Blueprint to Do Well in Math (Primary School)!

As someone whose main memory from childhood was studying, I can say with confidence that a childhood without fun memories is not worth it. And as a former student and tutor for nearly a decade, I genuinely believe that shorter, consistent study sessions paired with enough rest and play will get your child the same results — or better — than long, exhausting study marathons.

This is the first in a series covering all four primary school subjects. We are starting with Math since it has been the most requested. Let’s get into it.

What You Will Need

Head to Popular and pick up these two assessment books (this is not sponsored — it is simply what I have consistently seen work well):

•       DailyDose assessment book

•       Challenging assessment book

Both are affordable and will carry your child through theirMath studies very effectively.

How to Structure the Study Sessions

Step 1: Follow the School’s Curriculum

Ask your child what topic their teacher is currently covering. Regardless of how attentive they have been in class, this should not be a difficult question to answer. If they are unsure, show them their textbook and ask them to point out where the class is up to.

Step 2: Use the Daily Dose Book

The Daily Dose book is divided by terms and weeks — you will see labels like Term __ Week __ at the top of each section. Use that to pace your child in line with what they are doing in school.

Aim to complete 3–4 weeks’ worth in one sitting. Each section is not long, so sitting down together should take around an hour. If your child is currently finding things a little harder, scale that back to 1–2 weeks per session — there is no rush.

Step 3: Follow Up with the Challenging Book

After the Daily Dose, work through about 5–6 pages of the Challenging book. This ensures your child truly understands the topic and can handle slightly tougher questions — not just the straightforward ones.

How to Sit With Your Child

Give your child 5–10 minutes per page to attempt it on their own while you sit beside them. Your presence alone goes a long way in keeping them focused. When you notice their attention drifting, gently bring them back.

Keep the atmosphere light. We do not want children associating studying with tension or fear of being scolded — that shapes how they view academics for a long time. Be warm, have a bit of a laugh, and take 5-minute breaks every 30 minutes.

A tip that works really well: tell your child a story in a genre they love, split into 10 parts, each ending on a cliffhanger. Reveal one part every 30 minutes or at each break. Alternatively, a quick two-player card game like Uno works great — it resets their energy without taking too long.

One thing to avoid during breaks: screen time. It is genuinely very hard for children to stop mid-video and come back, and even when they do, their focus is not fully there. All the momentum you built gets lost. Stick to stories or games instead.

Going Through the Questions They Got Wrong

After the 10 minutes, go through the questions they could not do or got wrong. This is the most important part of the entire session — and where real learning happens.

Ask your child to read the full question out loud, then explain each sentence back to you in their own words. What does this sentence mean? What information is it giving us? Get them to write everything down in their working space before attempting the solution.

To show you exactly what this looks like in practice, here is a full walkthrough of a typical question.

A Worked Example: Breaking Down a Question Together

The question: “Mrs Tan had ¾ kg of sugar. She used 1/5 of it to make a cake. How much sugar did she have left?”

Ask them to read the question aloud, then go back to the very first sentence.

Understanding What the Question Is Saying

“What does ‘Mrs Tan had ¾ kg of sugar’ mean?”

If they are unsure, break it down piece by piece. There are two concepts here: ¾ and kg. Take them one at a time.

Start with kg. Keep the language simple and relatable:

“kg stands for kilograms. It is how we measure how heavy something is. You are 45kg! Can you guess how heavy I am?”

Have a little laugh about their answer. Then continue:

“Fun fact — 1kg is actually 1000g. So kg and g both measure weight, but we use grams for lighter things, because the number in kg would be really tiny. An eraser, for example, is much easier to measure in grams.”

Write it down so they can see it: 1kg = 1000g. Then test them straight away:

“So for lighter things, do we use kg or grams?”

This is something we train all OPUS Tuition tutors to do — always explain simply, and always follow up with a question. It keeps the child actively thinking instead of passively listening, so information does not go in one ear and out the other.

Explaining Fractions

Now move to ¾. Start by addressing the concept of fractions generally before applying it to the question.

“¾ is a fraction. What is a fraction?”

If they explain it incorrectly — for example, thinking it means 3 minus 4, or 3 plus 4 — address that directly and clearly. Then use a completely different number to demonstrate the concept, so they are learning the idea rather than just copying the specific numbers in front of them.

“Let’s use 3/10 as an example. 3/10 is also a…? Yes, a fraction!”

Use visuals as much as possible. Ask them to draw rather than drawing for them:

“Can you draw a rectangle for me? Now look at the fraction — what number do you see at the bottom?” (They answer: 10.) “Good job! That means the rectangle has 10 equal pieces. Can you split it into 10 equal pieces for me?”

Let them draw slowly. Once they have:

“This bottom number is called the denominator. Can you repeat that? The denominator is the total number of parts. So in 3/10, what is the total number of parts? Good, 10! Can you tell me what a denominator is again?”

Testing them again straight after is intentional — this is active recall, and it is one of the most effective ways to make something stick. Keep a mental list of key concepts to revisit every couple of questions throughout the session: what is the denominator, what does kg stand for, how many grams equal 1kg, and so on.

“What about the top number? That is the numerator. The numerator tells us how many parts we actually want. For example, if I ate 3/10 of my cake — can you colour in how many pieces I ate?”

Affirm them warmly at every step. “Good job!”, “Brilliant!”, “Fantastic!” — switch it up so it does not feel repetitive. As a small bonus, it naturally expands their vocabulary too. When children feel good about putting in effort, they are far more motivated to keep going.

Now bring it back to the original question. Apply the same process to ¾ — ask them to draw the model and label it. Then explain that because the question says ¾ kg, all four parts together equal 1kg. Ask them to draw that and label it clearly.

Finding One Unit

“So how many units are there in total?” (4.) “And all 4 units equal?” (1kg.) “So how do I find one unit?”

Here, a child whose division foundation is not yet strong might say “minus”. That is okay — acknowledge the attempt and use a new, engaging example to explain division before coming back to the question. This is important: you always want to use a different example to explain a concept, so they understand the idea itself and can then apply it on their own.

“Okay, good try! Let’s think about this differently. Imagine I have 12 Labubus and I want to give you and your brothers equal numbers. Can I just take 12 minus 3? Then everyone only gets one — what happens to the 9 left?”

Let them think. They might work out something like, “I keep giving one to each person until I run out” — that is essentially division, so tell them they are on the right track. If they shrug, keep prompting with questions. At no point should you give them the answer without them trying first. If they learn that you will always provide it, they stop thinking for themselves — and that habit is very hard to undo.

“So if I give one Labubu to each person and that is one set — how many are in one set?” (3.) “How many sets are inside 12? I keep minusing 3 many, many times. When I minus something many times, what operation do I use — plus, minus, times, or divide?”

Guide them to the answer through questions. Once they get there:

“Exactly! So divide means I minus many, many times. If I take 10 divided by 2, it means: how many 2s are there in 10? What about 9 divided by 3 — what does that mean?”

Ask them to explain it back to you. They should say something like, “how many 3s are there in 9.” If they cannot, give as many examples as needed until they can explain it in their own words. Then make it visual:

“Can you show me with your fingers how many times you can minus 3 from 9?” (Hold up 9 fingers, put down 3 at a time, count each set together: “1… 2… 3!”) “So how many 3s are there in 9? Good! So if I have 12 Labubus and want to share them equally, what is the number sentence? Plus, minus, times, or divide? What divided by what?”

Let them write it down and work it out, using their fingers if needed.

Back to the Question: Finding 1 Unit

“Okay! So now — if 4 units = 1kg, how do we find 1 unit?”

They might now ask: “But 1 cannot minus 4 at all — how?” That is actually a great observation — acknowledge it.

“Good catch! So remember — 1kg equals what? Yes, 1000g! So since I cannot take 1kg minus 4, what do I do instead? Can you write a number sentence: 1kg equals how many grams?”

“So to find 1 unit, what is my number sentence? Plus, minus, times, or divide? What divided by what?”

Always prompt for a number sentence — it is a habit worth building early, as it helps children clinch method marks in exams.

Ask them to write it down and do the long division to the side. If long division is new to them, do not skip over it — use a similar example first (e.g. 1200 ÷ 5), work through it together, explaining each step, then give them one to try alone (e.g. 1500 ÷ 2). Keep giving examples at a similar difficulty level until they can complete one independently before returning to the original question.

Finding 3 Units

“So now I know 1 unit = 250g. Can you read the first sentence of the question again? So how many parts do I actually want? And if I know 1 unit = 250g, how do I find 3 units — plus, minus, times, or divide?”

If multiplication is unfamiliar, use the same approach: explain why it is not plus, demonstrate multiplication as adding a number many times using a new example, then come back to the question and ask them to write the correct number sentence.

“Brilliant! Can you write the number sentence down? So now — how much sugar does Mrs Tan have?”

Once they have found 750g, ask them to draw a new model with the total labelled as 750g. This is their working model for the second part of the question.

The Second Part of the Question

“Can you read the second sentence for me, please?”

“She used 1/5 of it. So how much sugar does Mrs Tan have in total? And which model shows that? Good — the second one. What fraction did she use? So how many parts do I split this model into? And she used how many? Can you shade that in for me?”

“So if she used 1 unit — how many units does she have left? Yes, 4! So I know 5 units = 750g. Can you write that down? And can I find 1 unit?”

Notice the pattern: key information keeps getting revisited. Because new information is coming in at every step, old information can easily be forgotten. Asking the same questions — “how much sugar does she have?”, “what is the total?” — keeps everything fresh and reinforces understanding rather than just short-term recall.

After this point, the remaining steps follow the same process they have already worked through. Let them complete it on their own. That moment of independent completion — after so much guided practice — is exactly where confidence gets built.

If Your Child Is Really Struggling

The walkthrough above assumes your child is finding the topic quite difficult. If they just need light revision at home, the process will be much faster — it is unlikely that they cannot do any of the questions, so you will only need to guide them through selected ones.

However, if your child really cannot complete most or all of the questions, skip the independent 10-minute attempt and work through everything together from the start using the same methods above.

This is completely normal. School classrooms move at a general pace, and while teachers do their best, some children need more one-on-one time to fully absorb certain concepts. That is not a reflection of your child’s ability — it just means they need a bit more support right now, and going through things slowly and thoroughly is time very well spent.

Quick Reference: Techniques to Keep in Mind

These can be a lot to track at first, but with time they will become second nature. Here is a summary to refer back to:

• Follow the school’s curriculum

  — stay in sync with what the teacher is covering.

• Ask questions constantly

  — never give the answer without them trying first.

• Use visuals

  — draw models, and let them draw rather than doing it for them.

• Break concepts down

  — use simple language and relatable, everyday examples.

• Always use a different example to explain a concept

  before coming back to the original question.

• Active recall

  — revisit key concepts every couple of questions throughout the session.

• Always ask for a number sentence

  — it builds method marks in exams.

• Affirm and encourage

  — keep the energy warm, positive, and light.

• No screen time during breaks

  — use stories or card games instead.

• 5-minute breaks every 30 minutes

  — consistency matters more than cramming.

How Much Time Are We Talking?

We generally recommend about 4 hours per subject per week. Across all four subjects, that works out to around 16 hours a week — roughly 2.5 hours a day. When it is structured well and the time is productive, that is very manageable.

What matters most is whether your child is getting the right guidance during that time. And the reality is — as a parent, you are already carrying a full day of your own responsibilities. Coming home after a long day and sitting down patiently to go through Math questions is not easy, and it is okay to acknowledge that.

This is exactly where OPUS Tuition comes in. We handle the studying — so that when you get home, your time with your child is spent enjoying each other, not drilling fractions. All our tutors are trained in these exact techniques and have practised them until they are seamless before being placed with any student. You can feel confident your child is being taught well, at the right pace, and in the right way — so that you can come home and just be present with them.

Stay tuned for the next article in this series, where we will cover another subject!