Singapore Math (A REVIEW)

Over the past few weeks we have had the chance to get to know a new math program from Singapore Math Inc. called Dimensions Math PK-5. We have used Singapore Math books in the past, but this one is different. It has so much more than a lesson and some book work. My 2nd grade boy just loved all the hands on opportunities, and it really changed his attitude about math. He doesn't necessarily "beg" to do math, but he knows that there is always a fun game or activity included in the lesson each day we do it. Unless of course he doesn't finish his workbook pages in which case he spends a day catching up in his workbook. But, usually for every lesson we start there's something cool to do (hands-on) with each one in this math program.

The beginning of our first lesson all ready to go! There is a small amount of prep in gathering and preparing some of the supplies for these lessons.

For this review we received the hard copies of 3 different books for the Dimensions Math level 2A: Dimensions Math Teacher's Guide 2A, Dimensions Math Textbook 2A, and Dimensions Math Workbook 2A. All three books are needed for each of the lessons as both the textbook and the workbook are both used throughout the teacher's guide. I was also given information for the Blackline Masters website in the teacher's guide. I used that to print up some of the manipulatives needed for the lessons.

Blackline Masters website by Singapore Math with a page specifically for the Dimensions Math users. I was able to freely print as many copies as I needed of things that are used frequently in the lessons (not workbook pages though).

Before we started I had to round up a few math manipulatives on my own because there are a few necessary items needed for the lessons. Some I had on hand already from past math curriculum, and some I had to purchase on my own. It made sense for me to also purchase a small plastic box to put just the things we use for Dimensions Math lessons so we could quickly access them each day because a lot of the manipulatives are used in several lessons.

I purchased a plastic box for all the manipulatives that I rounded up.

The items inside the box include: Base ten blocks (I had these), straws (I had these), place-value discs (I had to purchase these, but these things are the best and so worth it), dice, printable cards from the blackline masters (that we used in the first few lessons), and chalk. I have just added items as the lessons go on.

The contents of the manipulatives box. Ignore the fidget spinner, it's not necessarily a part of the manipulatives, although it was used during math time (he likes to spin it to see if he can finish problems before it stops).

Dimensions Math Teacher's Guide 2A:

This book is pretty packed with information. It is also a bit bigger than an average teacher's book. It's wider and taller than the Workbook and Textbook which can be a little cumbersome, but I can see why. And, because of that the pages are nice and big with bigger print so it is easy to follow when going through a lesson. The Teacher's Guide has instructions for everything to help the teacher feel confident in how to teach the lessons and do the activities as it is broken down into each section with suggestions on what to say and how to approach each question. I really like the flow of this Teacher's Guide. I also like that it's spiral bound, it makes the size easier to deal with.

Teacher's Guide

Dimensions Math Textbook 2A

The Textbook. Basically, this is the book that the child is looking at while the teacher is looking at the teacher's guide. The textbook is how the child walks through the lesson and new concept with the teacher as the teacher talks with the child through it. I love that it isn't written in, so the child is asked to do a lot of things in their head, or use a dry erase board, or some other medium of choice. We chose to use a dry erase board, mental math, drawing in the air, or manipulatives for the questions in this book. It has full color pages, and it's easy to read and follow.

Textbook for the child

Dimensions Math Workbook 2A

The workbook is for the child to do their math practice in after the lesson. They can write in this, and it has several pages for each day's lesson. It is printed all black and white (except for the cover), so it is a consumable workbook, and easy for the teacher to correct. This was my son's least favorite part, but he still has a good time working through it when he has a good attitude.

Workbook for the child

What does a lesson look like?

This can vary for everyone, but for us it was pretty much following the teacher's guide and textbook through together, talking and solving problems together, and then playing the suggested activity or game at the end. Followed by him working on the workbook pages on his own with my help as needed.

Our first lesson went so smooth, and he loved it.

Some of the talking through the lesson involved manipulatives. These manipulatives pictured below are ones I printed from the blackline masters webpage.

Using the place value number cards from blackline masters.

There are also suggestions for picture books that can be read as a supplement to the lesson. I loved this aspect, and checked out pretty much every suggested one and more! We read books like this one: Sir Cumference and All the King's Tens, A Math Adventure.

A page from the Sir Cumference book. It went right along with what he's learning in the Dimensions Math 2A lesson 1.

Some other books we checked out. Most of these were suggested in the lesson, others were ones I just picked up.



Did he still like it after the first week?

Yes he did! He knew that we'd do fun stuff like play with these place value disks. And, I think that he loved that we did it together. It is pretty teacher involved, and sometimes that's a lot for me, but I've valued this time together to really help him understand. I also feel like we are just "playing" math together.

Love those disks and playing math together. I highly suggest purchasing those disks with this math 2A program.

Counting those disks was his favorite thing.

Some examples from his work:

We used the white board a lot during the lessons. Small ones and big ones. He loved it.

An example of some of the work he did in a lesson.

Completed pages from the workbook (with my correction markings):

He was feeling very silly this day. We had a talk about going in a straight line.

Some problems are just the drills, but there are some problems that make him think. This challenge problem was just the challenge he needed.

Games:

This was his favorite part, and even though they take a bit of time and prep work, I loved them too. We didn't get to all the games at the end of the lessons. But, when we did he surprised me with how much he loved them.

This race to 100 game, for example. He wanted to play this a few times. Even his 5th grade brother joined us for the 2nd game. It's pretty fun rolling dice to see how fast you can get to 100, while switching out ones for tens, and tens for 100.

This was another active game that I thought was excellent for my busy boys. We used masking tape on our living room floor as it was too cold to do chalk outside (both were suggested in the book), and the brothers jumped out numbers for the other to guess. Of course, they wanted to jump a ton and make huge numbers, but it was pretty fun.

This video gives a little glimpse of how the game is played. So fun.


I really have a lot of love for this new math program. It is hands-on, repetitive enough to help them get the concepts down, and there are books involved. All things I love about learning any subject. I highly recommend the Dimensions Math PK-5 program.

If you want to see what other members of the review crew thought about this and other levels you can click on the image below.