Year-Round Singapore Math Resources and Support for Teachers and Parents
New to Singapore Math?
- angle-rightUsing bar models should make solving word problem easier, what is it so complicated?
- angle-rightCan I really introduce algebraic concepts to my second-grader?
- angle-rightThe exercises in my Singapore math workbooks are not enough for practice. Where can I find more?
Hi, my name is Kar-Hwee. I’m from Singapore and I teach Singapore math in the greater Boston area. I want to help teachers and parents adopt effective strategies in math education.
Singapore students are roughly THREE YEARS AHEAD of their peers in the U.S.
According to a recent article from the Economist, Singapore’s education system consistently produces students with strong foundation in math. While there are many factors that are not applicable here in the United States, some of these excellent results can be attributed to sound pedagogical strategies adopted as early as the 70’s, especially in math education at the elementary and middle school levels.
“Singapore’s education system is considered the best in the world. The country consistently ranks at the top of the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in the main three categories of maths (math), reading and science. Singaporean pupils are roughly three years ahead of their American peers in maths (math) .…” – The Economist (Aug-30-2018)
In recent years, some of these effective education strategies have been adopted into various curriculum in the United States and United Kingdom, either by adopting standard “Singapore Math” textbooks such as Math In Focus, Primary Mathematics or Maths No Problem, or incorporating them into state education standards, e.g.. EngageNY.
However, many teachers and parents who started using Singapore math materials make these mistakes…
Many teachers who are new to Singapore math assume that the textbooks and workbooks contain all they need to transition to the new curriculum. After all, “math is math”. Then as the semester progresses, they found that the topics in the textbooks and workbooks covers much more than the standards they have to deliver for the year.
Keep in mind: the textbooks were adopted from a different education system. Teachers and parents need to digest the information and come up with a set of effective lesson plans based on the given materials, adding and taking out materials as needed.
Furthermore, the exercises in the standard Singapore math workbooks are far from enough for adequate practice. Even in Singapore, teachers often source for more practice questions themselves or create new worksheets to supplement the workbooks.
The methods and strategies are proven education tools: we just need to understand them well to use them effectively.
With proper support and resources, schools, teachers and parents can fully understand the benefits of the pedagogy and know how to support their kids.
Our Story: Teaching the math we know
Several years ago, when our youngest child started elementary school, like many stay-at-home moms, I started to explore work opportunities that can fit with our family schedule. A neighbor knew I was an experienced math teacher from Singapore and asked if I could tutor her kids math since their school started using the Singapore math curriculum. That’s how it all got started.
As the tutoring group in my kitchen in our small suburban house, we decided to formally establish an after-school math enrichment program in our town, using a blend of materials from the Singapore math workbooks and our own worksheets. Words spread and parents from surrounding towns started to send their kids to our program for enrichment classes.
Many cities and towns in the US are already using Singapore math – However, there are not many professional development opportunities for teachers to fully understand the curriculum well.
Soon, I realized while some of our surrounding school districts are adopting Singapore math textbooks, the teachers needed more support than were available. Hence, I started to offer professional development workshops for schools in the greater Boston area.
At the same time, to help more teachers, I started to share our worksheets on a 3rd party website -TeachersPayTeachers. Over the years, our online resources grew. We have more than 200 sets of supplementary worksheets for grades 1 to 5 and close to 100 videos that explain key concepts and give quick examples for each topic. To help with planning and preparation, we also started sharing our whole year lesson plans. And that’s how this website was started.
Our Mission: Help teachers and parents succeed in teaching math using the pedagogical strategies from Singapore
We found that, aside from continuous professional development and support, teachers and parents would benefit most if they have these resources accessible to them year-round.
Whole Year Lesson Plans that meets common education standards and integrate across grades.
Supplementary worksheets that are challenging and engaging, based on sound pedagogy.
Short explanation videos from an experienced math coach that can be reviewed before each lesson.
What do Teachers and Parents need?
- angle-rightA plan for the yearA solid set of lesson plans is the key to a successful academic year. With it, you would know how to pace the teaching throughout the year and how concept and topics build upon each other across grades.
- angle-rightSupplementary Practice MaterialsWorksheets are the key ingredients to learning math. There is no substitution (yet) for working out problems with pencil on paper, drawing number bonds circles and bar models. Since these will be used regularly, it is important that they are well-organized and fit the chapters in the textbooks.
- angle-rightA Supportive and Accessible CoachYou need to be able to ask questions throughout the year, and be able to review lessons anytime you want. A comprehensive collection of short videos and an open online forum to ask questions and get support when you need them anytime throughout the year can be better than once a year PD workshops.
Continual support after training courses and workshops…
Besides offering professional development sessions at schools, I also give talks and facilitate workshops at various national conferences in the United States. Through these engagement, I realized that what teachers need most is not a one-time expert-led training course, but a consistent and reliable source of support they can go to for clarifications and resources.
After the workshops, many teachers came up to me and asked for my contact so that they can ask me questions by email. Many contact me mid-way through the semester, when they encounter an example I mentioned in the summer workshop but don’t seem to remember the details.
What if teachers can join a community of like-minded educators who are going through the same transition?
After a few teachers came back with similar questions, we started to realize that we can actually start a conversation among teachers and parents after the workshops, in a friendly online platform that is accessible throughout the year.
That is why we started the
TeachableMath Membership
The TeachableMath Membership supports teachers and parents who are using or interested in Singapore-based strategies for math education.
Our goal is to provide expert Singapore math support with a clear and structured plan that is integrated across grades, a community of like-minded educators to share ideas, as well as timely and useful resources to help teachers and parents support their kids to meet all learning objectives for each level.
- 1Expert Advice: Contact us via the members support forum or email us directly. We have years of experience teaching and coaching the program both in Singapore and the U.S.
- 2The power of community: use this community to connect with other teachers and parents who are using Singapore math and learn from each other.
- 3Relevant quality resources: We create our own worksheets for our classrooms use so they are constantly being updated. We also have lesson plans, videos and courses to help you grow as a teacher.
What People Are Saying…
“Helped me learn as teacher…”
“Your site have been a Godsend for me as I learn Singapore Math methods. The videos have been extremely helpful (lesson plans and worksheets too) for me as a teacher/learner and giving me a way to explain a concept to my students. THANK YOU!”
Member
– Teacher
“Well Organized Resources…”
“I work with a wide age and skill range of remedial math students. Your worksheets are so well labeled that I can easily find what I need to meet individual needs.”
Pinar Kidd
– Math Teacher
“Complements Singapore math workbooks…”
“Great worksheets my kids love the way it is laid out. Keeps their attention and they want to complete the worksheets. We use it with along with Primary Math Singapore Math so I have to pick and choose through some of the worksheets but overall it follows a similar path as the work we are learning in our books.”
– Parent
Free Trial Offer
We offer a 7-day free trial for you to try out the membership. During the trial period, you will have complete access to all membership resources. If you don’t find the program useful, just cancel your subscription before the end of the trial and your credit card will not be charged.
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“Support Teachers New to Singapore math…”
“This is our first year using Math in Focus and we are really appreciating all your products since they support all of our math work. The daily review has been VERY helpful.”
Stephanie T.
– Teacher
“Great way to review concepts…”
“This was very helpful to use with Singapore Math in my classroom. It reviews many of the things we have learned.”
Mae Beth R.
– Teacher
Kar Hwee Koh
Creator of TeachableMath
About the Author
Kar Hwee Koh, Ed. M., has been teaching math in premier schools in Singapore before relocating to Boston, MA. She has extensive experience as a math coach to new teachers, and is well versed in areas of problem solving heuristics, early algebraic thinking and lesson study. She speaks regularly at major national education conferences in the United States. In 2015, Kar Hwee started the Lexington Singapore School, to teach math using an integrated Singapore based math curriculum, adapted from her experience teaching the curriculum in Singapore.
Free Trial Offer
We offer a 7-day free trial for you to try out the membership. During the trial period, you will have complete access to all membership resources. If you don’t find the program useful, just cancel your subscription before the end of the trial and your credit card will not be charged.
Here’s Some Resources You Can Get
Resources Organized by Grades and Semester
Weekly Worksheets Delivery
Weekly email delivery of our morning work worksheets based on our lesson plans and selected for a spiral approach for a multi-year math program from grades 1 through 5. 16 sets of worksheets two semesters a year. More information.
Topic Based Resources
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100% Satisfaction Guarantee
You are fully protected by our 100% Satisfaction-Guarantee. If, for any reason, you don’t find this program useful, you can get a full refund anytime within 30 days after your first payment. Just get in touch with us to request for a refund.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some common questions about the TeachableMath Membership.
Would I have access to all grade resources if I purchase a membership or just one grade?
You will have access to all grade resources. We currently have materials for grades 1 through 5.
How does the free trial program work?
For all individual member plans (monthly, quarterly and yearly), you get 7-days to try the service for free. At the end of the free trail period, the credit card or Paypal account that you entered at registration will be charged. Note: the free trial offer is only for new individual plan members who have not had a free trial before. If your account has already used a free trial in the past, your credit card will be billed immediately upon signup. Please see the payment details on the registration form to see if the free trial is applied.
What is your refund policy?
We offer a 30-day money back guarantee. If you are not satisfied with the membership within 30 days of signing up, we will refund the full amount you’ve paid. Please write to us to request for a cancellation.
Is credit card payment secure?
Please be assured that we take security very seriously. Your credit card information is not stored on our site after registration. All credit card payments are handled through our payment gateway company – Stripe. All payment processing communications with Stripe are fully encrypted. You can read more about Stripe’s security measures here.
How do I cancel my subscription?
If you do not wish to continue with the membership, just log in to cancel your subscription and all future payments using the “Cancel your subscription” link in your membership account page prior to your next scheduled payment date.
Is this an online tutoring service?
This is not a tutoring program. Our videos and lesson plans are geared towards explaining to parents and teachers how to teach various concepts in Singapore math. The worksheets are for kids to work on, and we have recommended pacing schedule for parents who are using Singapore based math textbooks. Most of the worksheets come with answer keys so you can check your kids’ work yourself. In short, our program is meant to support teachers and parents in their teaching/coaching, and not directly towards kids.
Are there any limits on what I can download?
No. Members have full access to all our available materials. We do not limit the number of resources you can download each month.
Are there any restriction on how I use the materials from this website?
You may only use the resources, e.g. worksheets, videos, lesson plans, slides, apps etc, for your own teaching needs. You may not resell these materials for commercial profit in any form or manner. You also may not distribute any materials obtained from the membership to other teachers who are not members without our explicit permission.
I used to be a member, how do I sign up again?
If you already have an account, you need to first login with your password. You should then see a menu item on top that says “Account”. In this account page, please click on the link “Upgrade or change your subscription”.
Do you offer School and District Discounts?
Yes. In addition to exclusive group discounts, you also have the flexibility to add/replace members within your group, and consolidate a single payment for entire group. Read more about how our group membership works.
I am based in the UK / not based in the US, are your materials still relevant for me?
If you’re using textbooks developed from Singapore-based strategies, such as Inspire Maths or Maths No Problem, these resources would still be relevant, as the source curriculum and teaching philosophies are consistent with the US based textbooks such as Math In Focus and Primary Mathematics. Our materials are created from our experience and background teaching (and learning) the original curriculum in Singapore and teaching the adapted materials in the U.S. For the selected topics involving measurement units, we have included questions using Metric units along with the Imperial units. Teachers and parents in the UK and other countries can just skip the Imperial unit pages or change them to metric before using.
P.S.: This special rate is available for a limited time. Lock in your rate now before the price goes up. Your membership subscription will always renew at the locked-in rate.
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