Conquer Problem Sums

Conquer Problem Sums is an enhanced learning series of Math workbooks that complement existing school textbooks and workbooks used in Singapore’s schools. Developed by a panel of experienced teachers and heads of departments from top-performing schools in Singapore, these workbooks are meant to free children from the limited learning time in a classroom setting and be subject to unproductive drilling using assessment books. Conquer Problem Sums helps students to develop the required skills through practice and reinforcement.

Part of onSponge’s +hinkingMath programme is based on the merits of the workbook where students are equipped with the skills to tackle and solve any problem, as opposed to using rote learning techniques through specific formulas. The emphasis is on learning to solve problem sums by systematically extracting the relevant information from the question, then working through each step in the process to reach the solution.

The step-up in difficulty from lower primary to higher primary Mathematics has proven to be a challenge for most children because of a lack of preparation at lower primary level. The strategies and types of questions covered in this workbook give students a solid grounding in fundamentals and problem sum solving skills required to excel when they reach P5 and P6.

Conquer Problem Sums is tried, tested and proven to help learners of different abilities to reach their goals. The problem sum solving skills established by onSponge and detailed in this series of workbooks has directly contributed to the tremendous results for a local school in Singapore which, after adopting the Conquer Problem Sums workbooks in their Math classes, saw PSLE distinction rates improve dramatically from 58% to 79.4%. This was achieved by helping students to deduce the meaning of problem statements, rather than just to apply methods – a critical skill that we strive to develop in each student.

The key features of the Conquer Problem Sums series of workbooks:

Organised Structure – chapters are arranged by distinct mathematical topics, such as Division, Length, Time and Fractions to perfectly complement the structure of existing school textbooks
Key Concepts – each chapter is broken down into the key concepts within each topic
Working Examples – each key concept is supported with a working example that shows how to work through the solution to a problem sum, before posing a similar question for the student to practice their new skills