Purpose:
To help 3rd to 5th graders prepare for Math Kangaroo (Thursday, March 15, 2018)
The period of time between 3rd-5th grade is critical to the development of students’ math skills!
Math Kangaroo is the United States’ most recognized, and the best math competition for elementary school students！
- We will help students gain a deeper understanding of the fundamental math concepts, build a solid foundation in math, and develop the critical thinking and problem-solving skills, motivation, and perseverance for reaching their full potential. All these things are not available through regular classes at school!
- We will focus on efficient tricks, shortcuts, and strategies to solve Math Kangaroo problems as well as test-taking tactics.
- We will utilize a highly effective teaching model as described in the article: Small-sized Class Instruction-focused Model.
11 Classes (Eastern Time: 10:00 – 12:00 am), Total: 22 Hours
1/6, 1/13, 1/20, 1/27 (Mock Test/Review)
2/3, 2/10, 2/17, 2/24 (Mock Exam/Review)
3/3, 3/10, 3/17 (Comprehensively Reviewing and Analyzing the 2018 Math Kangaroo Problem Set)
Instructor:
Tuition: $550
Online Registration is now open! Click HERE to register and make payment.
A commitment to the whole course can maximize the benefit of learning all the math ideas, methods, strategies, tactics, skills, and techniques.
Location: 18206 Endora Cir, Germantown/Boyds, MD 20841
Contact Information:
Ivy League Education Center
Tel: 301-922-9508 Email: chiefmathtutor@gmail.com
Click HERE to see payment and refund policy.
Grade Levels: Grades 3-5
Math Kangaroo contest when compared to Math Olympiads, Math League, or other math competitions requires less pre-requisite knowledge, which allows students the opportunity to participate in a fun and competitive environment while feeling much less pressured. This competition gives students the opportunity to compare themselves to others not only on the national level but also on the international level.
We have posted the 2016 Math Kangaroo Problems below. You can click the following to download them:
- 2016 Math Kangaroo Level 1 and 2 Questions
- 2016 Math Kangaroo Level 3 and 4 Questions
- 2016 Math Kangaroo Level 5 and 6 Questions
Benefits:
- 11 tutorial handouts (165 pages) developed by Dr. Henry Wan and 300 brand new problems extracted from the licensed Math Kangaroo Database
- 3 FREE mock tests, each of which has 30 questions taken from the licensed Math Kangaroo Database. Mock tests are calibrated to be at the same difficulty level as the real Math Kangaroo contest.
- FREE registration for the Math Kangaroo on Thursday, March 16, 2017
Read more at:
- Math Kangaroo Contest
- The Big Value of Middle School Math Competitions
- Great Benefits of Math Competitions
- A Little Competition Can Inspire Math Students to Greater Achievement
- Small-sized Class Instruction-focused Model
- Homework Correction is very Important — We Give an Extensive Correction of the Incorrect Answers of All Homework
- Homework assignments are a fundamental part of our courses
- Mathematics competitions are NOT mysterious, and every student can attend them! — 数学竞赛绝非神秘，每个学生都可参加！
- Girls should attend math competitions — 女生更应参加数学竞赛
Description:
This Math Kangaroo Prep course is designed to teach the major strategies of problem solving, to foster mathematical creativity, and to stimulate enthusiasm and love for the types of problems that students encounter in competitive mathematics. Each class students explore a different math topic or problem-solving strategy in depth and practice non-routine contest problems. This course provides interactive experiences for students. Students and instructors work on problem solving, clarification of concepts, and group sessions.
The main feature of this course is the use of the concrete → pictorial → abstract approach. This method enables us to introduce simple algebra and geometry as early as in third grade and encourages active thinking processes, communication of mathematical ideas, and problem solving. The emphasis is placed on development and complete understanding of mathematical concepts and their interesting applications, as well as on proficiency in multi-step problem solving, non-routine approach, mathematical reasoning, higher order thinking, and creative thinking.
Math Kangaroo questions are challenging but have patterns. Our experienced teachers will teach students how to decipher the question patterns and master related Math concepts and Math techniques, so that they can do well in Math Kangaroo contests. More importantly, our Math Kangaroo test prep program will improve the students’ overall problem solving skills of:
- Interpreting questions
- Making assumptions
- Exploring strategies
- Multi-perspective brainstorming
- Creating problem solving plans
- Logical thinking
- Execution, calculation, and reviewing
- Dealing with stress and anxiety
Our Math Kangaroo Test Prep Program uses the following materials:
- All Past Math Kangaroo contest questions
- Other competitive Math contest tests
Class Outline:
We will focus on efficient tricks, shortcuts, and strategies to solve competitive math problems as well as test-taking tactics. The emphasis of this class will be on comprehensively problem-solving which is the most important to Math Kangaroo contest.
| Class | Date | Topic |
| 1 | 1/6 | Mental Math — Best techniques to count faster in your head. Students will learn arithmetical calculations using only the human brain, with no help from calculators, computers, or pen and paper. |
| 2 | 1/13 | Drawing a Picture or Diagram: Both theoretical and applied problems will be used to show how a sketch helps to make sense of and model a problem. |
| 3 | 1/20 | Using Deduction: Students will apply principles of logic to solve classic riddles, such as those involving colored hats and identity of the truth-teller, in addition to non-routine math problems. |
| 4 | 1/27 | Simplification: Students will learn techniques for decreasing the number and complexity of calculations for simplifying problems involving whole number operations, complex fractions, factorials, and exponents. |
| 5 | 2/3 | Finding a Pattern: Students will investigate patterns involving time, additive number sequences, and repeated multiplication. |
| 6 | 2/10 | Making a List: This topic expands on strategies for making lists for counting and arrangements, along with divisibility and remainders, laying a solid foundation for later work with more formal concepts in modular arithmetic, number theory and combinatorics. |
| 7 | 2/17 | Making an Organized Table: Students use tables to compare unknown quantities in an organized way to test possible solutions, which serves as a basis for more algebraic methods in subsequent coursework. |
| 8 | 2/24 | Using Number Operations: Students will broaden their understanding of number operations and factors as they apply methods to solve for unknown digits and complete magic squares. |
| 9 | 3/3 | Working Backwards: This topic exposes students to various situations for which beginning at a given result and working backwards is the best strategy. |
| 10 | 3/10 | Estimation and Elimination: Strong estimation skills are often required in making sense of problems and checking reasonableness of solutions. In this topic, students apply their number sense to make estimates as they narrow the number of possible solutions to problems involving exponents, divisibility, and remainders. |
| 11 | 3/17 | Elementary Number Theory: Prime numbers, factorization, greatest common factor, and least common multiple will be introduced and explored in ways that build stronger number theoretic foundation. |
Mock Test:
Three simulated tests will help students assess their level of preparation for the Math Competitions. Each test consists of 30 questions having similar difficulty and style as in the official Math Kangaroo exams with brand new problems, extracted from the licensed Math Kangaroo Database, and is intended to mimic an actual math competition exam. After attempting the test, students get answers, explanations, and a detailed score report and wise performance summary.
Homework
On average, at least 2 hours per week, as described in the article: Homework assignments are a fundamental part of our courses. We will carefully review and check students’ homework, and correct any mistakes. Based on the student work, we will provide him/her with individualized help and support. More details can be found in the article: Homework Correction is very Important — We Give an Extensive Correction of the Incorrect Answers of All Homework.
We have to face the simple truth that to do well on these grueling contests, we will need to practice. Just like it is for sports and music, the key to success is repetition and practice. We strongly believe in effort and the malleability of intelligence. Intelligence can be enhanced through effort. People can develop impressive levels of expertise through hard work and practice. Effort and persistence are the keys to success. Hard work always pays off: practice makes perfect!
All problems from past Math Kangaroo exams form our “big data” system. We have used data mining and predictive analytics to examine the types and the frequencies of questions in all these materials, and then completely “decoded” the Math Kangaroo. We will show all the “secret code” cracked from the above big data to students, and teach them to totally grasp and “control” the Math Kangaroo. For all questions on the recent Math Kangaroo contests, we can find their “ancestors” and “roots” from the old Math Kangaroo problems. Therefore, the best way to prepare for the contest is to practice by solving old Math Kangaroo problems.
Main Purpose:
Our main purpose is to help our students gain deeper understanding of the fundamental math concepts, build a solid foundation in math, and develop the critical thinking and problem-solving skills that are so valuable to success in any career. We are big believers in the FUNDAMENTALS! Our students will receive the LIFELONG BENEFITS from learning math.
Regardless of his/her math level, each student will have the opportunity to learn math in a fun, friendly, cooperative, supportive learning environment. The most important thing is to have fun.
Our Students
In 2016, we have 32 students who earned top scores at each level of participation on the Math Kangaroo Contest, and then were awarded with gold, silver, bronze medals and with gifts. The gold medal is the highest prize. Daniel D., Eric C., Shivabrata M., and Emily M. won the national first place of grades 3, 4, 5, and 6, respectively. Distinguished performances on a variety of math competitions show that Philip’s unique strategies of teaching math are productive.
Ivy League Education Center 