P6 Maths tuition, online
Every MOE topic in the P6 Maths syllabus, the error that most often costs marks in each, and the seven heuristics that separate AL3 from AL1.
The 23 topics, and what goes wrong in each
This is the full P6 Maths syllabus as I teach it. The right-hand column is the error I see most often, not the definition.
| Topic | What usually goes wrong |
|---|---|
| Whole numbers, order of operations | Left-to-right instead of the correct order, on questions with mixed operators |
| Factors, multiples, HCF and LCM | HCF used where LCM is needed. The word problem hides which one it wants. |
| Fractions, four operations | Dividing by a fraction without inverting; mixed numbers left unconverted |
| Fraction word problems | Fraction taken of the wrong whole, of the remainder rather than the original |
| Decimals | Rounding at the wrong step, so the final answer drifts |
| Ratio | Using the before-ratio where the after-ratio is needed. The single commonest P6 error I see. |
| Ratio word problems | Not spotting which quantity stayed constant |
| Percentage | Percentage increase computed on the new value instead of the original |
| Algebra | Substituting before simplifying, then arithmetic errors compound |
| Algebra word problems | Letting the letter stand for the wrong quantity |
| Speed | Units not converted, km/h against minutes |
| Average speed | Averaging the two speeds instead of total distance over total time |
| Circles | Radius and diameter swapped; leaving π when a decimal is wanted |
| Composite figures | Double-counting or omitting an overlapping region |
| Area and perimeter | Perimeter of a composite shape that includes an internal edge |
| Volume | Rate-of-filling questions where the container changes cross-section |
| Angles in figures | Assuming a line is straight or a triangle isosceles when the diagram only looks it |
| Quadrilaterals | Properties of a rhombus and a parallelogram confused |
| Nets and solids | Opposite faces of a cube net misidentified |
| Average | Working back from an average to a missing value |
| Pie charts | Reading a fraction of the circle as a fraction of the total when the total is unknown |
| Tables and graphs | Answering from the axis label rather than the plotted value |
| Heuristics | See below. This is where most marks are actually lost |
Heuristics: the part that separates AL3 from AL1
Content knowledge gets a child to about AL3. The last stretch is almost entirely about recognising which method a word problem is asking for. There are seven that come up repeatedly.
- Units and parts, converting a ratio into equal units before anything else
- Before and after, spotting what changed and what stayed constant
- Gap and difference, working from a difference that is preserved across a change
- Repeated identity . The same quantity described two ways in one question
- Supposition, assume all of one kind, then correct
- Working backwards, starting from the end state
- Remainder concept, fractions of what is left, not of the original
Sessions 17 to 19 of the programme are a heuristics block for exactly this reason, and it sits in June so there is still a term to apply it.
How P6 Maths is taught here
A paper before every lesson
Sat at home, entered in the portal, auto-marked before class starts.
30-minute crash quiz
Timed, in class, on the day's topics. Marks itself when the timer stops.
Then only the misses
Both the quiz and the paper are walked through in the order most of the class failed them.
Every single day
Weekdays 8 to 10pm, weekends 9 to 11am, every day of the holiday window.
Questions about P6 Maths tuition
My child is fine in school but drops marks in exams. Is that a Maths problem?
Usually not. It is normally one of three things: misreading the question, running out of time, or not checking. All three look identical on a report card and need completely different fixes, which is why every question here is timed and tagged rather than just marked.
Do you teach the model method or algebra?
Both, and I teach when to abandon one for the other. Some P6 questions are three lines in algebra and a page in models. A child who only has one method loses marks on speed rather than understanding.
How much homework is there?
One full past paper before every lesson, so one a day during a course. Working goes on paper by hand, final answers go into the portal, and it marks itself the moment they submit. Roughly 60 to 90 minutes depending on the paper.
Do you teach Science as well?
Maths only is all I teach. If your child needs Science too, you will need a second tutor for it, and I would rather say that than stretch into a subject I have not built the papers and marking for.
20 seats. One paper a day.
Online P6 Maths crash courses in the school holidays, one past paper a day. Trusted by Raffles Girls' Primary parents: both my current students come from RGPS, and both went from failing to AL2.
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