macmom28 Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 I'm not sure what to do with DS this year for math. He completed Singapore Math 5A and 5B last year and did well and didn't have any trouble, but now I'm not fully confident that he retained some of the material well enough. He is really difficult for me to figure out. He is highly advanced overall (and especially in language) and advanced in math but doesn't seem to retain anything "process" oriented. I tried to supplement with Life of Fred thinking he would love the literature aspect but he recently said he doesn't think it is adding much. He said he enjoys the story but that he needed something else. So, I thought maybe we could add in Beast Academy as a supplement? I'm not really sure how the Singapore levels might pair up with the various levels of Beast Academy? I thought he could take a break from SM before moving into 6A and do something else. He could/should be moving into pre-algebra (6th grade this year) but I don't know that that he is solid enough yet on his fractions, decimals, and percents. I would like him to really know his math and feel comfortable with it before just pushing him ahead. I am trying to move him at his pace rather than just push him ahead. I guess it all comes down to the fact that I am not confident that I know what he needs. Supplementary materials? Drilling? Move ahead anyway despite my concerns? I am not an intuitive math person so this is really hard for me to figure this out!! I conceptual never "got" math (unless it was geometry). Would appreciate any input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 If he is doing well with a conceptually based program but is not retaining the processes/procedures then pairing a conceptually based program with another conceptually based program such as Beast may not address the underlying issue. You might add in something closer to CLE. Light Units are cheap so there wouldn't be a big monetary investment. You could just buy a couple and see how they do for solidifying the weaker side. Give a placement test and buy a couple of the light units from the level he tests into. Cross out any review problems he is solid on for procedure and let him do the rest. Skip the quizzes and tests if you want to move faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali in OR Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 We always supplemented Singapore primary with Horizons just to add in continual review and the types of problems kiddos might see on state tests. I much prefer Singapore's teaching, but appreciated the practice in Horizons. We did these simultaneously but I would cross out up to half of the Horizons lesson to keep the total workload reasonable--like, "hmm, you're fine on this topic, but you need more work on fractions, the geometry section would be fun, but the puzzle seems tedious." Horizons keeps reviewing old topics, whereas Singapore just keeps moving on. Singapore 6A/B is also good for cementing ideas before moving on to prealgebra--so many people say they skip it and I don't really understand why. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kateingr Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 The Key to Fractions, Percents, and Decimals is an excellent, thorough review of all three areas. It would be a great option for practicing and consolidating all those concepts and help solidify the connections between them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 The Key to Fractions, Percents, and Decimals is an excellent, thorough review of all three areas. It would be a great option for practicing and consolidating all those concepts and help solidify the connections between them. I agree. This program is a excellent, clear, gentle, and thorough review of concerts and procedures that many students struggle with understanding completely. Key to...is designed to help those students. It is not intimidating (or boring). The author of Key to... is the son of Miquon author Lore Rasmussen, Steve Rasmussen. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted August 28, 2015 Share Posted August 28, 2015 There is a lot of review of the basics in many pre-algebra books/programs. It's not as scary and as big of a jump as it sounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted August 29, 2015 Share Posted August 29, 2015 If he did well in MM5a and b, I'd start him on MM6a and b, not jump ahead to pre-algebra. Many of the topics will come up again, and he can review them then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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