Math-U-See question

[distancia]

For those of you who have used/do use Math-U-See....

 

How would I start my daughter (age 17) in MUC mode? Other than a weekend when she was 8, when I tried to work with manipulatives with her (and she hated it, couldn't grasp the concept and wanted to rely on her memory) she has had no exposure and certainly no love for this type of "seeing" math. She much prefers to work from memory, which is okay in the early years, but now she has done Geometry and Alg 2 and memory doesn't cut it anymore, she has no concept of what she is doing nor why she is doing it.

 

Anyway, how would you suggest I work with her to cover the four functions of MUC--add, subtract, multiply, and divide--then move on to roots, radicals, exponents, scientific notation, some fractions--using MUC?

 

For obvious reasons I don't want to buy ALL the books and ALL the instructional tapes but I will certainly buy whatever is necessary!

 

Is there a way to condense all those years' worth of manipulative experience into a few weeks/months (considering she already knows the math "facts" so I can work her into Algebra with MUC?

 

Any and all suggestions appreciated! [by the way, I bought Singapore NEM1 and Foerster's Algebra as text/workbook support]

Edited July 18, 2010 by distancia

[justamouse]

I have no idea, just bumping this so perhaps someone answers.

 

Hitting blind here, but I would start with the MUS tests and see where she starts to make mistakes, then work from there? You'd have to pinpoint where exactly she begins to not understand. No small task, but I know there are math moms here who might be able to help.

[Jeanne in MN]

the old Intermediate MUS would cover all the topics in one book and it would be super cheap as they are the old version. homeschoolclassifieds.com may have used copies available. They use videos instead of cd. Sorry I can't help more than that. I haven't used MUS, but plan on starting dd on MUS pre-algebra this fall.

[amtmcm]

the old Intermediate MUS would cover all the topics in one book and it would be super cheap as they are the old version. homeschoolclassifieds.com may have used copies available. They use videos instead of cd. Sorry I can't help more than that. I haven't used MUS, but plan on starting dd on MUS pre-algebra this fall.

 

:iagree:

 

This is a good suggestion.

[Alyce]

first I would have her take a placement test that they have on their website. That will give you a good idea where to start. You may have to buy the books beginning where she gets weak. She may not be as bad as you think and may just need a good pre-algebra foundation. If you buy the books she can move through them quickly. Have her take the test, if she fails go over the lesson and have her do some of the example pages. If she passes the test move on to the next test. If she's not getting things you may have to go back and start her with Alg 1 even if you don't want to. A good foundation in Alg 1 is needed to move up to the higher maths. The one thing I don't think you'd have to repeat is her Geometry. It's not really needed in the other maths. If you do have to go back I would try and find the original edition of MUS. Intermediate would be the best place to start. Do like I suggested above and move her along. You also will probably find she doesn't need the manipulatives just needs to learn the concept more concretely.

[distancia]

OP here--good ideas. We have some kind of gizmo here that converts VCR tapes to DVD, I'll look for the older set of MUC.

 

I know I don't "need' to buy the manipulatives, but the fact that 1) D resisted them so much when she was little 2) gave up on origami, even when sitting next to a classmate and trying to copy what the classmate was doing, and 3) got a C in the "slow kids" Geometry class--tells me that D should certainly try them again. Especially since she now wants to go into the sciences (translation: calculus needed) in college!!!!!

 

In the past she has always given up on the challenging subjects and gone with what is easy or comes naturally to her.

 

This year she has said "Mom, you're the principal, you do what you think is best for me."

 

Well, guess what, sweetie....

Edited July 19, 2010 by distancia

[Grace is Sufficient]

Twice I've used MUS Intermediate to tutor older kids who'd never really grasped the basics -- they could solve problems because they'd learned how to, but in one case, the girl didn't even get the concept of place value (!)

 

I can't say definitively that the MUS is what did it, but in both cases they did noticeably better in school afterwards.

 

I strongly echo the suggestion of MUS Intermediate. The first lesson is a review of the lower level, and does go all the way back to place value. I'd recommend sitting with her (I think it's a her -- if not, I'm sorry!) and asking questions, having her explain and show you what the concepts are after she's seen Steve Demme explain them. You may be able to go very quickly through the first part of the course, and only slow down when you sense that she needs to.

 

I don't think taking the placement tests is your answer because as you said, she can solve problems at levels where she doesn't really understand the concepts.

 

Hope it goes well for you!

Debbie