1. Bar Model Method in Primary Mathematics
5 Dec 2013 | MAV Annual Conference
Dr Yeap Ban Har
yeapbanhar@gmail.com
Marshall Cavendish Institute
Slides are available at
www.banhar.blogspot.com
The Merlion by Yeap Ken Min

2. | Hanusek, Jamison, Jamison & Woessmann 2008

3. “Upon separation from Malaysia in 1965, Singapore
was faced with … high levels of unemployment and
poverty. 70% of Singapore’s households lived in badly
overcrowded conditions, and a third of its people
squatted in slums on the city fringes. Unemployment
averaged 14%, GDP per capita was less than $2,700,
and half of the population was illiterate. “

4. Seely Place Elementary School, New York
 Using concrete and
pictorial representations
help students acquire
abstract ideas

5. Escuela de Guetamala, Chile
6
6
6
6

6. Example 0
Typical Word Problems
Let’s warm up with a typical textbook problem.
Sumin has 1135 local coins.
He has three times as many foreign coins as
local coins.
Sumin puts the coins equally into 5 boxes.

7. Sumin has 1135 local coins.
He has three times as many foreign coins as
local coins.
number of
local coins
1135
number of
foreign coins
number of foreign coins
=
3 x 1135
=
3300 + 105
=
3405

8. Sumin puts the coins equally into 5 boxes.
number of
local coins
number of
foreign coins
3405

9. Sumin puts the coins equally into 5 boxes.
4540  5 = 
There are  coins in each box.

10. Example 1
Learning Basic Ideas
1 2

3 3

11. Seely Place Elementary School, New York

12. Seely Place Elementary School, New York

13. Example 2
2x 1  5
Learning Basic Ideas
1
5

14. Example 2
2x 1  5
2x  5 1
Learning Basic Ideas
1
5

15. Example 3
The ratio of the number of boys to the
number of girls in a school is 6 : 5 .
There are 1353 children in the school.
What questions can we answer?

16. Example 4

17. Box B contains twice as many books as Box A. Box C contains 20
more books than Box A. Together, the three boxes contains 116
books.

18. Box B contains twice as many books as Box A. Box C contains 20
more books than Box A. Together, the three boxes contains 116
books.

19. Box B contains twice as many books as Box A. Box C contains 20
more books than Box A. Together, the three boxes contains 116
books.

20. B
A
C
116
20

21. B
4 units = 116 - 20
4 units = 96
1 units = 96  4
A
116 - 20
1 units = 20 + 4 = 24
What questions can we answer?
C
20

22. Box B contains twice as many
books as Box A. Box C
contains 20 more books than
Box A. Together, the three
boxes contains 116 books.
Edgewood Elementary School, New York

23. x + 2x + x + 20 = 116
4x = 116 – 20 = 96
x = 96  4 = …
x
A
x
C
Edgewood Elementary School, New York
B
x
x
116
20

24. Example 5 Homework
A challenging problem for Primary 5.

25. Lesson 
Date //

26. Lesson 
Date //
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342
76%