Singapore Math: A SmartBoard Intro to the Bar Model - 3rd - 5th Grade

Looking for a great, concrete strategy to help your students break down word problems? Using the Singapore Math Bar Model for solving word problems is a terrific way for students to organize their thinking, concretely show the students what the elements of the word problem are, and help them understand word problems on a more fundamental level. Further, having them really investigate the questions and the relationship between information in the problem helps them think critically about the problem and think of a logical solution. As students use this method, they are thinking algebraically, identifying the missing variable and solving for it. However, this ingenious method of representing numerical values and relationships with a symbolic bar helps to simplify even the most complex of problems.

In this interactive SmartBoard presentation, students are introduced to the Singapore Math method of using the Bar Model to solve word problems. Students learn the steps of the Bar Model method, and are walked through three problems. At the end of the presentation, there is an opportunity to work collaboratively to try out this new strategy as they guess what might be behind boxes, fill in the blanks, and work as a class to solve six additional word problems.

Help your students REALLY understand word problems and basic pre-Algebra!