How to teach "Less than" questions?

[XYZ1]

pinky88:

This is the area many kids are weak in. For me, I used to teach my kids to form an equation as follows:

Hi pinky88

do you teach your kids this at P1? And they can grasp this concept at P1 level?

XYZ1

[petals73]

Hi


I hv just joined this forum and happended to come across this old thread and would like to share my tips which is taught by a friend

Always replace the the words with sigh as follows
"less than" with "-"
"More than" with "+"
"is" with "="
"What is" with "?"
And work from right to left

Eg.
_ is 2 less than 8
_ = 2 - 8

2 is _ less than 8
2 = _ - 8

6 less than 8 is _
6 - 8 = _

9 is _ more than 4
9 = _ + 4

This method works very well with my 2 kids when they were in P1.

Cheers
Petals73

[petals73]

Hi


I hv just joined this forum and happended to come across this old thread and would like to share my tips which is taught by a friend

Always replace the the words with sigh as follows
"less than" with "-"
"More than" with "+"
"is" with "="
"What is" with "?"
And work from right to left

Eg.
_ is 2 less than 8
_ = 2 - 8

2 is _ less than 8
2 = _ - 8

6 less than 8 is _
6 - 8 = _

9 is _ more than 4
9 = _ + 4

This method works very well with my 2 kids when they were in P1.

Cheers
Petals73

[cimman]

the problem with primary school maths is that it is just too wordy. The problem gets worse when you go to higher levels. The trick is to transform the words to mathematical relationships and then solve the problem from there. Here is an example. Break down the \"more than\" \"less than questions\" into diagrams.

Here's the legend:
http://i44.tinypic.com/rk7aeg.jpg\">
the cirlce represents the blank you see in every question. Put a circle on the box that you need to find the answer.

due to the limitations of the forum, I'll have to split this into multiple posts because I can't post multiple images in a single post....at least not more than 2...

[cimman]

here is the diagram template for \"more than\":

http://i40.tinypic.com/dr6mfk.png\">

here is the diagram template for \"less than\"
http://i40.tinypic.com/35n3haf.png\">

[cimman]

here is how you use the template for \"more than\" question types:

http://i41.tinypic.com/2n739q8.jpg\">

in every question, focus on the keyword \"more than\", put the relevant numbers into the respective boxes. If there is a blank, put a circle in the relevant box to indicate it is a blank in the problem statement.

The fonts in black are numbers transferred directly from the problem statement. The fonts in red are calculated values.

I've put in 3 columns, A, B and C in the diagram. Based on where the circle is located, column A, or B or C, the operation, + or - will need to be used.
If circle falls into Column C, then use + operation.
If circle falls into Column A, then use - operation.

[please ignore this post, it's a double post, just read the post below]

[cimman]

here is how you use the template for \"more than\" question types:

http://i43.tinypic.com/ok90ud.png\">

in every question, focus on the keyword \"more than\", put the relevant numbers into the respective boxes. If there is a blank, put a circle in the relevant box to indicate it is a blank in the problem statement.

The fonts in black are numbers transferred directly from the problem statement. The fonts in red are calculated values.

I've put in 3 columns, A, B and C in the diagram. Based on where the circle is located, column A, or B or C, the operation, + or - will need to be used.
If circle falls into Column C, then use + operation to get the calculated value to fill in the blank box. Since there are only 2 numbers, just add the 2 numbers up.

Just remember the first step, is to transfer the numbers from the problem statement to the relevant boxes. Once the 2 \"more than\" orange boxes are filled up, the remaining number in the problem statement will go to the Yellow box (I call it the \"is\" box)

The second step, put the circle on the box where you need to find the answer.

The third step, check which column the circle is in. Use the operation for that column to find the answer.

If circle falls into Column A, then use - operation.
If circle falls into Column B, then use - operation.

[cimman]

here is how to process \"less than\" questions. The template is slightly different. However, the process to solve it is the same as the \"more than\" question.

http://i43.tinypic.com/28k23yo.png\">

Step 1: focus on the \"less than\" keyword. Extract the numbers on the left and right of the \"less than\" phrase and transfer them into the orange boxes. If there are blanks, cirlce the relevant box to represent blanks in the problem sum.

Step 2: transfer the remaining number into the Yellow box.

Step 3: check where which column the circle ends up in, A, B, or C. Use that column's operation (+,-) to calculate the values for the circled box.

[cimman]

I’ve managed to scale this concept of transferring values directly to a table for upper primary maths problem sums. It works and it eases the english comprehension aspect of complex problem sums.

The method works by breaking down the analysis into simpler smaller steps.

The conventional way is to analyse the problem and form a solution in the mind and then transfer that solution to paper. It is a one step process and is not really suitable for someone just starting to work on the problem sums.

With this method, the analysis starts by first directly transferring values from the problem sum to a table. Then the relationships between the values are "seen" from the table. It is much easier this way.

I will be conducting a free workshop on this method for parents on 21April and 28 April. You can see how this method scales for PSLE type complex problem sums. You can check out the Happening thread for details on this workshop.

Parents who need a pdf copy of the diagrams I posted, can send me a PM with their email address.
All the diagrams are in one pdf file. So it’s easier to print it out and have it in front of you while your child is working on "more than" "less than" problems. It will be great to print it out in colour.

[Blue Pearl]

tks cimman