Maths Assessment Books

[venuschan]

cimman:

venuschan:

Hi cinman,

May you share here what exactly is table heuristic? I find it difficult to teach for example in the topic of \"ratio\" to my girl and the best way to get ready to start a new topic is to have full understanding of why we think we need to use ratio and why it is relevant and not others.

:thankyou:

Mr Smith had 1.5 litre of white paint in Tin A and 1.25 litre of red paint in Tin B. He poured 750ml of red paint from Tin B into Tin A. Then he poured some of the mixture in Tin A back into Tin B. If 7/11 of the final mixture in Tin B was made up of red paint, what was the volume of the mixture in Tin A that Mr Smith had poured into Tin B ? Ans: 600ml

Hi Cimman,

Do you use table heuristics to teach this question? If you do, may you tell how.
Thanks once again.

[jedamum]

Algebra is new only because what used to be moon and stars are now labelled as ‘a’ and ‘b’. It is forming of the equation correctly from the info given that takes time for kids to master.

There are a few videos in the libraw that introduce basic algebra concept. You will realise it is nothing new but it explain clearly why when the operations cross the equal sign, they change to inverse operation. Kids still need a fair amount of understanding of the questions and practice to be able to transform info into equation.

[SAHM_TAN]

jedamum:

Algebra is new only because what used to be moon and stars are now labelled as 'a' and 'b'. It is forming of the equation correctly from the info given that takes time for kids to master.

There are a few videos in the libraw that introduce basic algebra concept. You will realise it is nothing new but it explain clearly why when the operations cross the equal sign, they change to inverse operation. Kids still need a fair amount of understanding of the questions and practice to be able to transform info into equation.

Thanks for sharing.

[HAPPYH]

jedamum:

Algebra is new only because what used to be moon and stars are now labelled as 'a' and 'b'. It is forming of the equation correctly from the info given that takes time for kids to master.

There are a few videos in the libraw that introduce basic algebra concept. You will realise it is nothing new but it explain clearly why when the operations cross the equal sign, they change to inverse operation. Kids still need a fair amount of understanding of the questions and practice to be able to transform info into equation.

Thank you.

[cimman]

phtthp:

hi cimman,


Thank you for the very clear, colorful vivid diagrams you'd illustrated.
Very much appreciated ! :thankyou:

The diagrams you'd drawn above are pitched more at Upper primary P5 / P6 level. Your coming workshop October next month also pitched at Upper primary level.

is it possible to conduct another workshop pitched at Mid primary level, ie. at P3 / P4 ? Thank you.

the workshops I conduct is pitched at P5/P6 level. There is a reason for this. When you solve problems using algebra, you will be dealing with large numbers. Thus the need for calculators. You can only use calculators from P5 onwards. In modelling and heuristics, the numbers are smaller, because the inferences that you make (ie. unchanged difference, unchanged total, etc...), will simplify the equations, however, the analysis is not easy.
With Table Heuristics, the analysis is easy, but the numbers are larger because they're not simplified. This requires the use of calculators.

The other point to note is that at the P3/P4 level, the problem sums encountered can be solved easily using modelling/heuristics. At the P5/P6 level, the problem sums are at a higher level of difficulty and modelling becomes more cumbersome and challenging. This would be where using Table Heuristics techniques would be an advantage in simplifying the analysis.

I would recommend that students at the P3/P4 level use the methods that the school teaches. This will give them a good grounding in modelling. You can switch them to algebra at P5. Actually, you can start at P4 level by just working with equations, but not linked to problem solving. You can do this because equation solving is a very mechanical skill.

[cimman]

HAPPYH:

phtthp:

hi cinman,


can we buy your simple algebra Maths book, to kick start first ? Thank you.

Is it already in the market? Will the children get confused if we teach both model drawing and algebra? Is it safer to teach both? Or stick to one method?Thank you in advance.

unless you home school your child, the school will ensure that your child gets a good grounding in modelling. So whether you're teaching your child modelling or not, is a moot point because the school is already teaching that.
Would the child be confused ? it all really depends on the child. Some children are confused with algebra, some are confused with modelling, some are confused with both.
What happens is that the child will try one method and if that fails, will switch to another method.
My advise is teach both and observe your child's reaction. If your child simply abhors drawing little boxes and splitting them, algebra would be an alternative. Understand how your child thinks by asking questions to probe his understanding of the solution. You don't want the child to learn by pattern recognition.

A child at the P5 level would be ready for abstract concepts. Some even at the P3/P4 level. When the child goes to the canteen to buy food, and spends some money, does he calculate the amount left in his wallet using little boxes and splitting them up ?

as for the algebra materials, I'm still working on it. Still very much WIP.

[cimman]

venuschan:

cimman:

[quote=\"venuschan\"]
Hi cinman,

May you share here what exactly is table heuristic? I find it difficult to teach for example in the topic of \"ratio\" to my girl and the best way to get ready to start a new topic is to have full understanding of why we think we need to use ratio and why it is relevant and not others.

:thankyou:

Mr Smith had 1.5 litre of white paint in Tin A and 1.25 litre of red paint in Tin B. He poured 750ml of red paint from Tin B into Tin A. Then he poured some of the mixture in Tin A back into Tin B. If 7/11 of the final mixture in Tin B was made up of red paint, what was the volume of the mixture in Tin A that Mr Smith had poured into Tin B ? Ans: 600ml

Hi Cimman,

Do you use table heuristics to teach this question? If you do, may you tell how.
Thanks once again.[/quote]yes, you can solve the problem using table heuristics. It will be much easier to understand if you can attend the workshop. That way, you'll learn how to fish using Table Heuristics.

[beanbear]

HAPPYH:

phtthp:

hi cinman,


can we buy your simple algebra Maths book, to kick start first ? Thank you.

Is it already in the market? Will the children get confused if we teach both model drawing and algebra? Is it safer to teach both? Or stick to one method?Thank you in advance.

I don't see Modelling and algebra as exclusive to each other. Model is visual algebra. Instead of calling an unknown value as x, we draw a box. We don't know what the value of that box is. For younger children, it's helpful to use visuals to represent their working. I believe a good teacher will find a way to combine simultaneous equations with drawing of model. It's the teacher's pedagogy that makes a difference. My 2 older kids in P5 & P6 have been able to transit from modelling to using of algebra with little confusion because they can see use their model representation to translate into algebraic equations.

There is a book called \"From Model to Algebra\" by Dr Yeap Ban Har, published by Shinglee. I got it from Popular. Although it's intended to help bridge P6 students to Secondary, I think the first few chapters in the book are great way to help bridge P4/5 students to algebra.

[venuschan]

cimman:

HAPPYH:

[quote=\"phtthp\"]hi cinman,


can we buy your simple algebra Maths book, to kick start first ? Thank you.

Is it already in the market? Will the children get confused if we teach both model drawing and algebra? Is it safer to teach both? Or stick to one method?Thank you in advance.

unless you home school your child, the school will ensure that your child gets a good grounding in modelling. So whether you're teaching your child modelling or not, is a moot point because the school is already teaching that.
Would the child be confused ? it all really depends on the child. Some children are confused with algebra, some are confused with modelling, some are confused with both.
What happens is that the child will try one method and if that fails, will switch to another method.
My advise is teach both and observe your child's reaction. If your child simply abhors drawing little boxes and splitting them, algebra would be an alternative. Understand how your child thinks by asking questions to probe his understanding of the solution. You don't want the child to learn by pattern recognition.

A child at the P5 level would be ready for abstract concepts. Some even at the P3/P4 level. When the child goes to the canteen to buy food, and spends some money, does he calculate the amount left in his wallet using little boxes and splitting them up ?

as for the algebra materials, I'm still working on it. Still very much WIP.[/quote]
Hi Cimman,

I' m currently homeschooling my child. I personally feel my child could understand abstract concept at this age, even she is pretty small but she is able to grip more than I expect, I just need to get all concepts in perspective. Do you have any algebra books to recommend from Primary 3/4 onwards all the way to 5/6 as well as any VERY GOOD heuristics books together with your book if you happen to write one? Or Any short handout types!? Singapore math syllabus is foreign to me and I find it very challenging.

I don't mind to attend any courses conducted, and if you do please give me a tinkle few days (7/8) days ahead for further action. Thank you so much.

[Mychildren]

Oh, cimman,

U’ll be very busy now…