Singapore Mathematics

Model Method
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Summer Training Program

REVISITING SINGAPORE PRIMARY

MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM

Knowledge Rating Chart

Encircle the number that represents your learning experience
on spiral approach.

1. Ive never heard of this before.

2. Ive heard of this, but am not sure how it works.

3. I know about this and how to use it.

Scope
Overview of
Singapore
primary
mathematics
curriculum,
and its unique
features

What is Singapore Mathematics?

The way students learn Mathematics and way
teachers teach Mathematics in Singapore.

Revisiting Singapore Primary Mathematics Curriculum

Singapore mathematics curriculum

has its focus mathematical
problem solving and it is set
within an education system that
emphasizes thinking.

Revisiting Singapore Primary Mathematics Curriculum

Thinking Schools,
Learning Nation
Derived from an education
system that focuses on thinking
(1997)

Revisiting Singapore Primary Mathematics Curriculum

Make a triangle
that is green.

Make a triangle
that is a third
green.
Revisiting Singapore Primary Mathematics Curriculum

Move 3 sticks to make 3 squares.

Revisiting Singapore Primary Mathematics Curriculum

Move 3 sticks to make 2 squares.

Revisiting Singapore Primary Mathematics Curriculum

Move 3 sticks to make 2 squares.

Revisiting Singapore Primary Mathematics Curriculum

Its outcomes centrally assessed

through public examinations.
Revisiting Singapore Primary Mathematics Curriculum

Problem
John had 1.5 m of copper
wire. He cut some of the
wire to bend into the
shape shown in the
figure below. In the
figure, there are 6
equilateral triangles and
the length of XY is 19 cm.
How much of the copper
wire was left?
Revisiting Singapore Primary Mathematics Curriculum

Problem
150 cm 19 cm x 5

= 150 cm 95 cm = 55
cm
55 cm of the copper wire was left.

Revisiting Singapore Primary Mathematics Curriculum

Source
PSLE Mathematics Singapore Examination and Assessment Board

In the diagram below,

ABCD is a square and
QM = QP = QN. MN is
parallel to AB and it is
perpendicular to PQ.

Find MPN.

In the diagram below,

ABCD is a square and
QM = QP = QN. MN is
parallel to AB and it is
perpendicular to PQ.
Find MPN.

In the diagram below,

ABCD is a square and
QM = QP = QN. MN is
parallel to AB and it is
perpendicular to PQ.
Find MPN.

In the diagram below,

ABCD is a square and
QM = QP = QN. MN is
parallel to AB and it is
perpendicular to PQ.
Find MPN.

Revisiting Singapore Primary Mathematics Curriculum

UNIQUE FEATURES
SINGAPORE PRIMARY
MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM

Spiral Approach in Learning

Mathematics

Singapore Mathematics Curriculum: Spiral Curriculum

Spiral Approach in Learning Mathematics:

Bruners Theory
The topics are
arranged in a way that
makes learning
progressive and
systematic this is part
of the idea of a spiral
curriculum
Revisiting Singapore Primary Mathematics Curriculum

In the learning from one lesson to the next lesson there

increase in the level of

abstractness and complexity of the
will be an

one mathematical idea, including an increase in

formality of the notation system is used.

Revisiting Singapore Primary Mathematics Curriculum

Ideas of fractions and the primary level at

which they are introduced

Level

Ideas of fractions

P2: Equal parts of a whole

What fraction of the circle is shaded?

P4: Equal subsets of a set

Shade of the smiley faces.

P5: Fraction as division

3 pizzas were shared equally among 4

friends. What fraction of the pizza did
each person eat?

P6: Relationship between

fractions and ratios

John, Keith and Hans collected some

cards in the ratio of 2: 3: 4. What fraction
of the cards belongs to Hans?
Revisiting Singapore Primary Mathematics Curriculum

Addition Facts & Number Sense

.
While Count
On and Count
All are used in Numbers to
10, Make Ten is given
emphasis in Numbers to 20.

Spiral Within Grade

Grade 2
Lesson 1: 347 + 129
Lesson 2: 182 + 93
Lesson 3: 278 + 86
Spiral Between Grade
Grade 1 Adding up to 100
Grade 2 Adding up to 1000
Grade 3 Adding up to 10000

Revisiting Singapore Primary Mathematics Curriculum

Differentiated Syllabus

Revisiting Singapore Primary Mathematics Curriculum

Curriculum time according to levels and streams

Levels

Number of Hours Per Week

Common Syllabus:
P1

3.5

P2

4.5

P3 and P4

5.5

Differentiated Syllabus (P5 & P6)

Standard Mathematics

Foundation Mathematics

6.5

Overall curriculum time across subjects average 24 hours per week

1 period = 30 minutes

Revisiting Singapore Primary Mathematics Curriculum

Algebraic Thinking

Revisiting Singapore Primary Mathematics Curriculum

Number Pattern
What is the missing number?
(a) _____, 17, 18, 19, _____, 21
(b) 2, 4, 6, _____, 10, 12, _____

Revisiting Singapore Primary Mathematics Curriculum

Number Pattern
Complete the following number pattern?
(a) 6780, 6880, _____, _____, 7180
(b) 11, 10.95, 10.9, _____, 10.8, _____, 10.7

Revisiting Singapore Primary Mathematics Curriculum

Assessment

Revisiting Singapore Primary Mathematics Curriculum

The Singapore mathematics curriculum calls for the

following to be incorporated into assessment whenever
and wherever appropriate:

Mental Calculations
Mathematical Communication
Practical Application of Mathematics
Investigations and Problem Solving
Application of ICT
Revisiting Singapore Primary Mathematics Curriculum

Which is larger in
magnitude 5+n or
5n? Explain your
answer?

Revisiting Singapore Primary Mathematics Curriculum

Revisiting Singapore Primary Mathematics Curriculum

Other Unique Features of Primary Mathematics

Curriculum

Teaching Approaches
Role of Information and Communication
Technologies (ICT)
National Education

Model Method
Revisiting Singapore Primary Mathematics Curriculum

Singapore Math
is about thinking
and problem
solving
Revisiting Singapore Primary Mathematics Curriculum

Why Teach Mathematics?

Mathematics is an excellent
vehicle to develop and improve
a persons intellectual
competence.
Ministry of Education, Singapore 2006
Revisiting Singapore Primary Mathematics Curriculum

Making the Average Student on

Top
Thinking-oriented Curriculum
Theoretically-sound Pedagogy
Assessment that is coherent with the
curriculum
Revisiting Singapore Primary Mathematics Curriculum

Children are truly the

future of our nation.
Irving Harris

Salute!
One person acts as a captain
and deals one card to each
player. Without looking at the
card, players hold the card up
to their foreheads and say
salute.
The captain says the sum,
difference or product of the
two cards. The player to guess
the number on their card first
wins both cards. The player
with the most cards at the end
of the session or deck wins.

PROBLEM SOLVING

The ability to solve problems is at the heart of mathematics.

(Cockcroft Report, 1982)

Mathematical
Problem
Solving

Concepts
Model Method

Heuristics
Polyas How to Solve It 4-phased Process

1. See
2. Plan
3. Do
4. Check

Problem Solving Strategies

Draw a diagram or picture

Make a systematic list
Look for patterns
Guess and Check
Simplify the problem
Work backwards

Model Method

Farmer Ting was counting his ducks and

sheep. He counted 10 heads and 26 feet
altogether. How many ducks and sheep does
he have?
HOW MANY DIFFERENT STRATEGIES
ARE THERE TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM?

Experiences in problem solving should consist

of solving

different problems by the same

strategy as well as the application of different

strategies to the same problem

MODEL METHOD

Model Method stem from the use of real

objects to model or represent situations
in story problems.
Part-Whole Model
Comparison Model

Before-After Model

Model Method

Part-Whole Model (Addition and Subtraction)

whole

part

part

part + part = whole

whole part = part
Model Method

Model Method

Model Method

John bought some candies. He ate

half of them and gave 5 candies to his
best friend. Then he had 7 candies
left. How many candies did John buy?

Model Method

The Part-Whole Model

(Multiplication and
Division)

one part number of parts = whole

whole number of parts = one part
whole one part = number of parts
Model Method

3
48 children went to the zoo. 8 of
them were girls. How many were
boys?

Model Method

3
of the beads in a box are yellow
5 beads. The rest are red beads and
blue beads. There are twice as many
yellow beads as red beads. There are
30 more red beads than blue beads.
Find the total number of yellow beads
and red beads.

Model Method

6 bottles of water can fill 4/7 of a

container. Another 3 bottles and 5
cups of water are needed to fill the
container completely. How many
cups of water can the container
hold?

Comparison Model

larger quantity smaller quantity = difference

smaller quantity + difference = larger quantity
larger quantity - difference = smaller quantity
Model Method

Comparison Model
(Multiplication and
Division)

larger quantity smaller quantity = multiple

smaller quantity multiple = larger quantity
larger quantity multiple = smaller quantity
Model Method

Model Method

Model Method

Model Method

John sold three times as many

computers as Bob. They sold 48
computers altogether. How many
computers did Bob sell?

Peter collected a total of 1170

stamps. He collected 4 times as
many as Philippine stamps as
foreign
stamps.
How
many
Philippine stamps he collected?

Two staples, two pens and a pencil

box cost P33.60. A pen cost twice as

much as a staple. A pencil box costs

P8 more than a pen. Find the cost of

a pencil.

Before-after Model

Shows the relationships between the

new value of a quantity and its original
value after an increase or decrease.

Model Method

A box of sweet was shared between

Milly and Sally in the ratio 3:2. After
Milly gave of her share to Sally,
Sally had 20 sweets more than Milly.
How many sweets did Milly give to
Sally?

Mike had 3 times as much money as

Gerard. After Mike had spent P60
and Gerard had spent P10, they
each had an equal amount of money
left. How much money did Mike
have at first?

A factory had 1200 workers. 40% of

them were males. Some new males
were

employed

until

the

total

number of males had increased to

70% of the total workforce. How
many

new

employed?

male

workers

were

Model method is a
synthetic-analytic process.

Model Method and Algebra

Two aspects of the primary school mathematics
curriculum that facilitate algebraic thinking
1. The use of model method in solving word
problems
2. The inclusion of pattern recognition.

Model Method and Algebra

Concrete
Pictorial
Abstract

Model Method
Algebraic Equation

Model Method and Algebra

Problem

Mr. Viri is four times

as old as his son. Ten
years ago, the sum of
their ages was 60.
Find their present
age.

Using
Model
Method

Using
Algebraic
Equations

Show different variations depicting the

integration of Model Method and Algebra.

There are 50 children in a dance group. If

there are 10 more boys than girls, how
many girls are there?

Conclusion
The integration of model drawing
method and algebraic method provides
an enriching opportunity for students to
engage in construction and interpretation
of
algebraic
equations
through
meaningful and active learning. (Yeap,
2009)

Four Reasons Why Use the Model

Method (Kho, 1987)
It help students gain a better insight into
mathematical concepts such as fraction, ratio,
and percentage.
It helps the pupil plan for solution for solving
an arithmetic problem.

Four Reasons Why Use the Model Method (Kho,

1987)
It is comparable to, but is less abstract than,
the algebraic method.
It can stimulate the pupils to solve challenging
problems

The education system of Singapore is

dynamic and constantly evolving. Initiatives
and policies are guided by research
evidence, scans of other systems in the world
and careful deliberations of leaders in
education. Whatever the new initiatives or
policy may be the one thing that always keep
the house in order is the TEACHER.
Therefore it is vital that the development of
teachers keep abreast of changes in the
system.
(Kaur, 2011)

A teacher is one who helps students to

learn something and an educator is
one who helps students more
educated. To be an educator the
teacher must possess the ability to

 inculcate and strengthen intellectual

qualities such as independent learning,
thinking and inquiry; critical thinking,
creative problem solving, intellectual
curiosity, skepticism, informal judgment
and articulateness.

An EDUCATOR is a TEACHER, but NOT

ALL TEACHERS are EDUCATORS
(Wang, 2001)

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!