FairProspects Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Once again, I do not know what to do with ds 1. The math facts seem to be coming along nicely and even getting faster (finally!) which is great. He is working with a tutor on number theory and loving it. The tutor thinks he is doing fabulously and is ready for more of a challenge. But...the 2E procedural glitch is still there and he still struggles with certain arithmetic concepts like mental math (mostly because he does his own method and it is never Singapore's mental math techniques), long division, and fractions. Many of these concepts are the same one he has struggled with for 3+ years. The older he gets, the less he glitches, but they are still there and they do still cause errors in calculations, operations done the wrong direction, wrong operation used, etc. Basically, if he were to tell you verbally how to do a problem he would get it right, but on paper he transposes, calculates wrong, or flips operations (typical dyslexic error things). Here is the dilemma: Scenario 1) I use the rest of this school year to solidify work on fractions, long division, top of arithmetic type things and move into pre-algebra or algebra 1 next year. My concern if we stay here all year is that he will learn to hate math because all we would be doing is drilling concepts he struggles with and I'm not sure how much of his issues would actually be solved with more practice vs. just being dyslexic errors that will continue anyway and need to be double checked forever. This option is basically what we have been doing so far along with adding the tutoring to try to keep him interested in math. Scenario 2) Move on or bump him up to a level of pre-algebra/algebra work to give him more math he enjoys, but expect there to be some gaps in procedural arithmetic. Either stop and fill those in when we hit them or see if a higher level of math will help him fill these in himself with context (this happens frequently). My concern with this option is that he has such a low frustration tolerance and is such a perfectionist, that when we do find a hole he will beat himself up and meltdown emotionally over something he thinks he should know. Neither option seems perfect, but we all get this as the classic 2E dilemma. So which seems like the least worst option? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 I vote for #2 for the reason that many students end up in a situation of "careless" errors around the level of prealgebra/algebra anyway. His situation is not the same thing (dyslexic glitches rather than careless), but my thinking is, a hump of this sort is not unprecedented at this particular juncture even among neurotypical kids. So, in the name of enjoying his learning, I'd desire to plow forward, with some regular practice for the glitchy stuff on the side, if there isn't enough practice or the right kind of practice within the prealgebra/algebra problems already. My caveat is that algebra can be a bit of a left-brained activity and accordingly unpleasant :tongue_smilie:. I'd think about ways to make it as big-picture as you can under the circumstances and/or weave in right-brained topics (e.g. geometry) to the extent possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 Can you do both? Either a pre-alg program that reviews fractions etc. as part of it, or a few days of a more pure algebra and a couple days of review work alternating? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Generic chalkdust prealgebra has a beginning chapter on basic operations and spends quite a bit of time on fractions, decimals, percents, etc. I chose to go that route, and it went well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 I scribed for my dyslexic son until he got into his second year of Algebra I (at age 11). If he can do the stuff orally, let him do it that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathermomster Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 FairP, I have always assigned the glitchy stuff that you are describing to the dysgraphia. Maybe scribe as EKS suggested and follow scenario #2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mukmuk Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 #2. There are two reasons: 1). At the transition to prealgebra/algebra, my son needed the higher level math as a scaffold so he could come back to learn the basics. It just seemed more natural to go back and forth to practice where needed. 2). He had glitches with math facts anyway, not because of poor understanding, but as a result of various issues. If he drilled forever, he'd still have problems. The mistakes seem to have largely disappeared because of usage, but he continues to have glitches from reading the questions wrongly. Eh well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mukmuk Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Scenario 2) Move on or bump him up to a level of pre-algebra/algebra work to give him more math he enjoys, but expect there to be some gaps in procedural arithmetic. Either stop and fill those in when we hit them or see if a higher level of math will help him fill these in himself with context (this happens frequently). My concern with this option is that he has such a low frustration tolerance and is such a perfectionist, that when we do find a hole he will beat himself up and meltdown emotionally over something he thinks he should know. I didn't see this earlier, FP (*my* skip reading issues!). Hmm. Can you tackle this separately? Learning is about having frustrations and how to keep them in check. It's not easy, and we've had bouts of this on and off, ie, this is an ongoing battle for us too. The latest one was helped by having a new tutor - it's not mommy teaching him, so he felt he had to be more in control of himself. I overtly praise his struggles in front of said tutor for whom ds has a high regard. For sure, this issue will keep cropping up and I need to stay creative to seize the teaching moments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Maybe a harder #2 option would help to have less meltdown etc. b/c it is supposed to be hard... Maybe that has to be part of the explanation going into such a program, that not having meltdowns is part of the work he needs to do. My ds used to have a math meltdown each time he got to a hump...I started to learn how to laugh and just point out that he was doing it again, and that just as he'd got through the last humps he'd get through this one too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted November 24, 2014 Author Share Posted November 24, 2014 Thanks for the feedback. Yes, we are trying to work on the perfectionism, but he is just such an intense personality that it is a continual struggle. I'm probably not going to do much of anything but review throughout the holidays and I will look at ways to move forward in January. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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