Senior Specialist Teacher
Profile of my Student—Ethan
Meet Ethan (name changed), a 12-year-old Primary 6 student who has opted for Foundation Mathematics at the PSLE level. While Ethan shows interest in math at times, his motivation fluctuates, and he experiences anxiety during test and exam situations. He can learn times tables and grasp new concepts for short-answer questions, but memory lapses occur when faced with similar problems later.
Ethan struggles particularly with word problems, often forgetting the sequence of steps or the equations needed to solve them. At home, he lacks academic support, as his parents juggle full-time jobs and are unsure how to help with his specific learning difficulties. Diagnosed with Dyslexia and ADHD, Ethan faces additional challenges in staying focused and retaining key concepts.
Strategies to Support Ethan
1. Building a Connection & Leveraging Strengths
- Encouraging open dialogue – To better understand Ethan’s strengths, I maintain ongoing conversations throughout the lessons.
- Incorporating personal interests – I allow him to bring objects, pets, or toys that he enjoys, creating opportunities for discussion and engagement.
- Using creativity to build confidence –
I encourage Ethan to illustrate his ideas and stories, reinforcing a sense of achievement. His artwork is sometimes displayed in the classroom, much to the admiration of his peers.
2. Reviewing and Reinforcing Core Concepts
- Starting with a review
Each lesson begins with a review of previously learned concepts. I use a whiteboard and Ethan’s jotter book, which contains notes and color-coded examples from past lessons, to reteach forgotten topics. - Using structured visual support For concepts like converting fractions to decimals or percentages, I use:
- Table comparisons to highlight connections.
- Manipulatives to represent and solve
equations visually.
3. Strengthening Times Table Mastery
Reinforcing recall with different approaches –
- Presenting times table equations in various formats and sequences to help Ethan recognise patterns.
- Using verbal recitation and short quizzes to build fluency.
- Referring to a times table chart to strengthen recall.
- Introducing new times table challenges, like listing common factors and multiples after solving related problems.
4. Developing Exam Strategies
To help Ethan manage test anxiety and improve performance, I focus on practical exam strategies:
1. Using past year’s papers to practice time management
- Prioritising questions he feels confident answering first.
- Circling challenging questions and returning to them later.
- Timed practice to anticipate test conditions
2. Attempting sample questions with a timer to gauge pacing.
- Active reading strategies for word problems
3. Highlighting keywords and numbers in questions.
- Reading longer problems at least twice to improve understanding.
Final Thoughts
Supporting a struggling Primary 6 Foundation Math learner like Ethan requires structured learning, individualised strategies, and confidence-building techniques. Beyond academic content, it’s essential to foster resilience and encourage perseverance, helping students shift their mindset from “I can’t do math” to “I can learn math my way.”
Through targeted interventions, interactive methods, and an emphasis on strengths, Ethan is beginning to see progress—not just in math ability, but in self-belief. With consistent support and positive reinforcement, every small step forward leads to long-term academic growth.