Asma_08 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 So my son(6) has been breezing along with SM and we have now hit a wall with SM3B particularly with measurement word problems. Arithmetic is easy for him but the word problems are getting really difficult and I am seeing that he struggles with reading comprehension. If I stop here for about six months, what programs could I add that would be more arithmetic and less word problems. I don't know if developmentally he will be ready to move on to 4A for at least 6 months. Just wondering if there is another program that would be good in the interim. Any thoughts? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arch at Home Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Whenever we hit a wall in Singapore, we do Miquon. It is usually recommended to start at the beginning and move as fast as the child wants. Miquon is a different approach than Singapore with no word problems. My dc really like working with the rods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mktkcb Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Totally agreeing with this.....I've done it with 3 out of 3 kids, and its a great combo. It will absolutely solidify all the arithmetic, and the rods are just fun to play with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lighthouseacademy Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 I don't have any suggestions for you, but I think most kids resist word problems. I have dealt with a bit of struggling from my son because he likes to fly and plug and chug. He has no problem with computation but he does not particularly like to show his work and think the logic through. I had to sit with him a bit and help him to understand what the word problem was asking. He began to get it and now is fine with them. I also had to explain the real world applications to him. Life is very little straight computation but is mostly a series of word problems... You might consider going down a level in word problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asma_08 Posted February 11, 2009 Author Share Posted February 11, 2009 (edited) Whenever we hit a wall in Singapore, we do Miquon. It is usually recommended to start at the beginning and move as fast as the child wants. Miquon is a different approach than Singapore with no word problems. My dc really like working with the rods. This is a good suggestion. I am going to go to the homeschool store to checkout Miquon. Thanks! I don't have any suggestions for you, but I think most kids resist word problems. I have dealt with a bit of struggling from my son because he likes to fly and plug and chug. He has no problem with computation but he does not particularly like to show his work and think the logic through. I had to sit with him a bit and help him to understand what the word problem was asking. He began to get it and now is fine with them. I also had to explain the real world applications to him. Life is very little straight computation but is mostly a series of word problems... You might consider going down a level in word problems. You know I was thinking of just skipping the word problems and coming back to them a little later. I may do this in combination with Miquon. I still think I will wait until he is maybe 7.5 to start 4A, its seems to be a big jump. I notice your son is the same age and doing 4A, are you skipping the word problems? Anyway, thanks so much for your comments. Edited February 11, 2009 by Asma_08 typos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arch at Home Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 If you like Miquon, you can purchase a PDF and download it here. http://tinyurl.com/ca5c94 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessedfamily Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Asma, You didn't mention if these word problems are part of the text, CWP, or what? Some people do CWP a level behind anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree House Academy Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 Have you tried going back a level with the CWP? I use CWP2 with PM 3B. If you are talking about the word problems in the text, you could always take a hiatus and do Extra Practice, Intensive Practice, or Miquon. My first suggestion, though, would be to go back a grade level in Challenging Word Problems and bring his word problem knowledge up to speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asma_08 Posted February 11, 2009 Author Share Posted February 11, 2009 (edited) Oh, I should have mentioned what I am using. I use the 3B text and Intensive practice wkbk. Honestly the word problems in 3A were no problem, it wasn't until we started doing measurements that he just got so confused. With all the different units he finds it very difficult to figure out what piece of information he needs to solve the problems. The problems in the text aren't too bad as they are usually one step but when you have to convert units in multi-step problems, he just gets really confused. It might not be the word problems but maybe I just have not taught him the measurement topic well enough. Edited February 11, 2009 by Asma_08 grammer, typos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessedfamily Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 There are a lot of measurements to keep straight. I'm considering making a chart of measurements to hang on the wall for my dd. I would give him one or two problems at a time on those, reviewing it with him a little at a time- especially if he's getting frustrated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jill Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 :lurk5: My ds 7 has hit the wall with the story problems at level 3.5 in EPGY. It seems like he's overwhelmed by all the "stuff" on the screen. It just looks like a lot even though he can parse it out if we cover up much of the page and do "babysteps." He has generally breezed along until this. SO much so that we're going to stop with EPGY ($ too much $ to _not_ do it everyday...and I am NOT going to force it :ack2:) but I'm not sure what to do afterwards. I have Life of Fred sitting here, ready to go, and am reconsidering Singapore and should probably look at Miquon. Thanks for this thread and feel free to ladle out the advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lighthouseacademy Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 (edited) You know I was thinking of just skipping the word problems and coming back to them a little later. I may do this in combination with Miquon. I still think I will wait until he is maybe 7.5 to start 4A, its seems to be a big jump. I notice your son is the same age and doing 4A, are you skipping the word problems? Anyway, thanks so much for your comments. No, in fact, I didn't use the workbook with 3A and 3B- I used IP and CWP3 only. I required all word problems done. He already knew how to compute the plug and chug formulas, he needed the more realistic experience. After the initial resisting and me explaining WHY we do word problems, and pointing out real life word problems to him he began to do them. I wouldn't say he relishes them, but he does do them. I think that 4 is a bit of a jump from 3 in terms of difficulty. I did get him the workbooks and IP for 3. I also got the CWP 4 but I won't require those just yet. IP has plenty of word problems. My son will be 7 next month. One thing I had to get SUPER strict about was that he HAD to draw his bar pictures for all story problems because otherwise the units and what is being asked does get too confusing. I also helped him see how he needed to find a common unity of measure- for example, it is much easier to add inches to inches than adding yards to inches. I showed him how that worked. Then he began to see that if he would convert things it would make his life easier- he is known for trying to take shortcuts which usually work, but not converting units is like not converting fractions and then trying to add them together- it doesn't work very well. Edited February 12, 2009 by lighthouseacademy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asma_08 Posted February 13, 2009 Author Share Posted February 13, 2009 Thanks a bunch, this is really interesting for me to read. I have not been very strict with making him do the bar diagrams. He does most computation in his head and I try to make sure he writes the equations but have not been strict about it. This may also be the reason for his frustration in 3b. I think he just wants to be able to do it fast and gets frustrated that he cant see the answer easily. We will definitely be taking it slower and strong emphasizing the bar diagrams. Thanks again. Asma No, in fact, I didn't use the workbook with 3A and 3B- I used IP and CWP3 only. I required all word problems done. He already knew how to compute the plug and chug formulas, he needed the more realistic experience. After the initial resisting and me explaining WHY we do word problems, and pointing out real life word problems to him he began to do them. I wouldn't say he relishes them, but he does do them.I think that 4 is a bit of a jump from 3 in terms of difficulty. I did get him the workbooks and IP for 3. I also got the CWP 4 but I won't require those just yet. IP has plenty of word problems. My son will be 7 next month. One thing I had to get SUPER strict about was that he HAD to draw his bar pictures for all story problems because otherwise the units and what is being asked does get too confusing. I also helped him see how he needed to find a common unity of measure- for example, it is much easier to add inches to inches than adding yards to inches. I showed him how that worked. Then he began to see that if he would convert things it would make his life easier- he is known for trying to take shortcuts which usually work, but not converting units is like not converting fractions and then trying to add them together- it doesn't work very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lighthouseacademy Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 I have not been very strict with making him do the bar diagrams. He does most computation in his head and I try to make sure he writes the equations but have not been strict about it. There are so many where once you draw the bar diagram you literally SEE the answer and it isn't what you think it would be when you read the problem initially. At first, my son really resisted the bar-grams because he didn't understand them (part-whole vs. comparison) and when to use which one. I did have to go slowly and ask him which do you need? Then he began to instinctually know which one he needed. They got much easier. I took several problems he had wrong or was really frustrated with and helped him draw the bar-gram and showed him how much easier it was to do the problem with the picture. Once he realized it wasn't an extra step he began to embrace them. He also learned to recognize when he needed to draw them and when he could figure it out without a picture. I think it is important for these very gifted mathy kids to see that while they may be fast, they need to understand the process and shortcuts won't always serve them well as they get into more difficult math. E is working with fractions with dissimilar denominators now and he wanted to know the shortcut to adding them- not wanting to find the equivelent fraction- and I explained that the short cut IS the equivelent fraction and he began to see the need for conversions and began to become more content to do it. Hang in there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asma_08 Posted February 14, 2009 Author Share Posted February 14, 2009 Another thing I realized is that I need to get the HIG. Before 3B, I never needed it because it was easy to figure out how to teach the concepts. But re:your point about which bar diagram to use, I have yet to figure out how to teach him what to look for. In fact, I sort of do the problem in my head using algebra and work backwards to show him how to make the bar diagram. I am sure that there is a more systematic way of determining which bar diagram to use. Thanks again for your comments, they are really helping me make improvements in my teaching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lighthouseacademy Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Another thing I realized is that I need to get the HIG. Before 3B, I never needed it because it was easy to figure out how to teach the concepts. But re:your point about which bar diagram to use, I have yet to figure out how to teach him what to look for. In fact, I sort of do the problem in my head using algebra and work backwards to show him how to make the bar diagram. I am sure that there is a more systematic way of determining which bar diagram to use. Thanks again for your comments, they are really helping me make improvements in my teaching. Basically there are 2 kinds of bargrams- part whole (in Right Start they made part/whole circles) basically a part whole looks like |--------3------|-------?----------------| 7 So in that diagram, the parts are 3 and ? and the whole is 7. Any one of the parts could be missing and then you use the others to determine that answer. The other type is comparitive A|----3----| B|---------|---------|---------| total of A and B is 12. You can see that B is 3 times as big as A. What is B? Does that help? I find that the comparison model is used more often than the part whole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asma_08 Posted February 21, 2009 Author Share Posted February 21, 2009 Thanks for the explanation. I also searched on the internet and found a couple of sites that explained bar diagrams. Its been so helpful, I taught a lesson using these tips and its like a light just went on. He is able to do a few problems drawing the diagrams all on his own. Very exciting, thanks again for all your advice. Asma Basically there are 2 kinds of bargrams- part whole (in Right Start they made part/whole circles) basically a part whole looks like|--------3------|-------?----------------| 7 So in that diagram, the parts are 3 and ? and the whole is 7. Any one of the parts could be missing and then you use the others to determine that answer. The other type is comparitive A|----3----| B|---------|---------|---------| total of A and B is 12. You can see that B is 3 times as big as A. What is B? Does that help? I find that the comparison model is used more often than the part whole. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Thanks for the explanation. I also searched on the internet and found a couple of sites that explained bar diagrams. Its been so helpful, I taught a lesson using these tips and its like a light just went on. He is able to do a few problems drawing the diagrams all on his own. Very exciting, thanks again for all your advice. Asma Did you come across this one? http://www.mathplayground.com/thinkingblocks.html It's one that was recommended to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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