Singapore Math Strategies: Model Drawing for Grades 1-6

In this professional development course for teachers, you will get the training you need to start teaching model drawing, the powerful Singapore Math strategy that gives word problems a visual context. As a teacher, you know that many students groan when it's time to solve word problems. Why is that? Are the problems too difficult? Do students get lost trying to decipher the wording or figure out the computation? Do they simply not know which strategy to use? Actually, it's a combination of all these issues. Luckily, model drawing, a Singapore Math strategy for working word problems, will help your students start to enjoy math in a way they may never have before.

The secret behind model drawing is that it gives students a concrete, reliable set of seven steps that they can use to solve 80% of the word problems out there. They won't have to memorize 20 different techniques and know when to use which anymore. Instead, they will learn how to read the problem, determine its variables, draw a unit bar (the visual model), adjust that bar, place the question mark to indicate what they're solving for, do the computation, and write a complete sentence at the end.

Does it sound too good to be true? This course will prove just how effective model drawing can be in your classroom!

Note: To receive 25 hours of instruction in the State of Oregon, please ensure your school is eligible to issue professional development units, and that the course is approved by your professional learning coordinator.

6 Weeks / 24 Course Hrs

Starting June 17, 2020

Offered in Partnership with your Preferred School

ed2go

Why this school?

Change School

Learning Method

Instructor-led

Confirm your Start Date in Cart

Starting June 17 | July 15

Self-Paced

No instructor. Study on your own schedule

Singapore Math Strategies: Model Drawing for Grades 1-6

Details + Objectives
Course Code: 4sm

What You Will Learn

Get the training you need to start teaching model drawing
Understand how you can teach students new ways to look at common math problems
Learn how to incorporate model drawings to solve addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fraction, rate, ratio, and percentage problems

How the course is taught

Instructor-led or self-paced online course
6-12 weeks to complete
24 course hours

How you will benefit

Become more confident in your ability to teach even those students who really struggle with math
Learn a new way to teaching math that can make your students excited to learn
Achieve better overall classroom results in mathematics

Outline

Expand All

Discover Model Drawing

In your first lesson, you will discover a wonderful solution to your students' aversion to word problems—it's a Singapore Math strategy called model drawing, and it give students seven reliable steps that will help them solve every word problem they encounter.

Learn the Model Drawing Process

Are you ready to learn about your model drawing process? This lesson focuses on model drawing and how to read the problem. You will learn to determine variables, make a visual representation of the problem, adjust that model for problem information, do the computation, and write a final sentence.

Addition Word Problems

In this lesson, you will solve a variety of addition problems. Whether you teach first grade or sixth, it's helpful to know how to solve basic addition problems with model drawing. These are great learning exercises for older students because the computation is simple, and they can focus on the process.

Subtraction Word Problems

Subtraction word problems can be tricky. Sometimes it's hard to keep track of what goes where, and other times, it's confusing to do the math itself. This lesson focuses on harnessing the power of a visual model that shows students how the subtracted quantity fits into the problem.

Multiplication Word Problems

Remember those problems where Sally types 62 words per minute and you had to figure out how many words she types in 15 minutes? Well, guess what? These problems don't have to be as hard as they seem. In this lesson, you will learn how easy it is to show each quantity in your model drawings.

Division Word Problems

Now that you mastered multiplication problems, it's time to discover their cousin. Division word problems are often the ones students stumble on the most. But after this lesson, you will soon be gliding through them with ease. You will even discover how to solve those tricky before and after scenarios.

Fraction Word Problems

This lesson tackles fraction word problems that are easy to visualize with a unit bar model. You will be amazed by how much a simple model can help students understand complex fraction concepts.

Rate Word Problems

If you've ever needed to figure out how many miles you will get out of a few gallons of gas, you will appreciate this lesson on rate word problems. You will learn how to set up the two different things being compared in a typical rate problem (like miles per gallon or cookies per plate).

Ratio Word Problems

Now that you've discovered rates, it's time to learn about ratio problems. Imagine that you have 3 candy bars to Timmy's 1, and Jill has 2 to your 3. That's a 3:1:2 ratio. These problems don't have to be any more complex than multiplication problems—it's all about finding the base unit and working from there.

Percent Word Problems

This lesson introduces the Singapore approach to percent word problems The nice thing about percent problems is that most of the time, you're not working with more than 100%. With your handy percent ruler (a great model drawing trick), these problems become a snap.

Practice Word Problems

By now you may feel like a Singapore Math pro! In this lesson, you will have the opportunity to apply what you've learned so far in this course. This lesson focuses on solving word problems and matching a word problem to a pre-created model.

Using Model Drawing Every Day

Now that you've learned how to successfully integrate model drawing with so many kinds of word problems, you will learn how you can take all of this information into your classroom. This lesson is all about how to introduce model drawing the right way, how to practice before you present the lessons, and how to give your students ample opportunities to learn with you and on their own.

View All Sections

Instructors & Support

Anni Stipek

Anni Stipek holds bachelor's degree in Elementary Education and a minor in Special Education from University of Puget Sound. She has more than 20 years of experience in the K-12 classroom and worked as a Staff Development for Educators math consultant for five years. She has written and facilitates numerous online courses, including "The Foundations of Singapore Math Model Drawing Grades 1-6" and "The Foundations of Singapore Math Number Sense/Computation Strategies Grades 1-6."

Requirements

Prerequisites:

There are no prerequisites to take this course.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

This course can be taken on either a PC or Mac.

Software Requirements:

PC: Windows 8 or later.
Mac: OS X Snow Leopard 10.6 or later.
Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
Adobe Acrobat Reader. Click here to download the Acrobat Reader.
Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Materials

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

FAQs

Expand All

When can I get started?

Instructor-Led: A new session of each course begins each month. Please refer to the session start dates for scheduling.

Self-Paced: You can start this course at any time your schedule permits.

How does it work?

Instructor-Led: Once a session starts, two lessons will be released each week, for the 6 week duration of your course. You will have access to all previously released lessons until the course ends.

Self-Paced: You have three-month access to the course. After enrolling, you can learn and complete the course at your own pace, within the allotted access period.

How long do I have to complete each lesson?

Instructor-Led: The interactive discussion area for each lesson automatically closes 2 weeks after each lesson is released, so you're encouraged to complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.

Self-Paced: There is no time limit to complete each lesson, other than completing all lessons before your three-month access.

What if I need an extension?

Instructor-Led: The Final Exam will be released on the same day as the last lesson. Once the Final Exam has been released, you will have 2 weeks plus 10 days to complete the Final and finish any remaining lessons in your course. No further extensions can be provided beyond these 10 days.

Self-Paced: Because this course is self-paced, no extensions will be granted after the start of your enrollment.

Browse All