Preparing kids for P5 in 2011
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Hi to all parents who are preparing for the coming CA2.
Indeed we have to give them alot of TLC and motivation to keep their spirits up. See their overworked and tired faces after school every day. Hardly left any time nor energy to do any assessment. given so much homework here and there from school. Pressure cooked liao! As Parents, trying very hard to keep our sanity too....
Good wishes to all, God Bless
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tinkfirst:
Several schools have CA2 but I'm fortunate to escape this...can't imagine the stress of having CA2 as my daughter in P1 has tests this month...everything lah from oral to written. Have to go easy as I need to reserve my energy for son's SA2.Hi to all parents who are preparing for the coming CA2.
Indeed we have to give them alot of TLC and motivation to keep their spirits up. See their overworked and tired faces after school every day. Hardly left any time nor energy to do any assessment. given so much homework here and there from school. Pressure cooked liao! As Parents, trying very hard to keep our sanity too....
Good wishes to all, God Bless
God bless all the mummies preparing kids for CA2. -
Janet, sorry to ask u this on a P5 thread… but didn’t MOE remove exams in P1 to prevent stress? And it is replaced by more tests = more stress?
Just like how "teach less, learn more" is = school teach less (least), students must now learn (most and not just more) from tuition/enrichment/parents? -
If they made exams easier at PSLE, schools would not feel the need to set hard exams in P5 and P6… and test kids in P1 and P2. But then, they would not know whatta do with all those people who score full marks. What’s wrong with having lots who score full marks? If we think a bit, we’ll find ways to manage these. Why do we need a system that is so finely calibrated that it can distinguish at PSLE in the finest detail the good, better and best?
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just wanted to share this incident. My son came home and announced he has some good news and some bad news for his Topical Maths Test. The bad news was that he had 3 careless mistakes, the good news was that he got the top grade for his class. Well, of course, we celebrated the momentous occasion.
He had never topped his class in any subject in school, so it is a very big deal
for him.
After having gone through he Maths paper, I realized that there was a question in Section C where he used algebra to solve the problem. Now, I’ve been teaching him algebra since end of last year, so it is good to know that some of that has sunk in. His form teacher actually presented his solution to the class but requested them to not to write it down. So whle he acknowledged that using algebra is permissable, it is not the recommended approach. Having gone through a fair bit of past year exam papers, both SA1 and SA2, I find that both modelling and algebra have their place. There are some problems where you will need to use modelling and some problems where modelling can be used, but it is much easier to see the mathematical relationship through algebra.
There are also some problems where basic algebra concept is a must, ie. Area and Perimeter. I used to think that Area and Perimeter problems were not considered difficult. Don’t under estimate them. Without a basic understanding of algebra, it is impossible to solve some of the more difficult ones, like the relationship 3 breadths = 1 Length or 3B=1L.
The other category that benefits from algebra is Guess and Check type of problems. Yes, you can solve these problems through Trail and Error, but with alegbra, you cut out the Trial and move straight to the solution.
That’s not to say that alegbra can solve most problems. In some cases, the modelling approach is far easier and has much fewer steps.
I would say, put algebra in the child’s maths tool bag. Don’t wait for P6 to come before introducing this concept because the sooner the child gets to use this concept, the easier it is to solve certain types of problems. Algebra concept is harder to teach, so it does take some time before the concepts sink in. Best to have a headstart in this area.
There is a caveat to this. Some teachers are against using algebra and might mark the solution as wrong. Best to check with the form teacher on this. At any rate, when it comes to P6, algebra is permissable. -
Peony:
Yes, MOE removed exams...but schools conduct summative tests every 10 weeks. So it actually means MORE stress :frustrated: There is SA2 at the end of P2 for the purpose of streaming. I can tell you I'm feeling very stressed bcos I can't possibly ignore her tests but yet don't have the ability to stretch myself either.Janet, sorry to ask u this on a P5 thread... but didn't MOE remove exams in P1 to prevent stress? And it is replaced by more tests = more stress?
Just like how \"teach less, learn more\" is = school teach less (least), students must now learn (most and not just more) from tuition/enrichment/parents?
This 'teach less, learn more' applies from mid level to upp level. My daughter's teachers do teach - fortunately. -
cimman:
:goodpost: cimman! Your post confirms my thoughts regarding the need for a good understanding and use of some simple algebra for the topic on Area & Perimeter. My P4 ds was not able to do the last qsn for a pc of homework given by the school teacher, so he came to me for help. When I went through the qsn, I realised that it was quite impossible to find the ans by modelling. Using simple algebra, I finally derived the ans. I am now waiting for the model ans from the teacher so that we as parents will know what methods are acceptable and expected from the school...just wanted to share this incident. My son came home and announced he has some good news and some bad news for his Topical Maths Test. The bad news was that he had 3 careless mistakes, the good news was that he got the top grade for his class. Well, of course, we celebrated the momentous occasion.
He had never topped his class in any subject in school, so it is a very big deal
for him.
After having gone through he Maths paper, I realized that there was a question in Section C where he used algebra to solve the problem. Now, I've been teaching him algebra since end of last year, so it is good to know that some of that has sunk in. His form teacher actually presented his solution to the class but requested them to not to write it down. So whle he acknowledged that using algebra is permissable, it is not the recommended approach. Having gone through a fair bit of past year exam papers, both SA1 and SA2, I find that both modelling and algebra have their place. There are some problems where you will need to use modelling and some problems where modelling can be used, but it is much easier to see the mathematical relationship through algebra.
There are also some problems where basic algebra concept is a must, ie. Area and Perimeter. I used to think that Area and Perimeter problems were not considered difficult. Don't under estimate them. Without a basic understanding of algebra, it is impossible to solve some of the more difficult ones, like the relationship 3 breadths = 1 Length or 3B=1L.
The other category that benefits from algebra is Guess and Check type of problems. Yes, you can solve these problems through Trail and Error, but with alegbra, you cut out the Trial and move straight to the solution.
That's not to say that alegbra can solve most problems. In some cases, the modelling approach is far easier and has much fewer steps.
I would say, put algebra in the child's maths tool bag. Don't wait for P6 to come before introducing this concept because the sooner the child gets to use this concept, the easier it is to solve certain types of problems. Algebra concept is harder to teach, so it does take some time before the concepts sink in. Best to have a headstart in this area.
There is a caveat to this. Some teachers are against using algebra and might mark the solution as wrong. Best to check with the form teacher on this. At any rate, when it comes to P6, algebra is permissable. -
Algebra taught at P6 is way too late. Models alone cannot solve problems but yet son's Math teacher is not for algebra at P4. Strangely at P5 :faint: , teacher said can use any method as long as child gets the answer. From what I understand, the chapter on algebra at P6 is very fundamental.
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I suspect the school teachers don’t teach it because of work load. Algebra is not part of the syllabus till P6, so why teach something that is outside the syllabus ? it adds to their already overloaded work load, what with essay corrections, daily homework, non academic activities, CCA, etc… well, I guess it’s up to parents or tuition teachers to teach it. If teachers are open to solutions with algebra, so much the better. Of course, with algebra, the working needs to be more detailed. Like stating what the unknown alphabet represents. My child always omit that line of working, no matter how many times I’ve nagged him…
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Picolo:
I would say just go ahead and teach him simple algebra. What harm can it do if he learns an additional heuristic ? Trust me, it will come in useful and earn him a few additional marks. My son is in P4 too. I always thought Area and Perimeter would be a breeze till SA1, now I get him to do all the Area and Permimeter problems I could lay my hands on and that's when I discovered that the tougher ones are best answered using algebra.
:goodpost: cimman! Your post confirms my thoughts regarding the need for a good understanding and use of some simple algebra for the topic on Area & Perimeter. My P4 ds was not able to do the last qsn for a pc of homework given by the school teacher, so he came to me for help. When I went through the qsn, I realised that it was quite impossible to find the ans by modelling. Using simple algebra, I finally derived the ans. I am now waiting for the model ans from the teacher so that we as parents will know what methods are acceptable and expected from the school...cimman:
just wanted to share this incident. My son came home and announced he has some good news and some bad news for his Topical Maths Test. The bad news was that he had 3 careless mistakes, the good news was that he got the top grade for his class. Well, of course, we celebrated the momentous occasion.
He had never topped his class in any subject in school, so it is a very big deal
for him.
After having gone through he Maths paper, I realized that there was a question in Section C where he used algebra to solve the problem. Now, I've been teaching him algebra since end of last year, so it is good to know that some of that has sunk in. His form teacher actually presented his solution to the class but requested them to not to write it down. So whle he acknowledged that using algebra is permissable, it is not the recommended approach. Having gone through a fair bit of past year exam papers, both SA1 and SA2, I find that both modelling and algebra have their place. There are some problems where you will need to use modelling and some problems where modelling can be used, but it is much easier to see the mathematical relationship through algebra.
There are also some problems where basic algebra concept is a must, ie. Area and Perimeter. I used to think that Area and Perimeter problems were not considered difficult. Don't under estimate them. Without a basic understanding of algebra, it is impossible to solve some of the more difficult ones, like the relationship 3 breadths = 1 Length or 3B=1L.
The other category that benefits from algebra is Guess and Check type of problems. Yes, you can solve these problems through Trail and Error, but with alegbra, you cut out the Trial and move straight to the solution.
That's not to say that alegbra can solve most problems. In some cases, the modelling approach is far easier and has much fewer steps.
I would say, put algebra in the child's maths tool bag. Don't wait for P6 to come before introducing this concept because the sooner the child gets to use this concept, the easier it is to solve certain types of problems. Algebra concept is harder to teach, so it does take some time before the concepts sink in. Best to have a headstart in this area.
There is a caveat to this. Some teachers are against using algebra and might mark the solution as wrong. Best to check with the form teacher on this. At any rate, when it comes to P6, algebra is permissable.
As for modelling solutions for Area and Perimeter problems, I've yet to find an assessment book that teaches modelling for A&P problems. Onsponge doesn't have it and in this area, I find the questions in Onsponge are not taxing enough, compared to some schools SA papers.
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