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4th grade math curriculum


daisyeyes
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We have been using TT3 this year with my 3rd grade daughter (this was our first year at home) and she's not super excited about it. I thought it would be a great fit bc it's on the computer and I loved it bc it was hands off for me. I will say that I'm not super impressed with the rigor of it and it hasn't gone as deeply into some subjects as I wish it would have (fractions for example) so we've been supplementing a little bit with just a workbook.

 

I'm trying to decide what to do for 4th grade - do we continue with TT4 or change to something else?

I've been looking into Beast Academy bc she loves graphic novels - but I'm not sure where to start with it bc it seems much more rigorous than what we've done this year with TT3.

I'm curious how people feel about it and if it can be a stand alone or if I would need to find something else to use with it?

 

I've thought about switching to Right Start, but I'm worried that the financial investment for starting it in 4th grade wouldn't be worth it. And honestly I'm not sure that I'm up for the intensity of that program.

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We've had great success with Horizons math. It's spiral, so it has small sets of several concepts in one lessons. The concepts build up stealthily, so they don't realize how challenging it's getting. (Use the placement test if you do decide to use it.)

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We are using a combination of Beast Academy and Math Mammoth.  I think Beast Academy certainly can be a stand alone curriculum, but it is so challenging that my DS often needs to set it aside for days or even weeks to work on Math Mammoth which is very deep and thorough, but not as out of the box challenging.

 

My son finished MM 3 before even starting BA 3.  I think the two programs work well together.  MM gives DS a deep understanding of the concepts and plenty of practice problems, word problems and puzzles to build his fluency and accuracy.  BA frustrates him in a good way by giving him problems that he doesn't immediately know how to solve which require thinking, perseverance and using the skills they have taught in ways they did not explicitly teach.

 

Wendy

 

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We are using Singapore Math 4 and BA 3 simultaneously.  She was almost done SM 3 when we started BA 3 and will be almost done SM 4 before we start BA 4.  

 

Despite not being a lover of math, she does enjoy BA, but I'm glad that we are using it almost a year behind, because I don't think she would have been up for it at the beginning of grade 3.

 

Agree with Wendy's analysis of the interaction between MM (or in our case, SM) and BA.  They cover the same material but offer a different opportunity for DD to approach and understand the problems.

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My oldest is using BA 4 as a stand-alone.  He doesn't generally need repetition or review to retain information, so it works out well for him.  He had just finished RightStart level E when he moved to BA and I'm very glad I decided to do some "backtracking" and "review" by starting with BA 3 (it was neither).  It really is very challenging math!  

 

My second son is flipping back and forth between RS C (1st edition -- now covering stuff that is in level D in 2nd edition) and BA 3.  He needs to revisit topics frequently or he forgets them, so I anticipate needing to supplement BA with... something... for review and practice once he finishes RSC (he will not be using RS D).

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I've thought about switching to Right Start, but I'm worried that the financial investment for starting it in 4th grade wouldn't be worth it. And honestly I'm not sure that I'm up for the intensity of that program.

 

I love RS, but unless the child is struggling in math it probably isn't needed.

 

 

Hmm, don't really have any recommendations either.  Just keep in mind that middle school math often does a year a reviewing 1-6th grade math before moving into pre-algebra, so you do have some wiggle room. 

 

Also keep in mind that Singapore is very problem solving oriented, so if your child really hates story type problems that might not be a good fit, and if they like them they it might be a perfect fit.  Level 3 explains how to do the diagramming so you really want to start there, but move more quickly.  I used to be able to use the regular books and Intensive practice in one year, so if you are only using the main books you probably can get through 3 and well into 4 in one year.

 

At one time I also used Math Mammoth to supplement RS for days when I couldn't get to the one one one teaching.  It worked OK for most my kids, but not my son.  He loves patterns, and would get so focused on the pattern work in MM that he would not do math.  Thus it did nothing to help him remember his times tables.  I eventually quit using it for him and just printed off worksheets I found free online that covered the same topic he was on in RS.  There can also be some frustration if you are using the topical math series.  Why?  Because it is as if they just took the problems from the regular series and put them into topical order.  That is mostly OK but you do run into problems that deal with topics you haven't covered yet and either have to sit down and explain it or let the child skip a couple problems.  Easy if you have a child who asks, hard if you have one who refuses to and just sits there and gets frustrated and wound up instead.

 

Hope you find a good solution!

 

Heather

 

 

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If your child isn't liking TT and you don't like the rigor/results I would change programs.

 

BA can definitely stand alone if your student doesn't need review (it builds upon prior concepts but it is not at all spiral). You can start in 3 in 4th and learn A LOT, and maybe even have it timed right to finish BA 5 as its released (6th grade for your student) and move directly into preA for 7th.

 

RS is strong math, but it would be a 180 for you the teacher (it's very teacher intensive). Plus there's material investment.

 

Of those two I would pick BA, starting in book 3A. My kids also have a DreamBox subscription and work on it when they need a break from BA, or if they're feeling particularly mathy because of the confidence they gained working in BA. The 8 and 10 year olds work 30-60 minutes of math daily.

 

Other things to consider:

 

SM is also strong math. I agree with pp that starting in 3A is beneficial (this is where bar modeling and other problem solving strategies are introduced), and you can move quickly through topics you have already mastered. My oldest started 3A at beginning of 4th and finished 5B in 5th, started preA in 6th.

 

I haven't used MM, but it seems to be very similar to SM and students can work it more independently than SM.

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  • 2 weeks later...

If your child isn't liking TT and you don't like the rigor/results I would change programs.

 

BA can definitely stand alone if your student doesn't need review (it builds upon prior concepts but it is not at all spiral). You can start in 3 in 4th and learn A LOT, and maybe even have it timed right to finish BA 5 as its released (6th grade for your student) and move directly into preA for 7th.

 

RS is strong math, but it would be a 180 for you the teacher (it's very teacher intensive). Plus there's material investment.

 

Of those two I would pick BA, starting in book 3A. My kids also have a DreamBox subscription and work on it when they need a break from BA, or if they're feeling particularly mathy because of the confidence they gained working in BA. The 8 and 10 year olds work 30-60 minutes of math daily.

 

Other things to consider:

 

SM is also strong math. I agree with pp that starting in 3A is beneficial (this is where bar modeling and other problem solving strategies are introduced), and you can move quickly through topics you have already mastered. My oldest started 3A at beginning of 4th and finished 5B in 5th, started preA in 6th.

 

I haven't used MM, but it seems to be very similar to SM and students can work it more independently than SM.

 

I just heard about Dreambox and I'm curious if you can give me some more info on it? Is it more of a supplement/games sort of thing or is there some instruction also?

 

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I just heard about Dreambox and I'm curious if you can give me some more info on it? Is it more of a supplement/games sort of thing or is there some instruction also?

There is some instruction, but it isn't extensive. There is a lot of learning-through-problem solving, but I wouldn't use it as a stand alone program.

 

The user has access to about 6 different topics at any given time, and can freely switch between them. After a topic is mastered they get a new topic (determined by the "adaptive" program) or sometimes a one minute game to play before a new topic appears.

 

Topics are incremental (i.e. Long division isn't a single topic, but there are several topics that build up and so eventually you are doing long division with the standard algorithm), and develop conceptual understanding. This isn't just a problem bank like IXL or Prodigy. The topics present problems in a very game-like way, and really help build conceptual understanding before working with standard algorithms.

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I would vote for MM grade 3 (or 4, depending on placement) for a year and then pick up Beast as an add-on. MM is cheap and would help fill any gaps left over from TT. It would also give your student some experience with that conceptual approach before launching into the VERY rigorous Beast.

 

I

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