, meaning that you can find more information about their companies on the Exhibit floor. And it’s a tough call; Dr. Yeap is always awesome. Singapore Math and the Common Core are well-correlated, so this session should be informative. (Disclaimer, I was a co-founder of SMARTTraining and a partner until 2009)
Recommendation:
-> If you’re totally new to Singapore Math, go to the first session.
-> If you’re familiar with the curriculum, go for the Common Core session.
Thursday, April 14, 2011: 9:30 AM-10:30 AM – No conflict (Yeah! Robyn’s great.)
71- Bar Diagrams: Draw Your Way to Problem-Solving Success
Lead Speaker: Robyn Silbey
This highly interactive presentation will teach bar diagramming, a powerful, visual-logical problem-solving strategy focused on thinking and comprehension. Using this enhanced version of Singapore’s bar modeling, you’ll draw bar diagrams to analyze, draw, and solve several word problems. Add this critical-thinking strategy to your problem-solving toolbox.
Thursday, April 14, 2011: 9:30 AM-10:30 AM
151- Math Talk: Teaching Concepts and Skills through Illustrations and Stories
Lead Speaker: Char Forsten
A young child’s understanding of the world is enlightened and expanded through stories and illustrations, so it makes sense to use these resources when teaching mathematics. You will learn to use “math talk,” an approach based on a method used in Singapore, as a powerful way to provide purposeful practice through nursery rhymes, fairy tales, illustrations, and photographs.
164- Singapore Lessons: Visual Models to Move from Arithmetic to Algebra
Lead Speaker: Andy Clark
Singapore’s success in math is in part a result of carefully designed lessons that enable students to represent and visualize mathematical relationships. These models begin with the four operations and then connect to complex problems and then to algebra. This workshop will demonstrate why their students succeed in algebra at such a high level.
Both of these sessions have the same name as sessions the presenters gave last year, with very similar descriptions.
Recommendation:
-> If you’re working with lower elementary go to the first session.
-> Upper elementary and middle school, go for the Common Core session.
Thursday, April 14, 2011: 2:30 PM-3:30 PM
240.3- Singapore Math: Bar Model Method
Exhibitor Workshop: Marshall Cavendish International
Learn to use the bar model method in solving basic and not-so-basic problems from the Singapore classrooms. Dr Yeap Ban Har will model good questioning teachniques used to help students solve word problems involving whole numbers, fractions, ratio and percent.
Thursday, April 14, 2011: 3:00 PM-4:30 PM
246- Paradigm Shift in Problem Solving: A Singapore Approach
Lead Speaker: Robert J. Hogan
Co-Speaker: Sarah A. Schaefer
With this method of solving word problems, students develop a pictorial representation, allowing them to see the big picture. Plan to learn the Singapore method first-hand from teachers and students interacting and solving problems. Algebra and pictures connect naturally unites, and any battle between students and word problems becomes a thing of the past.
254- Models for Challenging Word Problems: Finding Solutions the Singapore Way
Lead Speaker: Anni Elizabeth Stipek
You know the basics of model drawing. Now let’s kick things up a notch! You’ll learn how to solve challenging multistep and before-and-after problems, then move on to prealgebra, algebra, and more. Get ready for some high-intensity learning!
Thursday, April 14, 2011: 3:30 PM-4:30 PM
277- Singapore Math: Constructing with Cubes to Understand Volume
Lead Speaker: Katherine de la Garza
Join us as we explore how a problem-solving lesson on volume encourages students’ inquiry, communication, and metacognition. When students are given the opportunity to explore volume by building figures with cubes, they not only construct meaning and the formula for volume, but also have fun and gain confidence as mathematicians.
278- Hands-On Equations® and Singapore Math: Word Problems Using Icons
Lead Speaker: Linda Bailey
Co-Speaker: Kendra Jensen
This session will see show how using physical or pictorial icons helps students visualize both the representation and the conditions of a word problem. Comparing the approaches used in Hands-On Equations with the bar model of Singapore math in representing and solving five word problems, including one involving fractional relations.
Wow! Five sessions that all overlap! Once again, Dr. Yeap is always puts on an insightful session. Tip: you might want to get there early as I’ve lines beforehand and people turned away at the door. Then you could sprint over to the 3:30 sessions!
Recommendation:
-> New to Bar Model Drawing? Aim for Dr. Yeap, with session by Robert Hogan as a backup.
-> Familiar with model drawing and want to extend your skills, head to Anni Stipek’s session at 3:00
Friday, April 15, 2011: 2:00 PM-3:00 PM – No conflict
510- Singapore Math: An Implementation Case Study
Lead Speaker: Kevin T. Mahoney
What happened when an American grades pre-K–6 school adopted Singapore’s math program? Based on three years of research, the presenter’s story will give you a unique view into the process and outcomes for teachers and students. Leave with a realistic picture of this powerful program in action.
Friday, April 15, 2011: 4:00 PM-5:00 PM – No conflict
589.2- Singapore Math: A Digital Curriculum Approach
Exhibitor Workshop: Marshall Cavendish International
The Singapore Math Digital Curriculum aims to help educators teach, and students acquire math concepts with interactive tutorials using content and methods proven effective in Singapore. Discover how the Singapore Math Digital Curriculum introduces activities and games for users to apply their conceptual knowledge and reinforce skills in real-world problem solving strategies.
Can’t make it to this one? Head to the EAI Education booth (2116-2117) on the Exhibit Floor at 4:00pm when I’ll be presenting a short demo on Mental Math Activities.
Saturday, April 16, 2011: 8:30 AM-9:30 AM
609.2- Singapore Math Demystified
Exhibitor Workshop: SingaporeMath.com Inc.
What is Singapore Math all about, really? In this session, Bill Jackson will share the big ideas behind Singapore Math, including the Concrete>Pictorial>Abstract Approach, Problem Solving, and important consideration for implementation and professional development. Bill will also debunk common misconceptions that people have about Singapore Math.
Saturday, April 16, 2011: 8:30 AM-10:00 AM
613- Fact Fluency the Singapore Math Way
Lead Speaker: Johnette Roberts
Help students build a strong foundation in fact fluency and number sense based on Singapore Math strategies. Fact fluency strengthens conceptual understanding, critical-thinking skills, and efficient problem-solving skills. Participants will learn how to teach fact fluency in a fun, engaging way. Activities will be provided.
Recommendation:
-> Bill Jackson has been writing some interesting articles about Singapore Math for the Daily Riff online.
Elementary Math Boot Camp
March 2, 2011 by 3 Comments
When I go speak at a school’s Parent Night about Singapore Math, I get asked a lot of different questions. The most common one, however, is how can I help my child with his/her homework? To help out in Northern Colorado, my home base, I decided to take my Parent Boot Camps to another level. A monthly or bi-weekly level through Meetup.com. Each meetup, we’ll work through an elementary mathematical concept, review strategies, and learn a fun activity or game that supports the concept.
As we get going, I’ll post more about the meetups and the questions and issues that concern parents the most.
From the Read more about us page (where you can register to join, too):
Does your student struggle with his or her math homework? Are you arguing over who’s way of solving problems is right, yours or the teacher’s? Wouldn’t it be nice if your child thought math was FUN? It’s time for a math boot camp for parents! Each Meetup will engage parents with strategies to help their child as well as some time for home-enjoyment review. (Really, why should it be homeWORK?)
Who: Parents who want to help their elementary school students with mathematics.
Why: While math hasn’t changed much since we were in school… virtually everything else has, include teaching methods, curricula, homework, and expectations
How: Using math strategies from Singapore Math and other World-Class curricula, we’ll focus on understanding elementary math concepts. Why do we invert and multiply when dividing fractions? What are we doing when we “borrow” from a number? Why don’t kids memorize their multiplication tables anymore?
Bonus: At each Meetup, I’ll provide Math-Campers with some handpicked resources that engage students and strengthen their mastery of math facts. We’ll play games that focus on mathematics content and discuss your child’s homework assignment, so bring them along!
Seeking Singapore Math Assessments?
October 29, 2010 by 1 Comment
A recent visitor left this comment:
I am part of a team of first grade teachers at my school. We are piloting Singapore Math this year. We are creating assessments and were looking for ready-made assessments to genuinely fit the curriculum.
One of the challenges for a classroom teacher using the U.S Edition is that there aren’t any assessments ready-made. The Standards Edition of Primary Mathematics has assessments, however they won’t correspond directly to the U.S. Edition Materials.
Keep in mind that if you write the questions, you can tailor them to the objectives of your lessons. Are you assessing for basic competency? Are you assessing for deeper understanding? Additionally, for a teacher-created assessment, you need to create an answer key. I frequently hear from teachers who tell me, “Well, I gave this test, but all I have is the answer and I’m not sure how to work the problem.”
That being said, I know teachers’ time is valuable. Many teachers use questions from the Review sections of the textbook. Other basic questions from Intensive Practice books or practice problems from the Challenging Word Problems books could be used as well.
Be sure to save any well-written assessments for future use. After one year of working with the materials, you should have a good bank of assessments for future years.
One site that offers Singapore test paper problems for free (with registration) is Old School. At the first grade they have several mid-year and end-of-term papers available. Teachers can select the questions, either short answer or multiple choice, and create an assessment. Additionally, you can choose problems from a list of topics. Topics for first grade are:
- Addition and Subtraction
- Combination Questions (3%)
- Comparing and Ordering numbers (13%)
- Division (1%)
- General (1%)
- Graphs (5%)
- Measurements (7%)
- Multiplication (3%)
- Notation and Place values (9%)
- Shapes and Patterns (12%)
Would you be interested in a test bank of questions? How about a place for sharing some teacher-made tests?
