SquirrellyMama Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 I put this in the K8 board but I thought I'd better put it here too. Has anyone used Singapore's 7-12 curriculum and what were the good and bad aspects of the material? also Some people recommend skipping 7th and 8th grade math if the k-6 material is mastered. Is this true with Singapore as well or is there new content in the junior high grades so those books should not be skipped? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 There is new material. The 7th grade book, NEM1, is a combination of pre-algebra, geometry, and algebra. It definately contains new material. The combination continues throughout NEM1-4. NAM is meant to be done concurrently with NEM3+4 for the students who are continuing their education past 10th grade. NAM contains the beginnings of calculus. One of my sons was in ps with Chicago Everyday Math, then did Saxon5/6, and then began Singapore in 6th grade with PM3B. He finished NEM in high school and went on to do pre-calculus his senior year at community college. He is struggling through calculs now (he always struggles in math) but says that it is just the new calculus that is the problem, that he "rocks" at the algbra compared to his classmates. My other son did PM and is now doing NEM3 in 9th grade. If you do a search for Nan in Mass and Singapore, you should turn up some posts that I have written describing the advantages and disadvantages of NEM. One of the older ones has a list of what I think is missing from NEM and PM. -Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 I put this in the K8 board but I thought I'd better put it here too. Has anyone used Singapore's 7-12 curriculum and what were the good and bad aspects of the material? also Some people recommend skipping 7th and 8th grade math if the k-6 material is mastered. Is this true with Singapore as well or is there new content in the junior high grades so those books should not be skipped? I'm not sure what levels you are thinking of skipping, but Nan is right, NEM1 is definitely a step up in material. Maybe you were thinking of the fact that "pre-algebra" can often be skipped. I definitely skipped that after Singapore 6B. Anything not covered by then is already laid out in NEM1 (or whatever Singapore high school program you use). I do think that not all kids are ready emotionally for algebra in 7th grade, so sometimes a filler level is useful just to delay formal algebra. It worked out well for us because we finished 6B in 7th, and went to algebra in 8th. We tried a bit of NEM1 and that would have been a good path right after 6B, also. Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquirrellyMama Posted November 23, 2009 Author Share Posted November 23, 2009 I'm not sure what levels you are thinking of skipping, but Nan is right, NEM1 is definitely a step up in material. Maybe you were thinking of the fact that "pre-algebra" can often be skipped. I definitely skipped that after Singapore 6B. Anything not covered by then is already laid out in NEM1 (or whatever Singapore high school program you use). I do think that not all kids are ready emotionally for algebra in 7th grade, so sometimes a filler level is useful just to delay formal algebra. It worked out well for us because we finished 6B in 7th, and went to algebra in 8th. We tried a bit of NEM1 and that would have been a good path right after 6B, also. Julie This question isn't for me but for a friend who has a child who I believe is in 6th grade this year. I think she just wants to know if the jr high years in math are just a repeat. I think we've heard before that in the ps the jr high years are really catch up for the kids who haven't learned all the material yet. I think she wanted to know if it was the same with hs material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted November 23, 2009 Share Posted November 23, 2009 This question isn't for me but for a friend who has a child who I believe is in 6th grade this year. I think she just wants to know if the jr high years in math are just a repeat. I think we've heard before that in the ps the jr high years are really catch up for the kids who haven't learned all the material yet. I think she wanted to know if it was the same with hs material. I think it depends on the math curriculum you are using. But junior high is usually where kids learn (a) prealgebra, where they use things like negative numbers, exponents, parentheses, and variables (this is already included in some algebra programs like Singapore and Math Relief), and (b) Algebra I. If the student isn't getting to algebra by 8th grade, then either (a) he's not ready or (b) he's spending too long on prealgebra, which may be what your friend is thinking of. Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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