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If you used Singapore Primary Math in the elementary grades


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What did you use after it? NEM or something else?

After DS finished 6b we dabbled in a few different things (Kinetic Books, Gelfand) over the summer and the beginning of the next school year, and then jumped into NEM. I think he could have gone straight from 6b to NEM but he was young and I wasn't sure about his being able to handle the workload... he was fine though. We did the algebra sections of NEM 1 & 2 and then took a year off to go on a Statistics rabbit trail, and this year we're back to do the Geometry sections of NEM 1 & 2.

 

My only quibble is that NEM doesn't have full formal proofs, but we've done proofs before on the side, and we're supplementing with A First Course in Mathematical Logic (Suppes). Also aside from the formal proofs, there is quite a lot of logical thinking required. It's not a light course.

 

Next year (2010-11) I'd like to do another rabbit trail... possibly financial math or number theory, and then NEM 3 the year after.

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Unfortunately, it's written for teachers who are much stronger in math than I and we were unable to continue after one very frustrating and difficult year.

 

For my mathy one, we did two years of Videotext Algebra, followed by one year of VT Geometry supplemented with ALEKS since we didn't have all the modules. This year he'll be doing Chalkdust Precalculus.

 

My less mathy one did two years of VT Algebra, and will do Teaching Textbooks for Geometry this year.

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For ds, math lover, we used both Life of Fred and NEM in parallel. He did that for Algebra I and Geometry. Then he did a year of Statistics using LOF. Now back to LOF and NAM for Algebra II.

 

For dd, non-math-lover, we are using Russian Math between 6B and algebra. She needs her confidence built up, though her main math difficulty is rushing through and carelessness; she knows the material, just doesn't have the time of day for it, sigh. She needs a program that is different from her brother's just due to competitive issues. I haven't totally decided yet, but am leaning toward Dolciani Algebra, Jacobs Geometry.

 

Karen

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My son completed Singapore 6B and moved on to Jacob's Algebra (last year).

 

As he will enter school as an 8th grader next month - we enrolled him in enriched geometry. The school counselor was unsure about his algebra aptitude and requested that he take their "credit for learning" exam. He took the test in mid-July and scored 89% - enough to gain credit for enriched algebra and allow him to take their enriched geometry. This was a great success story for us. Though I think my son has a good mind for math - he insists that he does not like it. He was very to nervous to take the exam, but I am proud of his efforts and the results :)

 

I think there are many good math programs out there - Jacobs worked well for us.

Enjoy the search.

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So far, we are using NEM. It was a tough transition from Primary Math 6 to NEM 1, but once we got past the first chapter or so, we got the hang of it. It is a tough course, but I read here that the grading scale is much more lenient to reflect the difficulty level. I love the fact that it is not a bunch of the same type of problem, but many different types, so that you have to understand the math, not just memorize a few algorithms. My oldest has taken the SAT through Northwestern's Center for Talent Development and his math scores have been very good. The only thing I don't like about it is that they don't teach proofs. I know some people disagree with me, but I think proofs are the best logic training around.

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dd skimmed through Dolciani's Pre-Algebra. I had dd take each chapter test. If she didn't score 90% or above, dd did the chapter. It made a very good transition to American texts. DD just completed Dolciani's Algebra 1 text and will be doing FLVS Geometry Honors. When she's completed Geom, I plan to skim through The Art of Problem Solving Geometry before going on to Algebra 2.

 

HTH,

Sandra

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just because my dd was young adn i thought Alg would be too much for her. Then we did all the Alg part of NEM1. Once we hit NEM2 Alg, she stumbled a bit. However, it was the end of the year, we had just moved overseas, and life was a bit chaotic.

 

This fall we are going to review Alg 1 with LoF algebra, adn go on a rabbit trail of Number Theory with AoPS. Not sure where to go after that . . . possibly back to NEM2 or maybe LoF Alg 2, or maybe Algebra (skipping around a bit) with AoPS.

 

I think all of these are challenging math but really SM does a great job of preparing tham!

 

jeri

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I like

Jacobs Algebra and/or Kinetic Books Algebra I

Jacobs Geometry

Kinetic Books Algebra II

 

I am trying Larson's Precalculus this year with my oldest.

 

My youngest is going to need to do a pre-algebra year after Singapore. My other girls had an easy time all the way through Singapore. My youngest is dyslexic and has had a much harder time. Singapore does seem to be the program that works the best for her (we've tried a lot of others), but I know she's not going to be ready to move into algebra when she's done.

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We started with NEM1, then decided to switch to Dolciani Pre-algebra. The exercises in NEM weren't satisfying me that ds knew what he was doing...Dolciani goes a little more step by step and the 'B' and 'C' problem sets make it easier for me to test his understanding. We go back to selective NEM1 problems when done with the corresponding unit in Dolciani. We skipped the parts of Dol. that were done in PM6 and those in NEM1 that are a repeat of PM6 since he's demonstrated mastery.

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We did not use NEM although I'm strong in math because I wanted to be able to move into classes in the US math sequence. My oldest did Jacob's Algebra and Geometry, Foerester's Algebra and Trig, Larson's Pre calc and will begin Cal at the local CC. My second did Jacob's Algebra and Math a Human Endeavor and then went to high school starting in their honors goemetry class as a freshman. My son just started Art of Problem Solving -- the Introduction to Algebra, so far okay

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What did you use after it? NEM or something else?

 

We went to a more traditional approach after 6A because I wanted the flexibility for them to attend another school if they chose. So we used Foerester's Algebra I then Chalkdust Geometry, Algebra II, and Precalculus.

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After 6B, we used Videotext Algebra as our primary program (followed by Videotext Geometry thru module D and then EPGY Precalculus), and we supplemented with NEM1-4 (one book each year). I wanted to go to a US program for higher level math, while at the same time keeping up the problem solving skills that Singapore teaches. This proved to be a good combination for us. Ds scored extremely high on the ACT, the SAT and SAT 2 Math level 2.

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How did you do this? I'm very interested. Wasn't it a lot to do two complete programs per year?

 

Julie

 

Well, yes, it was a lot to do two math curricula (still is, as dd is on the same track :)), but we didn't do everything in the NEM books.

 

The NEM series is different from Singapore Primary, both in its presentation of concepts and in the sets of exercises. Typically, the NEM exercise sets have a lot of redundancy--i.e. several problems of the same type--so we usually did things like choosing a variety of different problems, or picking those that looked harder/more interesting or doing every 3rd problem (which usually yielded some variety).

 

There are 14 chapters in each NEM book, so we aimed to do half a chapter per week, and sometimes took 3 weeks for a chapter if it was especially long or difficult or the other math program was especially time-consuming. Sometimes we also waited a bit on a chapter before proceeding as we knew we'd soon be coming to the concept in Videotext Algebra (which usually explained the concept much better.) On occasion, the chapter in NEM would be a complete review of what we'd already done in Videotext--and then it went really fast! :001_smile: At the end of each NEM chapter, there is a "Challenger" section and a "Problem Solving" section which each contain some very challenging activities/problems. We usually picked just one of each of these, and sometimes skipped over them altogether if we ran out of time. We always finished the NEM book before the end of the school year. One other note--the second half of NEM4 is a complete review of the entire series, and we found we could skip it.

 

The really neat thing about NEM is it often approached concepts from a different angle, showed different ways of looking at or proving things, and it gave early exposure to geometry (and trig). The geometry also is practical, as opposed to the proof-based geometry in Videotext, and it was great to have both. NEM also introduces rotational geometry, which I haven't seen in any other program. It even gets into statistics in NEM4.

 

Anyway, I hope this is helpful. It is a fair amount of work to do dual math programs, but I think it was worth the effort.

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Well, yes, it was a lot to do two math curricula (still is, as dd is on the same track :)), but we didn't do everything in the NEM books.

 

Whew, that was tiring just trying to absorb it! I don't think my ds is up to that much work.

 

But I already have NEM-1 and I think I'll hang onto it for the future. We did use NEM-1 to go over negative numbers at the end of 7th. I also still have CWP-6 and might keep up on that alongside algebra. Maybe I'll use NEM-1 more during geometry? Or whenever I see a need for reinforcement.

 

Thanks so much for the detailed help,

Julie

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  • 7 months later...
So far, we are using NEM. It was a tough transition from Primary Math 6 to NEM 1, but once we got past the first chapter or so, we got the hang of it. It is a tough course, but I read here that the grading scale is much more lenient to reflect the difficulty level. I love the fact that it is not a bunch of the same type of problem, but many different types, so that you have to understand the math, not just memorize a few algorithms. My oldest has taken the SAT through Northwestern's Center for Talent Development and his math scores have been very good. The only thing I don't like about it is that they don't teach proofs. I know some people disagree with me, but I think proofs are the best logic training around.

For Dirty Ethel Rackam (or anyone else who has used NEM 1-4: Regarding Singapore Math NEM: I am wondering what you are using for math now for your sons. Your original post about NEM was in Jan 2008. Did they finish NEW 1-4? How did the SAT go for them? I am trying to decide what direction I want to take for my kids. We've been using Singapore Math since Pre-K and I like it, but I'm curious about how it prepares kids for US standardized testing, like the ACT or SAT.

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Ds16 got bogged down in NEM - he is only now finishing up NEM 2. Partly my fault and partly his. I made him start over halfway through the book because he was cheating. He was self-teaching too much because I was dealing with my mom's chronic illnesses on top of my own. Ds13 is catching up - he is about halfway through NEM 2.

 

My son's SAT math score as a 9th grader was 660. We were pleased with that score and trust that it will go up quite a bit after he gets more math under his belt.

 

We are planning on switching to Art of Problem Solving because we all need a change. There are no solutions manuals for 3 and 4 so we would be relying on the SingaporeMath.com message boards. Plus, they like the presentation of the AoPS books better. They started to feel like math was drudgery. I feel confident that NEM has served them well, but we need something else now.

 

HTH,

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NEM and IMACS in parallel.

 

You can go to any algebra text with success, though. We just plain like Singapore's direct style.

 

For Calc II-bound students who aren't accelerated, NEM may not be the best choice, as it require Additional Mathematics and only ends at Calc I, I think...

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What did you use after it? NEM or something else?

 

For one of my children I used Singapore through 5B (along with Saxon 2-3) and she is now using Russian Math 6. I like the more formal mathematics terminology in the Russian Math book. I also like it for the sake of variety. We still use the IP5 books, but have not gotten to the CWP5 book yet.

 

We also use EPGY this year, but I prefer to be the teacher rather than an online program.

 

In the Fall I will combine NEM 1 and Dolciani Modern Algebra Book 1 (1960s).

 

I like the Dolciani books because of the correct use of mathematics - axioms are introduced, proofs are explained, and students are asked to give reasons for each step in certain problems and/or proofs. She will memorize the axioms, truth table, and other important definitions and properties. This will at least get her thinking about the process of carefully demonstrating results. This is a more pure math approach.

 

I like NEM because I find Singapore's problem solving approach to be very good with a unique depth. I am a visual learner, and I think Singapore's approach is well suited for me as a teacher. I also like the focus on pattern recognition. This is a more applied math approach.

 

Beyond that... we'll see how this next year goes. I take it one year at a time. ;) Lately, I am intrigued with the Art of Problem Solving books and courses which may at some point replace Singapore. I'll likely stick with Dolciani through Modern Analysis. I have these books and I like the looks of them for many of the reasons stated above.

 

Good luck. :)

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