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notbefore7
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I just received Singapore Math 1B in the mail. We ordered the HIG, text, workbook for the Standards edition. I also ordered intensive practice from the US edition because my gal was between 1B and 2A in terms of skills and we went with the lower since we were new to the program.

 

Here are my questions...

 

The HIG is great with how to introduce the lesson. Then the assignments are there. Do you do all text and workbook pages listed for that "lesson" (some days it seems like a lot) Or do you break it up into more than that? How do you determine it? Just while you are working on the lesson and whether or not they get it?

 

If you have the test books - do you find them useful? When do they get incorporated?

 

How do you incorportate the intensive practice? random times? at the end of a unit? summer practice?

 

Does a "unit" typically take a week? 2 weeks?

 

How about the mental math practices in the back? Copy them and do one daily?

 

I am sure any way we want to do it will work out, but I was used to a program that was more straight forward with less "parts" to put together. I am curious how others have looked at it. How do you plan ahead?

 

We LOVE the way the math is presented, so it should be fun!

 

Any tips from Singapore users would be great!

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I just received Singapore Math 1B in the mail. We ordered the HIG, text, workbook for the Standards edition. I also ordered intensive practice from the US edition because my gal was between 1B and 2A in terms of skills and we went with the lower since we were new to the program.

 

Here are my questions...

 

The HIG is great with how to introduce the lesson. Then the assignments are there. Do you do all text and workbook pages listed for that "lesson" (some days it seems like a lot) Or do you break it up into more than that? How do you determine it? Just while you are working on the lesson and whether or not they get it?

 

I spend an allocated amount of time per day, and if we don't finish a lesson in that time it gets carried over to the next day. If I am going to be introducing a lot of new concepts with the lesson I might do that one day and not even get to the workbook/textbook pages until the next day. If dd is easily picking up the concept I might not do all of the suggested activities and just go to the text/workbook assignments. If I think she will need some reinforcement I will go through all the suggestions in the HIG for the lesson.

 

If you have the test books - do you find them useful? When do they get incorporated?

 

Yes, I use them and like them. We save them for the end of each unit, and they serve as a cumulative review before we move onto the next unit.

 

How do you incorportate the intensive practice? random times? at the end of a unit? summer practice?

 

I usually do the IP problems after I've finished the text and workbook problems for a unit, and before we do the tests. Sometimes you can do the first couple of pages earlier than that but the second half of the problems are advanced and I like waiting until she has a good understanding before attempting those.

 

Does a "unit" typically take a week? 2 weeks?

 

In my experience, doing the textbook, workbook, intensive practice, CWP, and tests takes us at least 10 days for a unit and might take up to 3 weeks, depending on how quickly dd is picking it up and how much she remembers from previous exposure.

 

How about the mental math practices in the back? Copy them and do one daily?

 

That's what I have been doing.

 

I am sure any way we want to do it will work out, but I was used to a program that was more straight forward with less "parts" to put together. I am curious how others have looked at it. How do you plan ahead?

 

I just plan on working through it at her pace, and try not to worry about getting through the whole program in one semester. I plan on schooling math year-round though, so if we take longer on a particular unit I know I can make up time later. Hopefully after you've gone through a few units you will have a good feel for how it works and it will be easier to see what things will look like down the road.

 

We LOVE the way the math is presented, so it should be fun!

 

 

 

We are really enjoying it! I hope you have fun with it too. :001_smile:

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Thank you! That sounds like the way I have approached the first two units. I do think I'll go ahead with the test book! I think it'll be a great way to determine mastery and see where we have holes.

 

I like doing math year round as well with a 2-4 week break in July for my brain :)

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Did you see the "recommended" schedule in the very beginning of the HIG? Jennifer Hoerst lays out a daily schedule of which textbook pages, workbook exercises, materials, and other (mental math, Rainbow Rock CD) to use. I'm looking at 2B and in the first half of the HIG there is a mental math sheet assigned nearly every day, while there is only 1 scheduled in the 2nd half.

 

I keep a sticky note bookmark in the HIG to keep track of which lesson I'm on. I usually do one a day except when it's totally review and then I may double up. On each daily lesson, there are symbols to draw your attention to the textbook problems, workbook exercises, mental math (not scheduled every day), games, etc. so you don't have to consult the table at the beginning. I think the HIG is exceptionally well laid out :)

 

ETA: I don't use the extra workbooks so I don't know the best way to schedule those - seems that people use them in very different ways anyhow!

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I loosely follow the HIG schedule. If things are going well, I'll have her do less pages and move on quicker.

 

We just got to the 2nd to last addition with regrouping lesson in 2A, it didn't go well, we quit early and will do some extra explaining and extra problems, I'll just make up some and also re-use some, she wasn't paying close enough attention to them the first time to notice, she was just randomly placing 1's everywhere, frustrated with all the work/trying to finish! If I had an extra practice book, this is where I would use it. But, for 2nd grade math, I don't need one. If I was teaching more children, I might, but right now I have the time to make up extra problems for the few lessons we need them.

 

We started with 1A last year after a switch from another program, it was mostly review for her--we worked out of the IP book instead of the workbook, it was perfect. This year, the IP books are a bit tougher, we occasionally do a 1B IP book problem while working through 2A. I also have the CWPs, but she currently doesn't need any extra word problem practice so we haven't used them yet--I can see her brother needing them, and she may also need them later on as there are increasingly different types of problems and they get more complex. (She currently is better at word problems than regular problems!)

Edited by ElizabethB
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Here are my questions...

 

The HIG is great with how to introduce the lesson. Then the assignments are there. Do you do all text and workbook pages listed for that "lesson" (some days it seems like a lot) Or do you break it up into more than that? How do you determine it? Just while you are working on the lesson and whether or not they get it?

 

I hardly use the HIG. It is only when I have trouble with a problem, I want to see how they have been doing it.

 

If you have the test books - do you find them useful? When do they get incorporated?

 

I don't have them.

 

How do you incorportate the intensive practice? random times? at the end of a unit? summer practice?

 

Does a "unit" typically take a week? 2 weeks?

 

I don't know. All these years and I never counted. I just told my sons math has to be done everyday.

 

How about the mental math practices in the back? Copy them and do one daily?

 

I never copy them. I do it orally and have both my sons try to figure it out. I want it to be mental math so, we don't write the problem out.

 

I am sure any way we want to do it will work out, but I was used to a program that was more straight forward with less "parts" to put together. I am curious how others have looked at it. How do you plan ahead?

 

We LOVE the way the math is presented, so it should be fun!

 

Any tips from Singapore users would be great!

 

I use the textbook and workbook. I figure that is the core of the program. So that's what I do.

 

Blessings,

Karen

http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/testimony

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