Asia Redactiesommen (also known as Verhaaltjessommen) are simply word problems. Think of a granny who buys 2 lolly’s for each of her 5 grandchildren. Yes… she needs 10 lolly’s, since we have five groups of two lolly’s each, and 5×2 is 10… While it’s obvious for us which operation to use, children have to learn that it’s possible to express real life questions in mathematical terms. It certainly takes time and practice.
Not surprisingly, redactiesommen are an important component of the Dutch curriculum that is assessed throughout the primary education of a child (e.g., in the “popular” Cito tests).
Let’s enjoy….
Regarding math in primary schools, I believe deeply that there is no need for any child to dread it. As long as your young mathematician feels they understand math, they will enjoy solving the challenges and will be always ready for new ones! It’s crucial to work systematically with your child to make sure that they understand what’s going on and they don’t fall behind. By “working systematically”, I absolutely don’t mean long hours. Rather think of 30-minute time slots, but two or three times per week, and try to find as few exceptions to this rule as possible…
When our child has solved verhaaltjessommen on their own, we always discuss at least some of them: “What was interesting here?” “How did you compute it?”, or “You’ve found a good way to solve it! Shall I also show you another one that may be easier?”. If a challenge proves (too) difficult, I find it very helpful to illustrate it with a drawing, Duplo blocks, or coins… This way, they can visualize better what to compute instead of trying to focus on finding the answer.
… Redactiesommen (Verhaaltjessommen)
In order to practice, it’s certainly handy to have a source of word problems in Dutch. Below come my favorite1 ones, including a PDF for group 4 that I’ve compiled based on other resources:
- Redactiesommen.nl
- Aandacht voor rekenen
- Citotrainer Nederland
- A compilation of various redactiesommen I’ve prepared for our child in group 4
We personally prefer paper books and worksheets that we can print out, so I cannot share an overview of online platforms.
Redactiesommen.nl
When it comes to practicing word problems in Dutch, the Redactiesommen.nl website is your good friend. It offers an endless stream of worksheets for free.
When you click on Maak een werkblad (Make a worksheet), your browser navigates to the following website:
Just select the group of your child, and Niveau midden (the middle of the school year) or Niveau eind (the end of the school year).
Vernieuwen prepares a new worksheet that you can print by clicking Printen. Antwoorden are answers.
I always create and print few worksheets at once and have them ready. Yes, it’s that easy!
Aandacht voor rekenen
Aandacht voor rekenen is a series of books with all sorts of math problems, including word problems, but also regular plus, minus or multiplication exercises. It covers all topics discussed at school. They are well prepared. Sometimes I find them rather easy, but that’s a very personal feeling.
That’s the official shop: webshop. It’s worth noting that the publisher provides previews. For example, this Oefenboek Rekenen is a book with Math exercises for the second half of group 4. Just click on the thumbnails below the book cover to get an idea about the contents.
If you find it more convenient, you can also buy the Aandacht voor rekenen books on bol (which offers very easy returns…): bol website.
The books contain answers.
Citotrainer Nederland
As mentioned while talking about Reading comprehension, the Citotrainer Nederland website has a webshop where you can find lots of exercise books. We have worked with their Cito prep book for group 4. It contains two sets of word problems: for the first and the second part of the year (i.e., M4 and E4), all together 160 exercises. I value a lot them since they cover all topics discussed at school.
This book contains answers.
A PDF for group 4
Here comes a list of 40 redactiesommen I’ve compiled having seen what sort of problems were challenging for our child: a google docs document. It’s based on other resources. If you would like to use it, but you find understanding the language difficult, please leave a comment below. I could prepare a version with answers as well.
1 Disclaimer: we share information about resources we have seen/heard of and we find worth recommending. We are not associated with their publishers.