Wendy in ME Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Does anybody know what the difference is between these 2 Singapore Math programs? I am considering them for my mathy 7th grader. He has spent this year working through RS Geometry and Key to Fractions and Decimals and Challenging Word Problems. It was sort of an odd-ball math year for him because he is ahead in math and I didn't want him to do algebra in 6th grade. Thanks for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt_Uhura Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 You seem to be on the same track we're on...I plan on a RS Geo, SM CWP, some Zaccaro, and SM 6a/b before heading into Algebra. I read several posts a few days ago on NEM vs DM at the SM forum. What I took home was that NEM and DM are both written for the same caliber of student however DM is "easier." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emzhengjiu Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 My daughter has just begun NEM. It's very different than the Primary Math series! I've been told that the approach used in Discovering Math is more similar to the Primary series and begins with easier problems first building to more challenging ones. I bought the NEM materials at a great used price or I would have ordered Discovering Math. My daughter is good at math but not gifted. So far, she really likes NEM though. As for me, I'm ok at math but it can be a struggle. After spending some time with her going over the first four or five chapters, I'm beginning to understand how NEM approaches teaching math. Judy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 My daughter has just begun NEM. It's very different than the Primary Math series! I've been told that the approach used in Discovering Math is more similar to the Primary series and begins with easier problems first building to more challenging ones. This is exactly why I chose DM to use after 6a/b. It's much more similar in look/feel to Primary Math than NEM is. I am only looking at using DM 1a/b as a bridge year to ease into a traditional Algebra etc. sequence (probably Foersters and/or LOF), so for that I think it more fits my purpose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 My daughter has just begun NEM. It's very different than the Primary Math series! I've been told that the approach used in Discovering Math is more similar to the Primary series and begins with easier problems first building to more challenging ones. I bought the NEM materials at a great used price or I would have ordered Discovering Math. My daughter is good at math but not gifted. So far, she really likes NEM though. As for me, I'm ok at math but it can be a struggle. After spending some time with her going over the first four or five chapters, I'm beginning to understand how NEM approaches teaching math. Judy Ay, I'm wondering if I should be scared now. I bought NEM for my daughter for 7th grade next year, but she is NOT a mathy kid. Will this program be too difficult for her? She has had some struggles with the word problems in the Primary series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emzhengjiu Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 Well, I don't know. I'm not a mathy person either. As I mentioned, my daughter is strong in math but not gifted. She's doing well so far with NEM but we're only in chapter 4 or 5. I've had to read and reread some of the information. I find how NEM explains topics to be terse and hard to follow. If I were better in math, it would probably be clear but ..... I'm finding it a hard go so far. If I have any money left over after buying other subject materials for next year, I'm going to order Discovering Math. By the way, the people at singaporemath.com forums are wonderful resource! The way I'm going now, I'll be using the forums often. Judy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pata Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 Check this out. It has a table comparing the different secondary math programs and gives alot of info on them. Hope that helps you make your decision Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tedearly Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 Thanks for posting. I am wondering about this topic too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 Well, I don't know. I'm not a mathy person either. As I mentioned, my daughter is strong in math but not gifted. She's doing well so far with NEM but we're only in chapter 4 or 5. I've had to read and reread some of the information. I find how NEM explains topics to be terse and hard to follow. If I were better in math, it would probably be clear but ..... I'm finding it a hard go so far. If I have any money left over after buying other subject materials for next year, I'm going to order Discovering Math. By the way, the people at singaporemath.com forums are wonderful resource! The way I'm going now, I'll be using the forums often. Judy Oh thank you for the information about the Singapore forum. I didn't even know that had one. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleen in SEVA Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 I had the same question, so I ordered both from Rainbow Resource to compare them side by side. :) Here is what I posted in another thread: The DM "feels" more like the Primary Mathematics (students with thought bubbles to explain the thinking process, uses the bar diagrams, much more empty space on each page, A & B for each grade level). I also like that the Teacher Guide has all of the answers AND solutions in one place, rather than scattered about like in NEM. DM is in color, has a page "In A Nutshell" at the end of each chapter summarizing the important new concepts, and has a more student-friendly layout, with "Try This" problems directly under each example that follow the same pattern, with different types of problems in the exercises. It uses the Geometer's Sketchpad in later levels, which is kind of cool. OH -- and there is a chart at the front of each Teacher's Guide that breaks it into weeks, including which activities to do, which student pages to do, a bulleted list of key concepts, and a list of related websites (several each week!). The downside to DM is that I haven't found anyone who has actually USED it yet, whereas NEM has a proven track record. Jenny at the SM forums also says that the DM is not as challenging (but since we are using this so young, this was a plus for our family). It is also slightly more expensive than NEM ($80 per year for DM, vs $50 per year for NEM). I also went through the scope and sequence of the 2 programs, and they were essentially the same. There were about a dozen topics in each book that were not covered in the other. I think a student who had used Primary Math would be better off with the DM because of the similar format, but NEM is a great program as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanaTron Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 DM also has the teacher guides for all levels, whereas NEM does not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendy in ME Posted June 2, 2009 Author Share Posted June 2, 2009 Thanks for all the input. I think I am going to order DM and give it a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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