diaperjoys Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 We're abruptly pulling our son out of the classical school he's been attending (long story). He's halfway through Saxon 65 at school, and he is on lesson 17 of Teaching Textbooks 6, which he uses at home. He does super well with TT, and I want that to be the text where he learns his new concepts. The instant feedback that TT provides is absolutely perfect for him. But math is his weak subject, and he needs a very, very tight spiral for substantial review. Enter, CLE math for review. Can anyone offer suggestions as to where to place him in CLE? I want the CLE to be review, not grueling difficulty. Something he can whiz through and build confidence with, while exercising his math muscles. He knows most of his multiplication facts, and is working on learning long division. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Give him the placement tests. Please give him the placement tests. Start back at Level 100 and work forward. Wherever there are gaps you can target those specifically then place him wherever the placement tests show that he needs to be. CLE has a bit different scope and sequence and pacing. The placement tests will help you see if something hasn't been covered in his other curriculum that might have already been covered or covered in a different way than CLE. That way he doesn't struggle because of gaps. The placement tests are free off the website if you just save them to your computer and print them yourself instead of asking for a printed copy. But the tests are a bit long so plan to give him time to do the tests. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IdahoHomeschooler Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 The placement tests are free online and will you tell you what you need to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diaperjoys Posted November 25, 2014 Author Share Posted November 25, 2014 I'm trying to print out the diagnostic tests - the web site freezes each and every time I try. Any tricks to making it work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Give him the placement tests, then use the year behind where he places. I used the grade 5 as a quick review after my son completed Singapore 5B. He'd spend 30-45 minutes on his regular level math, then do 10-15 minutes using CLE. It really helped shore up some basics while still moving forward. If it gets too long, you could split lessons up, since it's review anyway. You don't need to finish at a certain time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jyhwkmama Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 You can order the placement tests for cheap too. There are two of them. Get both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I'm trying to print out the diagnostic tests - the web site freezes each and every time I try. Any tricks to making it work? Are you trying to print directly off the website? I found that didn't work as well for me. I ended up opening the file, then saving it to my computer. I printed it off of my computer instead of the internet link. Worked really well. Have you tried that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diaperjoys Posted November 25, 2014 Author Share Posted November 25, 2014 Give him the placement tests, then use the year behind where he places. I used the grade 5 as a quick review after my son completed Singapore 5B. He'd spend 30-45 minutes on his regular level math, then do 10-15 minutes using CLE. It really helped shore up some basics while still moving forward. If it gets too long, you could split lessons up, since it's review anyway. You don't need to finish at a certain time. Thank you, that is helpful. It is one thing to do diagnostic tests and determine typical placement. It is another thing altogether to figure out where to place him for review purposes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diaperjoys Posted November 25, 2014 Author Share Posted November 25, 2014 Are you trying to print directly off the website? I found that didn't work as well for me. I ended up opening the file, then saving it to my computer. I printed it off of my computer instead of the internet link. Worked really well. Have you tried that? There. That worked perfectly. Thanks for that tip! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 There. That worked perfectly. Thanks for that tip! Oh I am so glad! Yeah! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Give him the placement tests, then use the year behind where he places. I used the grade 5 as a quick review after my son completed Singapore 5B. He'd spend 30-45 minutes on his regular level math, then do 10-15 minutes using CLE. It really helped shore up some basics while still moving forward. If it gets too long, you could split lessons up, since it's review anyway. You don't need to finish at a certain time. This is a great idea! Oh, and definitely get the flash cards. Addition and Subtraction cards are set up in a very specific and unusual way to target specific facts for each lesson. I LOVE how they do that. I set up the flash cards with the 2nd grade organization in about 5 minutes. I think you can find a break down of how to do this on line or in the back of each TM if you have your own set already and don't want to use theirs, but honestly theirs were much easier to use. The set comes set up for 1st grade, but it was easy to modify it. The set up for 2nd grade is how they use them throughout the rest of the levels, as I understand it. There are labeled dividers that make it sooo easy to pull out the right set. I love how they do targeted flash card review in a way that takes small pieces and ties them directly to the lesson. It was very beneficial for my kids. I also found that with the multiplication/division cards, even though they weren't organized in the great way that the Addition/Subtraction cards were, I was able to make it easier to use them anyway. The cards have a corner cut off on one side. Every other multiplication group I flipped around. It means that I can easily see where each fact set is and just pull the specific fact set we need to review that day. Also, I found that the kids do much better with retention/comprehension of the multiplication tables if we skip count for the fact being reviewed that day, then write down the facts for that table on a dry erase, then do the flash card for that one table, then flip the cards around and do the division side of that same table. Targeting just that one table for the day is so much more effective for the kids than just piles of random flash cards reviewing everything. Even when CLE isn't asking a student to do both sides of the cards (and they didn't in the 300 level) I did both sides anyway. It seemed to really help them see the number relationships and help the facts stick a lot better. FWIW, DD was struggling so badly with multiplication fact recall and division wasn't even on her radar. Doing the reviews with skip counting/dry erase/multiplication/division at least 3 times a week has really turned things around for both kids. And it doesn't take very long at all. Just a few minutes at the beginning of each lesson. CLE tells you which flash cards to use with each lesson, but I sometimes modify that to do more targeted review in areas I know they are weak. Oh, feel free to edit problems if your child really has them down well. There is a lot of tight spiral review and since he would be doing another program as his primary, you might go in and cross out a problem from each section that he really knows well before he starts each lesson so it isn't boring or overwhelming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeAndTheBoys Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Definitely use the placement tests! but I wanted to offer a hopeful encouragement-we went from CLE 700 to Saxon Alg 1 this year, and my take-away is that they must run somewhat parallel--we haven't run into anything in Saxon Algebra that wasn't covered in a similar way in CLE. So hopefully you will have a smooth transition-- CLE sells laminated Reference sheets for about $2 or $3-when you order CLE, buy all of the reference sheets. We pull them out frequently since CLE is spiral and things show up that we have forgotten, in Math and LA. The Reference Sheets are helpful-- B 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.