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Our school is switching from EM to Go Math next year. I've heard some intense criticism of EM in the past, but at least for 1st grade I didn't see any real issues other than it being extremely basic, more at a preschool/K level than a 1st grade level. In looking online for opinions on GO Math, however, I've seen some pretty profound criticism.

 

Have any of your kids used this curriculum? If so, can you give some idea of the weaknesses and where I might try to shore up the program at home? DD is strong in math, has a deep understanding from having used RS, Miquon and SM when we homeschooled, and I'm worried about how the new curriculum might affect that.

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My 2nd grade daughter uses it. She's pretty comfortable using it but I believe it's way too repetitive & skimpy on content. Plus they rely too heavily on a single representation of math--I'm tired of all those cubes she's asked to draw. She's not challenged by Go Math! & so she breezes through her 'homework' in it & we move on to more meaningful math talks, activities, & strategies.

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Our school is switching from EM to Go Math next year. I've heard some intense criticism of EM in the past, but at least for 1st grade I didn't see any real issues other than it being extremely basic, more at a preschool/K level than a 1st grade level. In looking online for opinions on GO Math, however, I've seen some pretty profound criticism.

 

Have any of your kids used this curriculum? If so, can you give some idea of the weaknesses and where I might try to shore up the program at home? DD is strong in math, has a deep understanding from having used RS, Miquon and SM when we homeschooled, and I'm worried about how the new curriculum might affect that.

 

I believe this is what my kids' school uses. Unfortunately -- neither of my kids had teachers that really JUST used the Go Math.  Both have taken what they wanted from these workbooks and supplemented with other work -- sending home the workbooks at the end of the year with the used pages torn out, but many many pages still available for the family to use as they wish.

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Thanks for your input, it's more or less what I suspected. BA 2 should be coming out this summer, so I may supplement with it if my DD enjoys it, or may just do some math games.

 

Today I also found the workbooks online on Think Central, and discovered something called Go Math Enrichment. Have either of you looked at the enrichment problems? For the most part they don't seem all that challenging, but there are a few that seem like they're a step above the work given in class. I wonder if those might go deeply enough to be a good supplement?

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I believe this is what my kids' school uses. Unfortunately -- neither of my kids had teachers that really JUST used the Go Math. Both have taken what they wanted from these workbooks and supplemented with other work -- sending home the workbooks at the end of the year with the used pages torn out, but many many pages still available for the family to use as they wish.

LOL, my daughter's school does the same. So she just uses them when playing 'school'. Although I'm not in the classroom, I'd say the bulk of her math is taken from Go Math!, judging by other completed/graded math work in her folder.

 

It's interesting b/c she'll have easy-breezy Go Math! assignments but then come home with super hard-to-decipher tests or worksheets periodically. It seems either not rigorous enough or too rigorous. For example, I teach math & couldn't for the life of me figure out the logic behind a few questions on an assignment. My colleague couldn't either. We still talk about it in puzzlement--LOL!

 

The one strategy I like is the pictorial use of 100s, 10s, & 1s blocks when calculating 3 digit subtraction. My daughter seems to like this & uses it w/ confidence w/ this newly-acquired skill.

 

Our district also uses 10 Marks, which has grown on me.

Edited by Earthmerlin
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LOL, my daughter's school does the same. So she just uses them when playing 'school'. Although I'm not in the classroom, I'd say the bulk of her math is taken from Go Math!, judging by other completed/graded math work in her folder.

 

It's interesting b/c she'll have easy-breezy Go Math! assignments but then come home with super hard-to-decipher tests or worksheets periodically. It seems either not rigorous enough or too rigorous. For example, I teach math & couldn't for the life of me figure out the logic behind a few questions on an assignment. My colleague couldn't either. We still talk about it in puzzlement--LOL!

 

The one strategy I like is the pictorial use of 100s, 10s, & 1s blocks when calculating 3 digit subtraction. My daughter seems to like this & uses it w/ confidence w/ this newly-acquired skill.

 

Our district also uses 10 Marks, which has grown on me.

 

Neither of my kids' teachers have used the books to any great degree.  We finally threw away my son's old books when he wasn't touching them again -- too easy. He's in 4th grade and I don't think they are using Go Math at all this year.  I haven't seen a single sheet come home from it -- mostly printouts from various websites.  Though actually... the work they do in class is more workbook like. That MAY end up being from GoMath. But if so, I find those to be good problems.  DD just brought home the first books (Kindergarten) and immediately wanted to read all the stories in it. But we skimmed through the first workbook the first night it came home -- she already knew that (I think it was counting from 1 to 20). There is some information on coins and other things in the second workbook we will work on over the summer. She seems to really love the colorful pages and that is better than I can easily print at home so we will use what we have.

 

I have been figuring that they are so repetitive for kids that needed it -- not because they expect every teacher to use it. Especially with our experiences of teachers (even very new teachers. DD's teacher this year is a second-year teacher.)  taking what they want to use and leaving many worksheets behind.  This is not a curriculum that expects every student to use every sheet in the book. Rather, it offers lots of further practice on every topic so kids that need it can have different ways of approaching a topic.

Edited by vonfirmath
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Neither of my kids' teachers have used the books to any great degree. We finally threw away my son's old books when he wasn't touching them again -- too easy. He's in 4th grade and I don't think they are using Go Math at all this year. I haven't seen a single sheet come home from it -- mostly printouts from various websites. Though actually... the work they do in class is more workbook like. That MAY end up being from GoMath. But if so, I find those to be good problems. DD just brought home the first books (Kindergarten) and immediately wanted to read all the stories in it. But we skimmed through the first workbook the first night it came home -- she already knew that (I think it was counting from 1 to 20). There is some information on coins and other things in the second workbook we will work on over the summer. She seems to really love the colorful pages and that is better than I can easily print at home so we will use what we have.

 

I have been figuring that they are so repetitive for kids that needed it -- not because they expect every teacher to use it. Especially with our experiences of teachers (even very new teachers. DD's teacher this year is a second-year teacher.) taking what they want to use and leaving many worksheets behind. This is not a curriculum that expects every student to use every sheet in the book. Rather, it offers lots of further practice on every topic so kids that need it can have different ways of approaching a topic.

Yes, perhaps the repetition is for those that truly need it but it's not really used in that differentiated way at my daughter's school, at least not that I've seen. Plus--along that same vein--enrichment should happen as well (for those that 'get it' immediately & need additional challenge), of which I've seen none in Go Math!

 

While her teacher may use additional materials in class & as occasion HW, it're Go Math! materials I see most regularly. As I've said, they are quasi-adequate in providing a bare bones mathematical foundation but lack in lots of ways. To bolster things, I piece meal a more balanced approach to math, w/ mental flexibility being of paramount importance. I believe this ecclectic approach a healthy one when building mathematical literacy.

Edited by Earthmerlin
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My son's school uses Go Math! and they follow it to the letter, going through each lesson exactly as presented in the materials. He's in second grade now and has been using this program since kindergarten, so I know it well. I've also purchased the supplementary Student Practice books for each level up through 4th grade, so I've got a good sense of the scope and sequence of the program and how concepts are taught. That said, math is not and has never been a strength of mine -- so I don't have the insight that a "mathy" person might. My thoughts:

 

Fewer topics are covered in the early years than in some other programs, though they eventually get to everything if you go through the whole program. If you read their materials, you learn that this is deliberate; they specifically aim to cover less but to make sure the kids really understand the math. It's a very conceptual program with a strong focus on ensuring that kids can process the reasoning behind what they are doing. Students are regularly asked to explain their understanding, which gets quite tedious and frustrating but also helps the teacher (and parent) see where a child lacks understanding. There are many word problems and lots of applied math, which is good. Go Math! is obsessed with ten frames in the early grades, and I wish they would represent numbers in different ways (number bonds, number lines, etc.). On the other hand, all the ten frame work does ensure that students have a firm base 10 mentality moving forward, which is good. Go Math! also builds spiral review into the homework assignments (if your child's teacher uses them). This has been great, as it has prevented my son from forgetting previously learned concepts and skills.

 

Like someone else said, I have sometimes found the assessments to be more challenging than the daily homework. I have not found the program in general to be too easy, but then again, I am not "mathy" (and neither is my son). I'd say the level of challenge is just about right.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Edited by lilajoy
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  • 3 weeks later...

My son's school uses Go Math! and they follow it to the letter, going through each lesson exactly as presented in the materials. He's in second grade now and has been using this program since kindergarten, so I know it well. I've also purchased the supplementary Student Practice books for each level up through 4th grade, so I've got a good sense of the scope and sequence of the program and how concepts are taught. That said, math is not and has never been a strength of mine -- so I don't have the insight that a "mathy" person might. My thoughts:

 

 

FYI

Go Math! Accelerated Grade 7 problem sets:

https://sites.google.com/a/fruitvale.net/mrs-lehman-7th-accelerated/home/additional-math-help

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