Grade 1 and 2 math in Thailand

[Nepal4me]

My son has just started grade 2 in an Int'l school in BKK and this year. I spoke with the teacher and they really don't do multiplication and division in G2, it starts in G3. This seems really late to me. In G1, they focused on really really basic numeracy tasks. 5 plus 8 = 13. They explained to me, and this did make a lot of sense, that kids learn differently and you need to make sure they have a strong foundation. So 5+8=13 is not so simple as you or I would assume it to be. They do this math different ways, i.e.

quantities:, a picture of 5 apples and a picture of 8 apples, how many apples are there?

number line: drawing a line from 0 to 5 on a number then going from 5 to 13 on the line.

word problems: Susi has 5 apples, her mother gives her 8 more, how many apples does she have?

Once I understood the value of these different types of ways of building a good mathematical foundation (and with the help of google), I was less concerned with the level of basic math they were teaching but I still don't understand why they can't teach at a higher level as well.

My son, who is good at math but not the best easily understands multiplication, mostly because he's been studying Abacus for over a year, he also understands division and can do it with no difficulty but I know he doesn't have a firm grounding in division like he does in addition or even in multiplication.

Are all int'l schools waiting until G3 or Y4 (british) to teach multiplication? What about Thai school? Is G3/Y4 too late?

[Puyai]

From my understanding it is grade 3 when they start multiplication and division. Your child might be capable but there are others in his class. There is a curriculum and that is what they are following.

[joeyswags]

Hi,

I've been teaching at Grade 1 at an EP school in BKK for just shy of 10 years. I cant speak for International Schools, but we do begin with the basics of multiplication and division (I call it grouping) at the end of Grade 1. Some kids brains are mature enough to handle it, others are simply not ready.

I do agree that a solid foundation of addition and subtraction concepts are a must, and I teach it till it hurts their little brains.

As for your example of 8 + 5 = 13, we break even that down by first "making 10" with 8 by breaking down 5 to 2 and 3 then just add 10 + 3 to get 13. I try not to let them just memorize the numbers but understand how to break them down and visualize what they are doing.

All that said, my son is in Grade 2 at my school and he is reading fine, but it still takes him a while to add. He understands the concepts of + - x / but its not automatic. Different kids develop different skills at different times. Classes should be structured to have all kids reach their current potential. If you feel your kid is ready to handle the multiplication then go ahead and introduce it at home

Happy studying

[GirlDrinkDrunk]

my kid was doing multiplication in an international kindergarten, EP school Gr1 not yet.

[Nepal4me]

Indeed they are following a curriculum, that isn't the issue.

The question is: Is G3/Y4 too late to introduce multiplication? Should it start in G1?

From my understanding it is grade 3 when they start multiplication and division. Your child might be capable but there are others in his class. There is a curriculum and that is what they are following.

[Puyai]

I personally think that grade 1 is to early to start multiplication or division. Don't get me wrong, there will be some students capable of understanding the process, but certainly not the majority. It's all about building so why start on the second floor?

[Nepal4me]

I personally think that grade 1 is to early to start multiplication or division. Don't get me wrong, there will be some students capable of understanding the process, but certainly not the majority. It's all about building so why start on the second floor?

Division is much more difficult so I'm not suggesting that for G1. However waiting until G3 seems too long for multiplication. My son has just started G2 and this entire year, he still won't be doing even multiplication.

My son could perform division in G1 but only because he studied the Abacus outside of school so he had a huge advantage. Also he likes math because he's good at it anyway. Clearly not all kids have those 2 advantages but I suspect most of the G1 kids could easily handle multiplication, especially in the 2nd half of the year. Does it make educational sense to not teach higher levels of math to those that can handle it? I mean having whole classrooms of kids go through G2 without multiplication when they could have started understanding it in the 2nd half of G1? That seems 18 months too late.

I'm all for them getting grounding in adding and subtracting but are we dumbing our kids down but not challenging them?