Kendall Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 I have a friend who has pulled her 8th grader dd out at the semester and will homeschool the rest of the year. The dd will go to the local high school next year. She was in Algebra I and getting a B with lots of help at home. She will take Alg I next year and the mother wants to use the rest of this year to increase her computational speed and increase her number sense. She is one of those I can follow the rules well just show me how to do it but doesn’t really understand what is going on kind of students. She writes EVERY step down and doesn’t do any math mentally. One example: she didn’t understand her mother’s explanation of 24 x 8 why you would subtract 8 from 200 and not 16, though she understood 24 x 4 would be 100-4 (but she didn’t think of it on her own). Do you have mental math book suggestions? Do you think videotext algebra would help with her number sense and understanding of why? My friend read that videotext "teaches you to think mathematically". What would you suggest they do with the rest of the semester? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grace is Sufficient Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Videotext has a short section on pre-algebra, but I think it's more of a review, and perhaps she needs some review at an earlier level. It sounds like the sort of concepts that Math-U-See may help with, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jann in TX Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 Most of those are just number 'tricks'... I personally would NEVER work 24x8 the way you showed--in reality I would prefer to do it on paper the 'long way'... cause I'm a bit ADD... In other words mental math skills does NOT equate an understanding or aptitude in math. It is gravy. It is more likely that your friends dd is lacking in her multiplication/division skills--especially in the application of fractions. This is where 90% of conceptual mistakes in Algebra fall. It could also be immaturity... Most 8th graders will NOT succeed in learning Algebra--struggling to make a 'B' is NOT success! One more year can make a HUGE difference--for the better! For organization--your friend should look at a Pre-Algebra text. MUS might put a different 'twist' on things--or it may confuse her dd even more... hard to tell without knowing her learning style. Lial's BCM is a great tool for finding weak areas---just work on the chapter reviews (NOT the tests)--then you can easily spot the sections that need more work. It is INEXPENSIVE too and a great resource even if you only use it as a supplement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in VA Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 I agree that VT is not going to be of help here. And I totally agree with Jann that mental math tricks are not what you are striving for. I'm a math major and it took me a minute to figure out why she would do those math problems that way in the first place. It sounds like her basic skills need some extra work. For a child that age, I'd do a pre-algebra program. Jann recommended Lial's. I'm sure that's good. I've never used it. How comfortable is the mom with teaching that kind of math? I know sometimes teacher's guides for public school math books can be hard to get or very expensive. Saxon might be another good choice. I'm not a fan myself but in this case it sounds like she needs computation repetition which is what Saxon is good at. Plus you can get teacher's guides and answer keys which may be important for the mom. That isn't to say you can't get those things for Lial's, I just know some of those types of texts are harder to find. Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kendall Posted February 23, 2009 Author Share Posted February 23, 2009 I just got Mental math secrets from ILL and I wasn’t going to recommend it to her because it did seem like tricks. I also would not have done 24 x 4 that way, But doing 24 x 4 in your head by multiplying 4 X20 and adding it to 4X4 doesn’t seem like a trick to me, it seems like you are understanding the process rather than just following the algorithm. What do you think? Now that I start thinking about this I agree with you that mental math skills don't equate to math understanding, my mental math skills aren’t great but I have a degree in math. I used to joke that you could ask me to do calculus but don’t ask me to multiply. But I think some mental math skills such as I’ve picked up teaching my kids using Miquon are very beneficial. Thanks everyone and more input is welcome. Interesting to see your responses because my first thoughts before posting were vague but Lials(which I've never seen) and singapore/miquon were the first things that came to mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyL Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 I did the same thing with my older d. (removed her from school at semester) At the time she was getting an A -, with a letter home every week, saying that "if this grade doesn't come up, there are others who want this spot in this honors class" Fun. She was padding her grade with extra credit points--(homework in on time etc, plus going to math club) but not doing well on the tests. And the math program was graphing calculator dependent also. She finished Lial through a homeschool program,(8th) and then she did another Algebra book through IUHS. (9th) (Indiana HS) This was an old fashioned-rigorous course with each of the two tests counting for 30%, and homework was 40% for the semester. Each test was two hours. Boy- I found out she still didn't have the concepts down!! Not enough to take a comprehensive test over several chapters and no calculator. We went over those chapters for two hours per day for several weeks. I must say I was taken aback how hard it was. Anyway, the geometry and algebra 2 (first half) were then cruising easy. So my advice is she definitely would benefit by a regular Algebra book and start at the beginning (like Chalkdust?) It's so worth it to make those basics strong. However this can play havoc with the science sequences if you're not at a certain level etc..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Lial's is great - it says "college" on the front. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 I would have the family look closely at VideoText samples. Does the dd respond to the explanations, or does it go in one ear & out the other? I guess I'm not sure that forcing explanations on a kid who really isn't interested will change them?! And VT is too pricey to purchase without being sure... My dd came home to school in 10th grade and when we found Math Relief, it was wonderful. I haven't heard anyone say it didn't work (though I'm sure I haven't heard from everyone!). The teacher is like a Mr. Rogers of Algebra, and makes it very simple & clear. He says the first section could be considered Pre-Algebra. Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_l_e_0..Q_c Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 It sounds like the sort of concepts that Math-U-See may help with, though. I agree... My daughter is very math inept, yet she's starting to understand how to play with numbers. It's great! And I totally credit MUS for this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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