I need help with my daughter and math....

[lovinmomma]

I've looked at several possible curriculum, but I'm looking for something different. DD hates math. I tried taking her through the 3rd grade mathmammoth end of year test (she's 4th grade) and she could hardly do any of it. She has a lot of gaps and has trouble understanding directions due to her dyslexia. I feel like she has very little real understanding of the math that she does know. How do I fill in the gaps? I'm thinking I need to go WAY back. Maybe use some c-rods? Maybe there's a website online? Things have to be reviewed often due to her dyslexia. Math facts are a real struggle due to dyslexia, so we use a calculator. :) Any websites or suggestions?  

[blondeviolin]

Teaching Textbooks? It's spiral and very procedural.

[shinyhappypeople]

My younger (10 yo) DD is going slowly, gently through Learn Math Fast (we started at the Multiplication/Division section of the first book).   She likes it because it lets her set the pace and concentrate on one thing at a time.  She struggles with math anxiety.  This program puts her in the driver's seat, which has taken away a lot of the stress.  My only caveat is that we haven't been using it for very long, so take my review (such as it is) with a LARGE grain of salt :)  I'm not sure how it will work out over the long haul, but so far so good.  It's definitely worth a look.

[maize]

Try a search on here for "dyscalculia" and I think you will come up with some helpful suggestions. My understanding is that dyscalculia and dyslexia often occur together. I know Ronit Bird materials have worked well for some families.

[maize]

You might also try posting this question on the learning challenges board.

[wapiti]

I agree w/Maize, do post on the Learning Challenges board where this topic comes up often!

[Aurelia]

Is it that she doesn't understand the math concepts at all, or is it the way MM teaches that's the problem? 

 

I don't have experience with dyslexia, but DD really struggled to retain information from MM, too. We switched to CLE and she made huge improvements in her retention. You might have to go over each problem with your DD to make sure she understands it, though, especially with the word problems. Right Start is also really good, you could take her back to level B or C, and since most of the work is hands-on, she wouldn't be reading much to get confused. It is very teacher intensive, but that may be what she needs.

 

 

[KSinNS]

In a somewhat similar situation with T. I've ordered the Ronit Bird book, but don't have it yet. What I've been doing, which is actually working is following Grube's Method. You can get the pdf for free. It's a book from the 1890s that lays out how to teach math. It combines all the operations. It's written for older children, so it's not at all babyish and the word problems are fantastic-very good for deep thinking. You teach all the combinations (including fractions) that make up each number with blocks. Drill the facts until they get it (we made flash cards), do "mental math" questions and word problems. We've been doing the blue workbooks from MM to add worksheets for practice and different explanations. I also print off worksheets online (my kid really needs lots of practice.) It's not at all fast. It took us until now to get to 10, and the author suggests a year, but my daughter's number sense has improved dramatically and she is automatic on her math facts and starting to see patterns. It is somewhat dull if your kid needs lots of practice-so I've been incorporating some games, but I'm out of ideas-so I'm having a look at Ronit Bird. 

 

https://archive.org/details/grubesmethodofte00seelrich

 

Also wildly entertaining are the questions with wagons, and cakes which cost 2 cents :-} 

 

I also love math u see. The explanations are great! The blocks are super, and because it's out of sequence, it's easy to go back and do review. My daughter refused to use the blocks, which she needed, because her brothers didn't, and that got her into problems. She's more open now, and we will probably start back with MUS with Gamma and Delta. 

[kiana]

What has she used so far to study? Have you just pulled her out of PS or have you been working at home for some time?

[Lolly]

My dyslexic dd is now 20. She had similar struggles with math. I was using Rod and Staff at the time she was diagnosed. She was only slightly below grade level at that time. Our consulting expert recommended MUS or Saxon, or just sticking with Rod and Staff because she was actually doing quite well with it. Part of me wishes I had stuck with it because She was doing so well there. However, I needed to use something different than her twin was using, so I switched to Saxon. Disaster. Then, I had her change to MUS which worked but caused her to take a very negative slide in abilities for quite a while. (Due to the nature of MUS, she had to start at the beginning and work her way up.) It all worked out in the end though. Even with MUS, I found it necessary to give her accommodations. She simply could not retain her basic facts well enough to work at a pace that allowed her to do math efficiently. I allowed her to use a chart for multiplication and division. She filled it in each day before doing her math lesson. (1-12 across top and down side/she filled in answers where they would meet). Addition and subtraction she could count quickly enough on her fingers. When she reached algebra, I simply allowed calculator use (which is fairly standard anyway). She still has trouble with math. Word problems are her nemesis, but she has now passed all the math she needs for her major in college!

 

In your situation, I think I would suggest an immediate switch to MUS. Can she add and subtract? If so, she should be able to skip those two levels which will help immensely. If not, she should be able to fly through those two. Have her work for a set time each day, maybe in spurts of 15/20 minutes, completing the first books as quickly as she can. She will slow down she she hits the fractions book. 

 

Or, try Rod and Staff. It is very old fashioned in its approach to math. The first three grades focus on basic adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing. She should be able to start with the fourth grade book. It starts with a review of everything. Then, it has excellent built in review every lesson. I do recommend allowing her use of a fact chart (or calculator as you have been doing). This is especially true if you have an official diagnosis and have had it officially suggested as an accommodation for her. Just make sure to keep up your official testing dxing to have a papertrail for later schooling so that she can keep that accommodation! It is very important in college!!!

[lmrich]

Rod and Staff is a solid program that teaches mastery and provides review. There is a great and easy to understand teacher guide. 

 

Please make her memorize her math facts or allow her to use a multiplication chart; I separated math fact practice from math instruction. Be patient, be kind, be encouraging; knowing your multiplication/division facts sure makes fractions easier. 

 

 

[Farrar]

I agree to try a different presentation before you panic too much. See how she does on the Teaching Textbooks placement test, for example.

 

No matter what you get, yes to C-rods. And play math games that reinforce basic facts like Muggins and Rat-a-Tat-Cat and Corners.

[OneStepAtATime]

Ronit Bird books.  CLE Math (use the placement tests).  Math games that aren't "testing" math computation but are helping with concepts and practical application.  Working with manipulatives (Ronit Bird is good for this).  MUS.  Have her create her own multiplication charts and number charts once a week and work off of those instead of only plugging in numbers into a calculator.  DD is dyslexic and dyscalculic.  All of these things can help.  Does not solve the issues so everything comes glass smooth.  But it definitely helps.

[Jasperstone]

Is it that she doesn't understand the math concepts at all, or is it the way MM teaches that's the problem?

 

I don't have experience with dyslexia, but DD really struggled to retain information from MM, too. We switched to CLE and she made huge improvements in her retention. You might have to go over each problem with your DD to make sure she understands it, though, especially with the word problems. Right Start is also really good, you could take her back to level B or C, and since most of the work is hands-on, she wouldn't be reading much to get confused. It is very teacher intensive, but that may be what she needs.

 

For us, CLE Maths is a God sent. My dd is not Mathy and if it wasn't for CLE there would be lots of tears of frustration. As she really needs the spiral approach.

[Ellie]

You might consider Mathematics Made Meaningful, which begins at the very beginning with c-rods: dump all the rods on a table and sort them into piles according to color; mess them up and sort them into piles according to size...hey, look! It's the same piles!!! It's my favorite c-rod product. :-) 

 

Another really wonderful tool is the Wonder Number Learning System. This site begins with a video; hang in there and watch it. :-) But the 100s board is a great visual for numbers and multiples and all that. There are some very simple games, and even some lesson plans. It doesn't *feel* like school, but it really does help.

[EKS]

Have you looked at Math U See?  I used it with my dyslexic son when I discovered that Saxon wasn't working as well as I thought it was.   He was halfway through Saxon 7/6 and he placed into MUS Beta!  So we started in Beta and moved forward at his pace.  Sometimes we went very quickly and sometimes we slowed down quite a bit.  MUS really helped him tie the concepts together into an understandable whole and he hasn't had trouble with arithmetic since (he's 18, BTW).

[SnMomof7]

CLE has been SO good for us. We used MUS for years, tried switching to Math Mammoth (ugh), but we desperately needed the CLE spiral.

[Incognito]

I'm still in the younger-learner trenches like you, but so far my child with struggles that parallel dyslexia has done well with unconventional math - Life of Fred and now Beast Academy.

 

Fred was good because it was very conceptual and there wasn't a ton of writing.  We kept things slow and worked for understanding.  We also have C-rods and those blue 1's 10's 100's 1000's cubes to play with/use for manipulatives during problems if need be.

 

Beast Academy we are just diving into - so far 3A has started by exercising my child's visual-spatial strengths - so it is great fun for kiddo.  There isn't a ton of writing (again) and the learning isn't about a lot of computation, but about thinking mathematically.  The comic book factor makes it fun too.

 

FWIW, I don't know if this is a problem for you or not, but I have found that for a lot of it I just need to be right there - reading the instructions to my child and/or reading the problems and guiding along with my hands if we are working off the page (and just plain doing a lot of things orally).  This year with Beast Academy (and some big advances in reading) there is a little tiny bit more independence, but really I am there reading along for a lot and helping check to see that the questions are properly understood.

 

Oh, and this year I have had the kids practicing memorizing their math facts as part of their morning copywork time (so they go over a chart with the facts, color in the ones they know, and then practice the ones they don't).  It has helped to some extent.  My dyslexic-like child has not been able to get some of them memorized, but has come a long way and seems to feel pretty good about seeing a quite colored-in table. 

 

 

 

[lovinmomma]

Sorry I haven't been back to comment on this post! I DO appreciate the responses. Life hit with the holidays! :) I've been researching the Learning Challenges board and I'm interested in Ronit and Dynamo. I don't have an IPad, so I guess I'll have to buy the books for Ronit. Any idea which book I would start with for DD(almost)10?