SKL Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 I have a kid who does not retain math well at all. She needs a lot of practice and then needs to review fairly often or she will forget. She's going into 5th and there are so many different concepts to keep up with. And she's in sports, so she doesn't have a lot of time after school to do review on top of homework. Her school uses Math in Focus. So, we need something that will keep her fairly fresh on the concepts, but doesn't eat up a lot of time. Any suggestions? We are discovering Khan Academy this summer as part of the Brain Chase program. It seems to touch on various different topics and offers video explanations. I have her doing the 4th grade level, and she still has to have guidance from me to do many of the problems, because she's already forgotten stuff. But she seems to like the program. She has her own computer and can work on Khan while I'm doing my own work or whatever. I am also thinking of having her go to a weekly math class (which she enjoys) as an extracurricular, if I can make it work with our schedule. In the past I have had her do review workbooks and stuff, but I find it harder and harder to make that work. Plus, the workbooks also focus on one thing, so the kid forgets other stuff. If I give her a bunch of different worksheets it seems like I'm a slave driver. :P Which I probably am. :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Have kids -- will travel Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Is it concepts or calculations? Generally, in math, a child at that age should be really solid and automatic with arithmatic, which frees brain space for working on higher level problems. Does she need to work on math facts like multiplication tables? Or do you mean actual concepts (and please explain!)? For math facts, I'd recommend just printing out a couple of colorful sheets in problem areas. Attach one of the head rest of the car in front of her seat. Put another one on the wall or in her room. Add another one to the bathroom. Change them up regularly, and quiz her with a problem or two every day. I have boys who don't like worksheets (and honestly, who really does?), so we get lots more creative. Answering questions while they bike in circles. Card games for math facts. I get it, though; I work and don't have time for everything. But it's not much more work than a worksheet, honestly. I don't have experience with kids who struggle to learn, but my best guess is that she's missing some earlier computation facts and with that, she'll find it much easier to tackle the concepts (which are generally very simple to explain). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathnerd Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 If it is not a learning issue and she simply forgets, then, you might have to check if she understands the basic concepts well and has a quick recall. It is really important to make sure that she has developed full automaticity of math facts - that takes care of a lot of the struggle with math in the late elementary years. If you can review multiplication, division, fractions, prime numbers and some measurement, that will help not only with her struggles, but also will speed up her math work considerably. Have you tried Prodigy math? Many people on the Gen Ed forum seem to like it though I have no experience with it. You mention that you might sign her up for after school math classes - that could be a better solution because the tutor could tailor the program to meet her where she is at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted July 12, 2016 Author Share Posted July 12, 2016 (edited) It's not math facts, but remembering what to do in a multi-step problem. For example, add 4/10 + 6/100. She learned this level of stuff a couple of months ago. She does not remember that she needs to convert one or both to a common denominator and then add and maybe simplify. She does not remember how to convert to an equivalent fraction. After some review it comes back. She can remember how to do stuff like long division and multi-digit multiplication. She isn't super fast at any of it, but at least she knows what she's doing. Edited July 12, 2016 by SKL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Have kids -- will travel Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 It's not math facts, but remembering what to do in a multi-step problem. For example, add 4/10 + 6/100. She learned this level of stuff a couple of months ago. She does not remember that she needs to convert one or both to a common denominator and then add and maybe simplify. She does not remember how to convert to an equivalent fraction. After some review it comes back. She can remember how to do stuff like long division and multi-digit multiplication. She isn't super fast at any of it, but at least she knows what she's doing. Are you trying to get her math skills up to level for next year or are you trying to get her ahead? If she's behind and needs to catch up, I think I'd back up a bit to more basic fractions. I'd want her seeing immediately that a fraction can be reduced or not and really fast on converting proper and improper fractions. After that, I'd go back to the multi-step. I think the issue isn't that she doesn't remember how to do the multi-step, but that the earlier skills (recognizing how fractions can be converted, easily reducing fractions) are weak. If you're trying to prep her to be ahead of next year, I'd back off and let her work at a more comfortable (and successful) level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted July 13, 2016 Author Share Posted July 13, 2016 Not trying to get ahead. Just want to be ready for what 5th grade throws at us. :) She has problems with memory. There are many things to remember and I'm trying to find a reasonable way to keep them all fairly fresh. Easy, quick, simple, fast, these are not words that apply to this kid's math situation. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 ALEKS or Daily Math Practice from Evan Moor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Does she know why she is doing things when she converts or is she just remembering (or forgetting) a sequence of steps? Msth Mammoth do reveiw workbooks which cover a the topics taught during each grade. They are cheap PDF downloads with reveiws and tests. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted July 13, 2016 Author Share Posted July 13, 2016 (edited) Do the Math Mammoth review workbooks cover the topics one by one, or do they mix it up so each is reviewed more frequently? Edited July 13, 2016 by SKL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 I'd also add Prodigy Math and specifically assign topics you know she needs. The game can be very motivating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Math in Focus has enrichment and extra practice books. You can find some of them used on Amazon. Another plug for Prodigy Math here too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Do the Math Mammoth review workbooks cover the topics one by one, or do they mix it up so each is reviewed more frequently? MM sells review workbooks: http://www.mathmammoth.com/review_workbooks/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 Do the Math Mammoth review workbooks cover the topics one by one, or do they mix it up so each is reviewed more frequently? The review books are simply the chapter and cumulative reviews pulled from the full curriculum series (light blue I think?), they are not mixed "one-a-day" type worksheets. What I do is keep a post-it on the front of our math book with concepts I think need reviewing. At the beginning of each math lesson, I take a glance at it and simply make up 5-10 problems that cover the concepts in need of review (I write them on whiteboard for kid to do as a warm-up). It's not quite open-and-go, but it certainly isn't complicated, and it's tailor-made for the student. This is extremely helpful to both my kids, as we use Singapore and it can be a while before a concept is seen again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 Do you have a large white board? I have found that the best way to review concepts is at the white board. I present my student with five review problems and then if she misses one I write more like that one. For some reason, my students (I tutor often) are so much more open to working on the white board than if I give them a workbook (often I have a workbook in front of me so I can have several problems ready); I have the students complete some problems on paper after they have 'warmed up' their brain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beishan Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 We use MM review book in the past two years. It has 2-3 review pages for each topic and then follow with one page test for the topic. At the end of each review book, it has year end assessment which contains several pages of mixed questions belong to the content of the year. I use it as refreshment during summer and prepare for next school year. So far it works well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ondreeuh Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 I heartily recommend Math Minutes (sample here). I use them at the same level as MIF as the scope & sequence matches up well and they are a quick way to review a mixture of problems each day. Once in a while we come up to something in Math Minutes that is new, but it's a good way to preview what is coming up in Math in Focus. Last summer we did two "minutes" a day for a while to burn through the easy beginning of the book. Oh, I don't expect them to only take a minute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 15, 2016 Share Posted July 15, 2016 It's not math facts, but remembering what to do in a multi-step problem. For example, add 4/10 + 6/100. She learned this level of stuff a couple of months ago. She does not remember that she needs to convert one or both to a common denominator and then add and maybe simplify. She does not remember how to convert to an equivalent fraction. After some review it comes back. . She isnt seeing the concept. Re do that unit with manipulatives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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