HeWillSoar Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 How does this sound? My son, who would be going into 8th grade in public school this fall if I weren't pulling him out, has not done well in math since starting middle school. I gave him the placement test for TT 7 and he could not answer most of the fractions questions correctly. I am thinking about working through the Ray's Arithmetic books with him to bring him up to speed, and then going into TT pre-algebra. I don't want to spend a lot of money on a program that I could just teach,but once we get to pre-algebra/algebra, I am going to need a refresher myself and I think he will like doing his math on the computer. Does that sound like a good plan or is there something better to use than Ray's that is inexpensive and effective? Ray's looks pretty straight-forward. Also, we are officially registered with the state now! Yay!!!! I'm kind of excited about starting our school year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeWillSoar Posted July 24, 2014 Author Share Posted July 24, 2014 Or Keys to Fractions? Would that be a better route? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geodob Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 You could have a look at Kahn Academy, which has a comprehensive math program. It is also totally free, so that you can try it out and see whether it's what you want. https://www.khanacademy.org/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathermomster Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Does he have a maths disability? ETA: Your student needs to be confident with their multiplication and division facts. I used MUS Delta with DS to shore up fractions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Agree with Heathermomster that what you use would depend on if he has a math disability or if ps just moved too quickly, without enough practice, for him to get solid on concepts/application/facts. If there is a true disability then you could hop curriculum til the cows came home and it might not help because, just like if a child is dyslexic, the actual issue and weaknesses are not being addressed directly. For someone struggling in math I would suggest going pretty far back to find where the disconnect is. I wish we had done this. My daughter struggled in math but until the ladies on this board recommended going way back, we kept trying to move forward. What a waster of time. TT is great but it doesn't have enough review, IMHO, for a child that struggles, unless you planned to pair it with something else. If you were going to do TT I would go back to maybe even TT5 or TT6, depending on where he was truly successful testing into it. Then I would also pair it with something for more review that targets specific weak areas, maybe the Key to series as you mentioned (using that myself since I am weak on fractions/percents/decimals). But he may need manipulatives. Something concrete to work with to understand concepts and neither of those will provide that. Khan Academy is also good for practice and having someone else explain how to do things, but again no manipulative, nothing to touch. Some kids really need that. If he has a maths issue, or even if he doesn't or you are unsure, you might just take a bit of time to use Ronit Bird's book Overcoming Difficulty with Numbers to go back and work on subitization skills to make certain those are solid before you move him forward again. I realize that with your child going into 8th grade technically it seems you are running out of time and need to move forward quickly so he won't fall too much further behind. But if you ask parents on this board most of us will tell you the same thing: Address the issues first, go as far back as you need to go, go at the pace of the child, or you may waste months or years trying to move forward and not get there. BTDT. FWIW, DD13 is technically going into 8th grade. She is not yet ready for 8th grade math. We had to go back to the very beginning of subitization skills to get her moving forward again. I wish we had done that when she first came home for 6th grade but I didn't understand just how many glitches she had in math. I hopped curriculum like mad trying to find what would work when what she needed was to go back to the very basic building blocks of math and move forward from there. We tired MUS (didn't go back far enough), Math on the Level, her textbooks from school, TT, Khan Academy, Math Mammoth, and so on...and wasted a LOT of time (and money). She is making progress now, but I have to go at her pace. Rushing just means she has gaps again that come back around to bite us later. Another thing I recommend is lots of math games, by the way. I have read two different research papers now on how math games and practical application math are far more successful for retention than just drill and kill for many,f not most, children. And when kids struggle with math they may frequently begin to feel that math is an unattainable skill and something to hate and fear. Find ways to give him a sense of success. Play math games that don't tap into weaknesses at first. Do math practice on the things he already knows to solidify those and give him a boost of confidence. And check out this thread for some great ideas: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/499692-looking-to-do-some-relaxed-math-here-want-to-share-ideas/ Hope that helps. Best wishes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeWillSoar Posted July 24, 2014 Author Share Posted July 24, 2014 Thank you all. I'm not sure if there is a disability with math or if it's just the processing speed and working memory issues that he has. I am pretty confident I can teach him because he does seem to get it when I am working with him one on one, directing him and keeping him engaged. He knows his math facts but only wants to do the work in his head. He has always hated doing the problems that have a lot of steps (like long division) but he's gotten a lot better. Would that mean he could have a disability with math? They didn't say that at the school, but then that doesn't mean anything. I will check out the ideas you have posted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted July 25, 2014 Share Posted July 25, 2014 Good luck! And best wishes... :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.