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ally
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My 14 yr old (8th grade) has an average IQ with very slow processing speed, less than the 5th percentile.  She also has memory issues.  I recently brought her back home after a year in a small private school.  I've been trying to use Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra but she is really struggling.  She does not like to do things on the computer so I've been having her watch the lesson but work the problems out of the book.  Afterwards, enter the answers into the program and watch the solutions to the ones she missed.  Saxon is not an option as it moves to quickly for her and has too many problems.  It can take her 2-3 hours to complete a lesson.  Does anyone have any suggestions?  I think I need a  workbook format where she writes in the book.

 

Thanks!

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Yes.  Yes I do.  CLE.  Workbook format, lots of review, everything introduced in small chunks, so it helps those with memory issues and slow processing speed, and you can start with just one or two units to see if it is a good fit.

 

But absolutely do not just plop her in what you consider grade level material.  Give her the placement tests.  They are free on-line.  Just download them to your computer and print them out.  I would recommend actually starting with the lower levels, like level 100 and move forward.  There may be gaps you are unaware of.  If you can find them and put some targeted effort there before moving forward she might have a chance of doing well.  The tests are a bit long, so maybe just do one or two a day and keep moving forward until she hits one she cannot pass.  Go back and review which ones she missed and target whatever weak spots she may have before starting wherever she successfully tested into.

 

Also, you might look at the Ronit Bird ebooks if she is weak in subitization skiils.

 

CLE is a big help here.  10 light units per year, with the first light unit being all review of the previous year's material.  Each light unit is designed to last about 3 weeks, but you can skip the quizzes and unit tests if you want.  Also, once something is truly mastered, you can cross out some of the review questions and compress two lessons into one, if needed.  That makes it easier to accelerate when appropriate.  I want you to know this in case your child tests into a lower level than her grade level.  Just skip some of the review problems, double up the lessons and skip the quizzes and the first light unit of each year.  It is also easy to stretch out and slow down.  Very versatile.  As many, many parents here have posted, and I have definitely discovered myself, going back, slowing down, and really solidifying the areas where there are serious gaps  can net much bigger gains than just continuing to try pushing forward.  

 

An exception to that would be if a child has a disability in maths that make memorizing basic functions exceedingly hard or impossible, but they definitely understand the concepts.  In that situation continuing to move forward while working on math facts separately may keep a child from ending up hating math.  There are a lot of kids that are good at conceptual and more advanced maths even if they struggle mightily with rote memorization of math facts.  If they never get to higher level math or are never given any scaffolding while doing higher level math, they may never discover they have strengths in this area.  My husband is terrible with basic math facts.   He is terrific with higher level math.  He enjoys trig and calculus, etc.  He just needed some scaffolding of the basic math facts since those have never stuck.  He does understand the principles behind them, though.

 

 

Anyway, here is a link to the CLE website.  If you click on the placement tests (there are two groups, one for k-4th and one for 5th and up) once they open you can save them to your computer and print them out.  Or you can pay to have them sent to you.

 

https://www.clp.org/store/by_grade/21

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Thank-you for your detailed reply and suggestions.  It will take a two weeks to get through the placement test.  Ugh! But we just keep slugging through. Can you explain what subitization skills are?  I am not familiar with the term.

 

Thanks!

ally

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Subitization is basic number sense.  Most people are born with at least some basic number sense.  Studies have been done that show even infants have a basic sense of more and less.  That basic number sense is just there, subconscious, like breathing.  As we get older basic number sense continues to develop.  Unfortunately, some kids have a very weak basic number sense.  Others have virtually none.  Subitization skills are based on that basic number sense.  

 

For instance, if you had 3 coins on a table and someone dropped 2 more, you would almost certainly be able to tell just by glancing that there are now 5 coins.  Someone with extremely weak subitization skills might have to recount each individual coin to find out how many coins there are.  Adding two more coins they might have to start at the beginning and count again.  

 

It goes deeper than that and shows in different ways with different children but i'm not good at explaining this.  Kids that struggle with addition/subtraction/multiplication/division or do these processes really slowly sometimes have weak subitization skills.  Hopefully someone else can explain this better.

 

Ronit Bird has some great materials for working on number sense.  Some of her stuff is quite useful, even if a child doesn't have dyscalulia.  And she is very responsive if you have questions.

 

http://www.ronitbird.com/

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OneStep did a great job explaining things. I am following in her footsteps & using CLE & Ronit Bird stuff with my 9 yr old. I started her in 100 & am able to do 2 lessons most days by skipping over skills she has down pat. It isn't any longer-I just pick & choose what to cover. It's quite easy to do.

 

My dd is doing well with these materials & making good progress (although math facts are still a struggle).

 

Good luck to you!

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Thanks everyone.  Those are great ideas.  I think she is okay on her subitization but I have two little special needs boys we adopted from China that definitely fit this description.  I found it so odd as none of the 10 we have had experienced this deficit so I didn't know there was a term for it.  I appreciate all of the suggestions for getting through the testing too.

 

Thanks!

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Thanks everyone.  Those are great ideas.  I think she is okay on her subitization but I have two little special needs boys we adopted from China that definitely fit this description.  I found it so odd as none of the 10 we have had experienced this deficit so I didn't know there was a term for it.  I appreciate all of the suggestions for getting through the testing too.

 

Thanks!

Then definitely check out the Ronit Bird material for the boys, maybe Right Start as well.

 

FWIW, with the CLE placement tests, DD (who used to loathe math and was really behind when we first pulled her out of school) actually got through all the tests in about 2 days.  She just kept going.  I'm just saying this because your DD might surprise you.  I told DD she would be doing one test a day and she asked if she could have a couple of days off from math altogether if she got through the tests faster than that.  I said yes so she did.  Therefore, she got 2 days off from math while I ordered materials and planned out our strategies...:)

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Though number sense and subitization need to be clarified?

 

Number sense, is the ability to instantly form and recognize a group of 2 , 3 or 4 randomly placed objects.

If you look at 2 or 3 or 4 objects, randomly placed near each other?

You can probably instantly recognize them as groups of 2,3 or 4.

Having recognized the size of a group, you can then name it, as a number.

 

But before you name it, you need to recognize the size of the group.

In the same way, that you need to be able to 'see a color', before you can name it.

 

Though I would really highlight, that our innate sense of number?

Operates on a 'base 5 system'.

While we carry after 9, our brain carries after 4.

 

I just did a count?  Where I found that when add my arms and legs together?

They come to a total of 4.

Then noticed that I could carry to 5, with a nod of my head.

Then use my arms and legs again, to concieve of 9.

 

Which makes use of a different type of 'manipulatives'?

To concieve of numbers.

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