Some SIngaporeM ?? With HIG- prioritizing?

[Shred Betty]

Level 1A, I am using the HIG, Textbook/workbook and have the Intensive Practice but not using it all the time yet. I'm saving some for review rather than for use alongside the topic. I think next semester I'll try the Word Problems instead of IP. Any feedback you have on supplemental books is appreciated!

 

- We are both enjoying it.

 

Question:

I'm a bit overwhelmed at the number of mental Maths the HIG is assigning on top of the workbook problems. I'm doing flash cards weekly but want to do flash cards daily or every other. It feels like too much sometimes. I'm not finding time to get to any of the "fun stuff" lately like the games and activities and again, not finding time for flash cards more than weekly.

 

I'm reluctant to skip the mental Maths because they don't just seem like busy work - every question seems to make a connection / step. They are not always as quick as I'd like them to be but they seem quite important not just for concept but for speed, confidence, fluency (?) or some such.

 

How do you do / use the mental math sheets if you use the HIG, or how important do you feel it is to get to them? Do you do one per day or more to keep up, or save them and rotate in later as a form of review?

 

I'd love any advice you may have for weighting our time or attention or otherwise prioritizing my efforts between doing these!

 

Flash cards (frequency?)

Lesson incl. textbook / workbook

Mental math

Intensive practice supplement

 

 

Thank you in advance!

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

We use TB (sporadically), WB, MM from HIG, and CWP.  

 

Here's what I do:

 

- Start our lesson by writing out 10 MM problems from the HIG on the whiteboard.  I don't worry about these being aligned with the lesson or falling behind.  We generally get them done by the end of the book, so it all evens out more-or-less.  I also skip them for facts/concepts that seem well-mastered.  If it seems like the kid also needs to review some other concepts (carrying, borrowing, fractions... whatever, the list gets long as your kids get older!) then I'll add those in as well, so that I have a mix of various review/MM of about ten problems.  Kid does these as warm up, and it also provides a good spiral review.  

 

- Lesson.  Usually I teach directly on the whiteboard, but occasionally I find the pictures in the TB helpful.  A few practice problems to make sure kid "gets it".

 

- WB lesson, which kid does basically independently.  At the SM1-SM2 level, I am still willing to scribe if necessary or sit at their side if they are unsure or just need my presence.  Different kids need different things at these levels, but my goal is to gently move them towards independently completing WB in SM2-3ish.  

 

- Check and correct immediately.  

 

For flashcards, I use apps on the iPad.  This is SO MUCH EASIER on all of us!  There are also computer based apps if you don't have a tablet.  We like xtramath.org for computer based, thought it's super boring.  The best addition app I've found for iPad is XGerms Addition (free) but there are many out there.  XGerms is also available on the computer I think, but might just be for multiplication on the computer... not sure.  I would not suggest fact practice or flash cards until the kid has done the math approximately 800,000 times with cuisinaire rods, abacus, or other manipulatives that "make ten".   :tongue_smilie:

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

Oh, we use CWP as a sort of review any time where I feel the kid needs to sit and digest a new concept before moving on.  I don't make any attempt to have them correspond to what we're learning, they're just another form of spiral review for us.  So for a week or so, we'd just do our warm up as described above, a short review of the type or problem I feel kid is still digesting, and then a few CWPs.  We don't use IP.  

[Shred Betty]

Oh, we use CWP as a sort of review any time where I feel the kid needs to sit and digest a new concept before moving on. I don't make any attempt to have them correspond to what we're learning, they're just another form of spiral review for us. So for a week or so, we'd just do our warm up as described above, a short review of the type or problem I feel kid is still digesting, and then a few CWPs. We don't use IP.

Thank- you Monica!

[RenaInTexas]

We do:

 

Lesson from the textbook and textbook problems together as practice.

 

Problems from workbook for independent classwork -- while I work with sibling

 

Problems from Intensive Practice / CWP for homework (20 min per day, independent work, one chapter behind -- so if we are in chapter 2, then the IP HW is from Chpt 1, so it serves as a spiral-like review)

 

Mental Math / Math Fluency as morning folder work; just a couple of problems -- no more than 5 minutes. 

 

My tests are the Reviews from the workbook / textbook whichever I like best; all tests are cumulative

 

[letsplaymath]

I'd love any advice you may have for weighting our time or attention or otherwise prioritizing my efforts between doing these!

 

Flash cards (frequency?)

Lesson incl. textbook / workbook

Mental math

Intensive practice supplement

 

Caveat: I'm as old as the dinosaurs, as homeschoolers go. We used the original Singapore Primary Math (durians and all) before the days of the HIG and other books.

 

That said...

 

Flash cards: Not necessary at all. From what I've heard, this is one place where I would disagree strongly with the HIG author (and many other homeschoolers). The kind of thinking used in solving flash cards is not the kind of thinking you need in math. Games are MUCH better practice because they promote flexibility and strategic reasoning. I've shared a lot of math practice games on my blog, for free. Please don't use flash cards unless your kids really enjoy them.

 

Lessons: See mental math, below...

 

Mental math: Vital. But you don't necessarily need the HIG extra practice pages. Do the textbook lesson as daily mental math, with a white board as backup when needed. Talk about the various ways you might think through a problem. Try to find more than one way to do calculations. Build mental agility and flexible thinking. Allow the workbook problems to be done mentally, and even take dictation from your student (writing notes and answers for him/her) if that helps.

 

Intensive practice or other supplements: Optional. Try not to overload your students. Some kids (not mine!) enjoy math and will cheerfully do more than others. Some people use the IP book in place of the regular workbook. Some people prefer other supplements, such as living math read-alouds or math circle playgroups.

[fralala]

I have used SM for three years now, and have never used flashcards. We've always done the mental math from the HIG with my child either on my lap or jumping on the trampoline/ bouncing on a ball. And I was lucky enough to come across Denise's math games long before I had the courage to start posting on this site myself.

 

(My oldest daughter's favorite game for learning addition and subtraction facts, which is really not SO different from flashcards come to think of it, but feels a world away, was having me hold up two playing cards-- not looking at them-- and she would tell me either the sum or difference, and I had to guess the numbers. If I was right, I would get them; if I was wrong, she would get them.) She also loves computer games that help with rote learning (Sumdog is her favorite), and allowing her to occasionally use these makes both of our lives more pleasant!

 

We really edit when using the textbook-- I will only pick a few of the problems there to make sure my child gets the concept and can explain to me what's going on in her mind when she solves the problem. If she does not, I would usually rather go back to manipulatives or take a break (often I get inspiration about how best to help communicate concepts when I'm not beginning to feel exasperated).

 

The intensive practice we used as review before moving on to the next level of SM. The CWP...well. The fact is, my first grader would roll her eyes and complain about the CWP, but she LOVES solving "real" (challenging) word problems, e.g., "Figure out how old everybody in our family will be in 6 years" or "How old was Grandma when you were born?" or "If the baby was 7 lbs when he was born, and is now 20 lbs, how much weight has he gained?" I think the word problems in the workbook were probably enough practice with word problems for us-- the CWP were pushing us over the "math is boring and only pretends to be relevant with these fictional problems" precipice. But every kid is different!

 

 

[beka87]

I think every child/family is different and what works for some may not work for you.  The most important things are to 1)not overload your child, and 2)make sure you are moving at their pace and not skipping ahead when they need more time/practice in a certain area.

 

In my house we: 

 

Present lesson, sometimes with white board/manipulatives

Go through TB and problems (sometimes not all) to be sure the concept is understood

WB problems are done independently

 

We use MM when we have time/I think its really needed.  We don't usually get to every MM sheet, but we get to most of them eventually.  I'll even pull MM from previous books to review.

 

We use all the chapter and unit tests because it serves as more review and my school district loves grades in the quarterly reports.

 

We use flash cards many, but not all, days, some to review and more in what she's currently learning.  There are certainly long periods when we just don't need flash cards in our lives, as well, because the material has been mastered.  This is done during her checklist time (independent, completed at her leisure, and made of little things that I forget otherwise, like cursive practice, etc.)

 

We do math every day, no exceptions, six days a week for about 20 minutes at a time.  One of those slots every week is for games only.

 

We do not use IP or CWP (we did in the past but it was FAR too much math for a young child), but I find Math Mammoth a nice supplement for certain topics my daughter needs more time with.  We have a separate 15 minute Math Mammoth slot once a week.

 

I really think that less is more with math, if lessons are focused and regular.

 

Good luck!