Top 3 P5 Math Challenges for Students: Expert Tips to Help Your Child Succeed

Hi Mummies and Daddies!

I’ll be sharing 3 challenges your child may face in P5 Math and more importantly, how we can work together to equip him/her to tackle them 💪🏼

Challenge 1️⃣: Your child will learn new, more challenging topics from scratch while tackling higher-order questions from lower primary Math topics!

In P5, he/she will be exposed to longer problem sums as compared to P4. And this can be daunting if he/she doesn’t have the right step-by-step methods to break the questions down to solve them correctly!

Your child’s end goal is the PSLE Math exam and P6 Math topics are an extension of P5 topics.

To prepare your child to score his/her desired AL score in PSLE Math, he/she must build a strong foundation in the new and existing topics in the P5 Math curriculum!

How The Pique Lab can help your child overcome this challenge

In our Math notes, we distilled a series of common question types associated with each topic and included a comprehensive range of fundamental to advanced questions.

Additionally, we included little notes to remind your child of what to take note of when applying a particular concept or problem-solving technique to avoid losing precious marks!

Challenge 2️⃣: Your child will need to master sufficient Math problem-solving techniques, not just model-drawing!

To score well in P5 Math, model-drawing is not enough.

He/she must also master a wide range of problem-solving techniques to deal with larger numbers and more complicated intermediate steps effectively!

How The Pique Lab can help your child overcome this challenge

We’ll be teaching your child how to approach model-drawing in a structured manner, sharpening his/her model-drawing techniques.

Besides that, we’ll be covering key problem-solving techniques he/she must know to tackle P5 Math questions easier, better and faster.

On top of that, we’ll also be sharing simple answering techniques that your child can use to break down longer P5 Math problem sums such as the STAR approach ⭐️

Challenge 3️⃣: Your child will have to sit for 2 papers and use a calculator for the first time!

Besides having to sit for two different papers over a longer period, your child will also be allowed to use a calculator for the first time.

But here’s the thing:

⚠️ Your child can only use the calculator in Paper 2. If he/she doesn’t learn how to use it effectively, he/she is likely to waste his/her precious time and not save it!

⚠️ Since your child is not allowed to use the calculator in Paper 1, he/she must still be able to do manual calculations quickly and precisely to score well.

How The Pique Lab can help your child overcome this challenge

Our in-class exercises and homework are also compilations of past year exam questions that your child will get to practise weekly and better understand how certain Math concepts can be tested in Papers 1 and 2.

We also conduct topical tests periodically to help your child familiarise himself/herself with attempting questions under timed conditions, which is especially important now that the mid-year exams are cancelled for primary school students.

Join our P5 Math Weekly Classes as early as this November

Even high-performing students in P4 often experience a drop in their Math results when they move up to P5!

But with the right help, your child can ease into P5 Math and excel!

When your child enrolls with us this November, we will help your child build a strong foundation in P5 Math by introducing a series of problem-solving techniques tailored to prepare him/her for the new and challenging question types he/she will face.

What will your child be learning during the P5 Math Headstart?

During the P5 Math headstart, we will introduce the 4 Change Strategies, which are problem-solving techniques that can be used for the topics of Whole Numbers, Fractions, Ratio, Percentage, and Decimals.

• Lesson 1: One Item Unchanged
• Lesson 2: Total Unchanged
• Lesson 3: Difference Unchanged
• Lesson 4: Everything Changed (‘Must attend’ for high-achieving students)

Example Questions for the 4 Change Strategies

Lesson 1: One Item Unchanged

Adam had two times as much money as Kai Jie at first. Adam then gave $33 to his brother. At the end, Adam has $16 more than Kai Jie. How much money did Adam have at the end?

Lesson 2: Total Unchanged

Abel had twice as many marbles as Viana. After Abel gave Viana some marbles, each of them had 60 marbles. How many marbles did Abel have at first?

Lesson 3: Difference Unchanged

Mr Tan is 5 times as old as his daughter. If his daughter is 9 years old now, in how many years’ time will Mr Tan’s age be twice that of his daughter?

Lesson 4: Everything Changed

Jewel had 3 times as many cards as stamps. After she gave away 186 cards and 27 stamps, there were twice as many stamps as cards. How many cards did Jewel have in the end?

4 Change Strategies: Model Method & Unitary Method

Model and Unitary Methods are effective strategies in solving P5 Math questions that involve the 4 Change Strategies.

To help your child use the Model Method effectively, we will teach them 5 model drawing tips to draw models clearer and faster. Click the thumbnail below to watch how your child can apply the Model Method to a One Item Unchanged question type!

Your child will also be learning how to use the Unitary Method and ACE™ Methodology when approaching the same questions*. Click the thumbnail below to watch how your child can apply the Unitary Method to a One Item Unchanged question type!

*We’ll only be exposing your child to the Unitary Method for the Everything Changed question type in P6!

By introducing your child to both methods, we help him/her discover which technique works better for them, especially during the Math weighted assessments and end-of-year examinations when they are given a limited amount of time.

Learn more about The Pique Lab‘s P5 Math Headstart

If you want to learn more about our upcoming P5 Math headstart and how you can enrol your child, click this link now! We look forward to seeing your child soon ☺️