Singapore P6 Fractions — from equivalent fractions and simplest form through the four operations and division by a fraction, to the remainder chains, transfers and unchanged-quantity problems that carry the marks in Paper 2.
What the PSLE asks about fractions
Fractions at P6 runs from equivalent fractions and simplest form through the four operations to division by a fraction, which is new at this level. In the PSLE Math paper the early skills appear as multiple-choice and short-answer questions, while the word problems that carry the larger marks are structured: a remainder chain, a transfer between two people, or a problem in which one quantity does not change.
The most common way to lose marks is not in the arithmetic, it is in the question of what the fraction is a fraction of. In a remainder chain each fraction is taken from what is left, not from the original amount, and a pupil who takes every fraction from the start will calculate carefully and arrive at the wrong answer.
Finding the unit before multiplying, rather than reaching for a rule
Most fraction errors come from applying a rule without a picture of what it means. The course asks a pupil to find one unit first, by dividing the total by the denominator, and only then to multiply for the number of units needed. Dividing by a fraction is taught as the question of how many of the second fraction fit into the first, so the reciprocal makes sense instead of being a trick to remember.
In the word problems the same method is drawn. A bar for the whole, cut into equal units, shows what has been taken, what is left and what has been passed on, and the unchanged quantity is easy to spot because it is the one part of the bar that does not move.
What comes with the course
The seven lessons below carry the teaching, each with a worked example, and a free account is enough to read them. The practice that follows is where the repetition happens: multiple-choice, short-answer and structured questions in the style of the paper, which a pupil can attempt as often as they like, at any hour. Bar-model practice sits with the lesson on fraction word problems.
There are 73 timed topic tests for rehearsing under exam conditions, so that a method that works at the kitchen table can be seen to hold when the clock is running.