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2GAboys

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  1. What does "on the level" mean in MM instructions for order of operations? Ex. Solve multiplication and divisions "on the same level" from left to right. Solve additions and substractions "on the same level" from left to right. I use PEMDAS and am not familiar with this language.
  2. Signed up for the 30 day free trial of this since RightStart G bombed this year as our primary 5th grade curriculum. I can't figure out this smart score thing. It seems to take way too long to achieve a 100% smart score (mastery) in a single subtopic because they require a ton of practice problems. With 266 topics in 5th grade at, lets say 20 minutes per sub-topic, it would take 88 hours to complete the entire 5th grade with a smart score of 100. I'm thinking about having my dc move on after getting 5 in a row correct. How do you all use this? Since I had to abandon RS (for now) as our primary 5th grade math curriculum, I've been alittle lost as to ensuring he gets the 5th grade content. We are continueing with LoF Fractions and Percents and Decimals as a supplement and dc completed the 5th grade on-line course in ALEKS during a free two-month trial. I thought IXL would be good to cement all the 5th grade skills but after two days and only "mastering" two out of the 266 skills. I guess this is how they get you to buy it after the trial.
  3. It may work at the edge of a rectangular shaped table (not round). The child would need to have his worksheet taped to the table near the edge so that the T part of the T-square can rest over the edge. Then the ruler part will be perfectly level. I have just finished teaching the geometry part in C, so it is fresh. However, if you plan to continue with D-G (my oldest is in G), I'd get the drawing board (it's like a flat dry erase board) It is used to tape worksheets onto which the student will complete using the various geometric tools.
  4. I have a 11 yo son in 5th grade. We do Rod and Staff 5. I do not have experience with any other level as we did First Language Lesson 1-4. The student's text teaches everything, however for my son it is best for me to teach most of the lessons. (I didn't at first and let him go it alone-without me checking his work for the first 4 chapters and regretted it.) I now use the booklet of additional worksheets for added practice. I have a DC who is somewhat lazy and careless in his work and he needs the extra work. I also began to use the test booklet-which I highly recommend. He has been getting 88-92 percent correct. The grammar component is very thorough and there is a lot of written practice and review. The teacher's manual really is invaluable for me because 1) Each lesson has a built in oral review to do with the child with answers in parenthesis. 2) All the answers to everything are in here, including the answers to the test and additional worksheets. I do not regret buying it. There are several lessons in each chapter related to writing: paragraphs and their development, outlining, outlining for a report, writing reports, etc...If you haven't done so you could probably view the table of contents which will tell you more. Teaching the lesson only takes me a few minutes. There is plenty of written work assigned for each lesson but my son doesn't usually complain and he gets it done in 20 minutes or so. There is diagramming which we like but it was a step backward for us because he was doing more in grades 3-4. Hope this is helpful.
  5. Just to clarify-the elementary series just came out this year. The older grades were written first-LoF goes thru calculus.
  6. I do not know about the elementary series but I can tell you, from a mom who has taught math from day one to her 5th grader, that I do appreciate LOF fractions. I use ths as a supplement to RightStart G (weak on review). What I appreciate the most is not necessarily the teaching in each chapter (my son, of course loves), but the BRIDGES. These are a gold mine because the questions are a great assessment of his competency in all areas of elementary math. I have been able to find and correct weaknesses. Plus there is so much extra in these books, grammar lessons, cultural literacy, etc.
  7. I have always taught RightStart which is heavy on mental math, especially in the primary grades because it teaches mental strategies for solving all two digit adding and subtracting problems. There was never written drill, and certainly no kill doing algorithms for adding and subtracting. There was plenty of oral drill using two-three digits numbers and adding or subtracting two digits using mental strategies. Traditional algorithms for all the operations have been taught but there was never pages and pages of drill. Conceptual understanding and problem solving was encouraged. My 5th grader prefers to solve as much as he can mentally and he relies upon his conceptual understanding to figure things out. Lots of times he makes a mistake that I think would have been caught had he done the algorithm. I know traditional American math programs push kids to always show their work. Am I setting him up for problems further down the road because I do not push him to write out his thought process to solve problems??? If he gets a problem wrong, we walk it through and he certainly understands what he did wrong.
  8. I think the WTM suggest picking an encyclopedia to use as a spine and not to use a "textbook". Instead the student reads a section of the enclyclopedia and then picks from there what he/she wants to research and learn more about. My tentative plan is to let him pick these topics and let him research the internet and get books from the library. I will also assign books for him to read along the history timeline for his "structured" reading time every day. I'm afraid if I use a traditional history text it will take time away from him researching and learning about topics he picks of interest and it will take away from him actually reading original sources to learn from history-which is one of the tenents of SWB's philosophy. At least this is my tentative plan for logic stage history.
  9. I've done FLL 1-4, then moved onto R&S 5 this year. First, I'd begin grammar at grade level because in elementary everything is rehashed everything. Even SWB wrote that a 5th grader not having any grammar at all could begin ALL (bummer ALL is on hold) I think doing both FLL and R&S i.e two grammar programs in one year IS redundant, however Rod and Staff has alot of written application whereas, having done FLL myself, the application was less writing sentences and more about diagramming them instead.
  10. Free reading-no "Structured reading" (assigned by me) absolutely yes (I have a 5th grader). I take care that the book is in his lexile range however.
  11. ALEKS Homeschoolers can get a 2 month free month subscription.
  12. I used FLL 1-4 with my now 5th grader and was forced to switch. I do not know why Rod and Staff was recommended because we did not find it transitioned well at all. While we loved doing FLL together and my son enjoyed learning all grammar components in conjunction with actually learning how to diagram them as he learned each component, Rod and Staff was a huge backstep in this regard. We are only in chapter 4 out of 10 but here is my beef. The ONLY thing we have diagrammed is the sentence "skeleton" (new concept-the skeleton being the simple subject and verb or verb "phrase"). He had been diagramming complete subjects and complete predicates, adj. adv. compound everything, direct and indirect objects, predicate nominatives, predicate adjectives, prepositional phrases... basically everything taught in grades 1-4. So far in Rod and Staff this is not the case at all. There is very little diagramming. I feel like I have done my son a disservice my using FLL and switching to a program that is so different.
  13. :iagree: Lessons as well but as a general rule. I followed TWTM to the T with my boys on using OPTTR and moved into Spelling Workout (recommended highly if used OPTTR- they found the best at transforming the rules of reading taught in OPTTR into rules of writing)
  14. I would love an online program for grammar like the ALEKS program for math. Imagine an artificial intelligence assessing the individual child's knowlege and tailoring instruction to that child, constantly re-assessing for mastery and building in review based on the individual child's needs. Does it exist?
  15. :bigear: Having finished all four FLL we moved to Rod and Staff grammar and it is NOT a good program to move into. After learning grammar in conjunction with diagraming, Rod and Staff only has children diagram the "skeletons" (at least thus far). We MISS FLL so much, especially the diagraming.
  16. My son has a conceptual understanding of math because I taught him using RightStart all these years. I "was" thinking of sending him to our local hybrid school next year for 6th grade math even though they use ABeka. Then today, I ran into a RightStart sales representative (who for an unknown reason has sent her 6th grader to this school for ABeka math for the last several years). She told me that her daughter has reverted to doing math the rote way that ABeka has taught. She, of course, was not happy about that. Now I'm wondering what to do. I really wanted a "fallow season" next year. We are only on lesson 9 of the RS geometric approach to mathmatics which is their middle grade math (165 lessons) and even though he is to do the lessons himself, I have to stay on top of it to make sure he is completing the work and understanding it. I'm burned out. (I am also teaching level c to a 3rd grader). Would switching him to Abeka in 6th be a huge mistake? He would be "taught", albeit the rote method, 2 days a week at this school and be sent home the other 3 days with work to be turned in.
  17. Of my gosh-do ALEKS free two month trial. Logically he is not starting over but has serious gaps. ALEKS's artificial intelligence will assess what he has mastery of, what he is actually prepared to learn now based on what he does know- it will target exactly what those gaps are and will target all instruction to his individual needs. TWO Months are free to homeschooler. In 17 hours my son caught up on his gaps from level 4 (4th grade-GA standards-Yes they have them all). He has begun 5th grade today and already has been assessed at having 197 out of the 280 or so topics for that grade level mastered. It constantly reassesses, reviews, teaches (need to keep an eye on this part because it is algorithm as opposed to conceptual). I print out worksheets everyday that it generates targeted especially to what it determines are his individual needs which I get to go over with him if he makes mistakes. I schedule quizes. The parental account is phenomenal. I know what topics he has worked on, what ones he is about to do (so I can prep lessons/worksheets in advance if it is something I want to teach/give extra practice on). It is very motivational as the kids get to see their pie chart get filled up. When one slice (geometry for example) gets filled up it is so validating and encouraging. They get to choose which pie slice they work on until they either have filled it up or are told they have to master another part of the pie before they can continue (obviously need to understand something from another area before they can continue). I have been very please-It is not perfect but it would be good for an older kid.
  18. 2/3 x 12 for example (fraction x a whole number). Conceptually my son understands why it is 24/3 and it makes perfect sense then to him just simplify it to 8 wholes but unfortunately ALEXS taught him (not to well I might add) to change the problem to 2/3 x 12/1 and to cross out the 3 and write 1 and cross out the 12 and write 4 and then to multiply the top across and the and the bottom across to get 8. Is there a better way to explain this algorithm better than my thought here? Lay out 12 sets of 2/3s, ask him to focus on just 1/3 out of each set (12) and ask how many wholes can you make with just those 12 and the answer is obviously 4. Ask him to look at how many thirds is left with is 12 which is another obvious 4 wholes-then go back to the alogorithm to multiply the 2/1 x 4/1 = 8. Then we do several of these types of problems with the fraction strips and test the algorithm to see if it works every time. This is my common sense way to teach why this algorithm works-BUT I am not a math teacher and want to run this by someone more experienced. I assume this algorithm is essential to teach and that it lays the foundation for something down the road. I have always taught math conceptually with Right Start-but I am solo on teaching the why of this algorithm.
  19. I have always taught math one on one-very teacher intensive using Right Start. We came across ALEKS and signed up for a two month free trial. I was disappointed in myself as a teacher when my 5th grader took the ALEKS assessment for 4th grade and found many gaps which are now being targeted. (In 6 sittings he mastered 1/2 of his gaps, so I guess I shouldn't be so hard on myself as it looks like in 6 more days he will have mastered all 4th grade GA standards) I am going to wait to do RS intermediate geometric approach to math until next year. Here's the question, If I schedule quizzes, print out their artificially intelligence designed worksheets every day so he also has the opportunity to do pen and paper math + I can go over all wrong answers with him so there is some parental teaching involved as well-can I trust this system to teach the 5th grade material sufficiently? I have a second grader who I want to devote most of my teaching time/energy to and my 11 year old seems to be flying through the 4th grade stuff and is really enjoying doing math this way. The oversight provided by the parental account is phenomenal. I know what topics he's worked on, what he has mastered, what areas he is most likely to learn, what he has left to master.
  20. Thanks Hen Jen-It's always good to have wise people to bounce things off of. :001_smile:
  21. Thanks Tanya, I do not plan to sign him up next semester. Had I known that creative writing was required in 2nd grade science I would have not signed him up (that is why I did not sign him up for LA there). Have a great day:001_smile:
  22. I have a 2nd grader I send for science class two days a week at a hybrid school. The teacher writes a lesson plan for me to follow for science on the 3 days he does science at home. At school (10 kids in class) she assigned a creative writing assignment to be done in class instead of at home. I have not seen his completed work but she posted a grade of 80. I teach language arts exclusively at home using SWB's philosophy and materials (as well as FLL). If you were the teacher, would I have put you on the defensive? I did not mean to do this. Good Morning, I see that (ds) got an 80 on his creative writing assignment "Animal Story in Class". Did ACSI provide a rubric for this assignment? Could you provide a copy for me? I exclusively teach language arts and the educational philosophy I follow would not require any creative writing in 2nd grade as it it is beyond the developmental capability of most children: it puts a child in the position of having to wrestled with the conventions of the written language that they are only now begining to learn and simultaneously come up with original idea to boot. A child who wants to be creative is not discouraged, however, any written work done would be praised and all errors overlooked. Thanks and have a great day,
  23. Obviously you have an old edition of the AG. The bonus question is deleted and "clues in the word search run from right to left, top to bottom and diagnonally".
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