9 SECRETS

TO MASTER THE

SINGAPOREAN
MATH MODEL
BY AARON CHUA
 FOREWORD
In this e-book, you will be presented 9 different
concepts to help you gain a better understanding
of how the Singaporean Math Model works.
These concepts are especially important as 100%
of the Singaporean Schools are currently using
this approach. For your child to be able to cope
with Mathematics in school, it is important that as
a parent we understand these concepts so that
we are able to guide our children. I sincerely
hope that you and your child will benefit greatly
from this guide.

Yours Sincerely,
Aaron Chua
What is the model method?

The model approach requires kids to draw

rectangular boxes to represent part-whole
relationships and math values in the word
problems. The word problems are typically
designed to depict real-life situations such
as grocery shopping and division of money.

By drawing such boxes/blocks, they can

picture the math problems more clearly in
their heads.
Part-Whole Concept
Hannah has 4 erasers. Derek has 1 eraser.
How many erasers do they have altogether?

1) Give them some concrete items (erasers) and let the child put the
two groups of erasers together to find the total.

2) Draw boxes to represent each item

4 erasers 1 eraser

WHOLE

PART PART

PART + PART = WHOLE

WHOLE - PART = PART
 Change Concept
Hannah has 3 erasers. Derek gives Hannah 1 more
eraser. How many eraser does Hannah have now?

1) Give the child some concrete items (3 erasers), increase the total
number by adding 1 more eraser.

2) Draw boxes to represent each item

3 erasers 1 eraser

NEW VALUE

ORIGINAL INCREASE

ORIGINAL + INCREASE = NEW VALUE

NEW VALUE - ORIGINAL = INCREASE
Comparison Concept
Eugene has 3 erasers and 2 pencils.
How much more erasers than pencils does he have?
1) Give them some concrete items and let the child match 1
eraser to 1 pencil. He will realise that one of the erasers
cannot be matched to a pencil.

2) Draw boxes to represent each item

3 erasers

2 pencils ?

LARGER QUANTITY

SMALLER QUANTITY DIFFERENCE

LARGER - SMALLER = DIFFERENCE

SMALLER + DIFFERENCE = LARGER
Place Holder Concept
5+_=8

1) Draw a box to represent the value 5.

2) Since the sign is "+", add a dot and arrow to the right
(if the sign is "-" then add a dot and arrow to the left)

3) Draw box to fill up the arrow and add the final value in.

5 ?
8

8-5=?
8-5=3
 Remainder Concept
Stanley gave 1/5 of his monthly salary to his mother.
He gave 3/4 of the remainder to his wife and saved
the rest each month. He managed to save $400
every month. How much did he earn a month?
1) Draw a long box to represent Stanley's total salary.

Stanley

2) Divide it in to 5 parts, 1 part given to his mother.

Stanley

Mother

3) After giving 1 part to his mother, there are 4 parts left. Out
of the four parts, 3 parts are given to his wife.

Stanley

Mother Wife

4) He is left with one part which is $400

Stanley $400

Mother Wife

$400 X 5 = $2000
 Equal Concept
1/5 of A is equal to 1/2 of B. A is greater than B by
30. What is the value of A and B?
1) Draw a long box to represent A and divide in to 5 parts.

2) Next, draw a box below A to show the part of B that is equal

3) Since the 1 box of B represents 1/2 of B we will need to add

another box to show the full value of B

B 30

3 boxes = 30
1 box = 10
A = 5 boxes = 50
B = 2 boxes = 20
 Repeated Variable
Concept
Audrey has 3 times as much money as Hannah. Evelyn
has twice as much money as Audrey. If Evelyn has
$30 more than Hannah, how much money does
Audrey have?

1) Draw 3 boxes to represent Audrey's money. 1 box to

represent Hannah's money.

A
H

2) Since Evelyn has twice as much money as Audrey. Evelyn

has 6 boxes.

A
H
E

$30

5 boxes = $30
1 box = $6
Audrey = 3 boxes = $15
 Constant Difference
Concept
Aaron had 14 pens and Eugene had 2 pens. When they
received an equal number of pens from their teacher,
the ratio of Aaron's pens to Eugene's pens became 3:1.
How many pens did each of them receive from their
teacher?

1) Draw the end state of 3 : 1.

A
E

2) Mark out an equal amount in Aaron's and Eugene's Model

A
E Amount transferred in
(received from their teacher)

3) Add in the number of pens they had at first

14

A 2 2 2
E 2

14 - 6 = 8
2 box = $8
= $4
 Constant Quantity
Concept
Hannah had thrice as many hats as Derek. After
Hannah gave away 10 hats, she had half as many hats
as Derek. How many hats did Derek and Hannah each
had at first?

1) Draw the boxes to represent Hannah and Derek

H
D

2) Derek remains the same while Hannah becomes half of

Derek after giving 10 hats away.
10

H
D

5 boxes = 10
1 box = 2
Hannah = 6 boxes = 12
Derek = 2 boxes = 4
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