Model Method

Ever teach kids math using the Model Method but discovered that you do not know how to draw the diagram? If you have, you might want to know that you are not alone. Many parents are facing the same problem as you simply because you were not taught Math this way when you were young. The Model building approach to solving word problems was developed locally years ago by Hector Chee, a very experienced Mathematics teacher, and has since been widely used in the teaching of kids math in primary schools (or elementary schools if you prefer) in Singapore. Kids in Singapore are introduced to the method from as young as Primary One (the equivalent of Grade One).

Students in Singapore (and probably everywhere else) typically find word problems difficult due to various reasons: they are weak in the Mathematical language; they have limited understanding of the arithmetic operations; they are unable to relate the knowns to the unknowns when the problem structure is difficult to understand; and they are unable to analyze problem situations.

This method is especially useful when: you teach kids who respond better to visual stimuli (e.g. pictures, drawings, etc); you try to provide math homework help but the conventional methods do not really work well with your kids; and your kids has not learnt algebra yet and solving the math problems with algebra is not an option.

However, without proper guidance, you may not be able to experience the full benefits of the Model Method. We have therefore created this website to share with you how the Model Method is applied to different scenarios so that you could confidently teach kids math problems even when you do not have prior knowledge of the Model Method. The Model Method essentially becomes a good entry level tool to help the kids understand and break the questions down into component parts making solving and learning math a breeze.

The model approach requires kids to draw rectangular boxes to represent part-whole relationships and math values (both known or unknown values) in the math 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 visualize the math problems more clearly and are able to make tacit knowledge explicit. Word problem solving is a major part of the curriculum in Primary Mathematics in Singapore.

This technique of model building is a visual way of picturing a situation. Instead of forming simultaneous equations and solving for the variables, model building involves using blocks or boxes to solve the problem. The power of using models can be best illustrated by problems, often involving fractions, ratios or percentages, which appear difficult but if models can be drawn to show the situation, the solution becomes clearer, sometimes even obvious.