MusicMouseTN Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 I know TWTM suggests Saxon as a Math program, but I was wondering if there is any official review here of Rod & Staff Math for younger kids? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blessedmom3 Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Read what Cathy Duffy says about RS Rod and Staff’s Mathematics for Christian Living series Rod and Staff Publishers Rod and Staff’s math program is black-and-white, straightforward, no-nonsense traditional mathematics with an emphasis on drill and memorization as well as practical application through word problems. Previously taught concepts are continuously reviewed. Conceptual teaching is weaker than in programs such as BJUP’s and Modern Curriculum Press Mathematics. Sometimes teachers are told to visually illustrate a concept on the board, and there are some illustrations. But manipulative activities are rare. Lessons are presented by the teacher using visual aids to teach concepts. Each lesson is divided into class time, seatwork time, and “after class†time. (Remember the program is designed for the classroom.) Most of all three parts of the lesson actually occur during what would be considered math class. The main lesson is presented at class time. Students complete speed drills every other day at the end of class time, then complete the lesson page in their workbooks during seatwork time. They might also complete some of the blackline pages. The “after class†time, which is directed by the teacher, is intended for practice, review, or introduction of a new topic. The amount of seatwork is similar to that in A Beka or Alpha Omega’s Horizons Math programs, but there is a larger amount of math fact drill and less variety in methodology than we find in most math programs. The extra Speed Drill book emphasizes speed and accuracy, but it should be optional since there is already so much drill within the textbook itself. Student workbooks for the first two grades are illustrated but printed in brown ink on white paper. Hardcover student texts for third grade and up are printed in black and white. You will almost certainly want the blackline masters for each level since those pages correlate with the lessons. The teacher’s manual has complete instructions for lesson presentation, patterns, reduced student pages with answers, and explanation of the design of the program. The program’s Mennonite background is evident in the illustrations and word problems dealing with farming, canning, building, etc., but none of this limits the program’s effectiveness for all children. Beginning Arithmetic, 1991 edition (Grade 1) teacher’s manual - $15, 2 pupil workbooks - $6.75 each, speed drills - $3.95, blackline masters -$13.80, flash cards - $16.95 A flannel board and flash cards are essential to teach the lessons as presented in the teacher’s manual, with other visuals playing minor roles. Rod and Staff sells a set of large flash cards to be used along with the lessons, although we might choose to make these ourselves. (The only difficulty occurs with the number order flash cards. Some flash cards have particular numbers arranged out of order; these are used to help children identify the proper order for numbers.) We are told to create a small set of flash cards for each student for some of the drill practice. You might let a single small set serve for lesson presentation and student practice. The teacher’s manual lists blacklines for each lesson in descending order of importance, so we need not use them all. Some dot-to-dots and more interesting pages are found in the blackline set. The scope and sequence is slower than some of the other Christian publishers; first grade covers double-digit addition and subtraction but without any carrying or borrowing. Rod and Staff directs the teacher to handle and manipulate objects to demonstrate concepts. At home it should be practical to have children do more of the handling themselves, increasing the hands-on dimension for those learners who need it. Working Arithmetic, revised edition Grade 2 workbooks - $38.65, teacher’s manuals - $22, blackline masters - $9.75 Rod and Staff’s second grade arithmetic program is packaged differently from most others. Student work is divided into five units, each a tear-out workbook. Then there are two teacher’s manuals, the first covering the first two student units and the last covering units 3-5. Teacher’s manuals give directions for class-time drills, coordinate blackline sheets with lessons, and have reduced student pages with answers. The blackline pages reinforce lessons taught throughout the program and also introduce multiplication and division, which are not taught in the rest of the second grade program. Carrying and borrowing are covered at this level. Continuous review is built in throughout the year with the last ten lessons of the program providing a systematic review of the course. The course leans toward memorization and drill rather than experiential learning. Exploring Arithmetic Grade 3 pupil textbook - $12.55, teacher’s manual - $14.40, speed drills - $4.65, blackline masters - $4.30 The third grade format changes to a single hardbound student text. There are fewer blackline masters than at previous levels. Students copy problems from their text to solve on paper, but, curiously, there are rarely any instructions in their book. Most of the exercises are obvious; the first lesson page is always computation practice. A good part of the second page of each lesson is also obvious, but occasionally students will need an explanation of what is expected. The scope and sequence remains on the slow to average side with multiplication and division facts through the 9s introduced in the last three-fourths of the course. http://www.cathyduffyreviews.com/math/rod-and-staff-arithmetic.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MusicMouseTN Posted July 23, 2009 Author Share Posted July 23, 2009 Thank you SOOOOOO much for this review. It is very helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blessedmom3 Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 You're welcome. I was researching for months a good math program for 1-2nd grade and the best reviews I've found are for CLE . SOmething to consider. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skaterbabs Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 We use CLE, and of everything we've used, it's pretty much the only thing that the more we use it the more we like it. And the 100-level math covers the Virginia SOLs for k, 1, much of grade 2 and a bit of grade 3. And yet, you look at teh individual lightunits and they LOOK so gentle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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