Algebra (s/o 7th grade plans thread)

[Kate in Arabia]

I'm starting to get a little paranoid reading back through the 7th grade plans thread... almost everyone seems to be doing algebra or pre-algebra; ds will just be starting in Singapore's Primary Math level 6 (he's finishing up 5 over the summer). Now I'm wondering if he's going to be "off" the math schedule, if he ends up in a school for highschool...

 

I don't want to push him faster; we've taken the Singapore series at a comfortable pace, stopping for reinforcement when needed (he's gone through the whole program since he started schoolwork at 4, with the preschool level books). I feel like he has a really strong grasp of the basics. But I'm starting to feel concerned that he may not be at the level he should be? Even an irl friend whose kids are in public school in the US was asking me about algebra the other day (her ds is going into 6th I believe) -- what's with all the algebra? Should I be concerned?

[AngieW in Texas]

Singapore 6A/6B is mostly pre-algebra. There are only a few pre-algebra topics that it doesn't cover and those are typically covered at the beginning of algebra.

 

My oldest finished 6B in 5th grade, but then went to ps for 6th grade. She did pre-algebra with the advanced 7th graders. The next year she did a class that was called algebra for the advanced 8th graders, but it was actually "how to use a graphing calculator." They didn't learn any algebra in the class. All they learned was how to work the graphing calculator. My dd came home for 8th grade and redid algebra with Jacobs.

 

My middle dd finished 6B in 6th grade. She did aleks pre-algebra for one month on trial (hated it) and worked through Math Smart Junior over the summer. She started Algebra I in 7th grade, but she spread it out over two years and did all of Kinetic Books Algebra I and half of Jacobs (she preferred KB).

 

My youngest had to bail on Singapore at the end of 5B back in February of 6th grade. I switched her over to the Key to series. My plan is for her to start Lial's BCM in the fall and then do Kinetic Books Pre-algebra after that. If Lial's doesn't work for her, then we'll go straight to KB.

 

Around here, 8th grade is standard for pre-algebra. Only the advanced 7th graders did pre-algebra. The algebra course that my dd took with the 8th graders was so bad that they all needed to repeat it.

[elegantlion]

I wouldn't worry. My ds will be doing algebra next year, but he's ready for it because of the way we've handled math in earlier years. Also I'm fully prepared to do two years of algebra if he has a hard time this year.

 

However, I'll be you didn't notice that he's behind in his writing. ;) I tend to freak out when I see 7th graders huge reading lists and intense writing programs. My ds is no where near ready for those. I try to remember that the beauty of homeschooling is that we can move ahead when possible and also slow down when necessary. My son's abilities span at least five grade levels, so 7th grade is more a designation than an actual grade level.

[catz]

I'm starting to get a little paranoid reading back through the 7th grade plans thread... almost everyone seems to be doing algebra or pre-algebra; ds will just be starting in Singapore's Primary Math level 6 (he's finishing up 5 over the summer). Now I'm wondering if he's going to be "off" the math schedule, if he ends up in a school for highschool...

 

I don't want to push him faster; we've taken the Singapore series at a comfortable pace, stopping for reinforcement when needed (he's gone through the whole program since he started schoolwork at 4, with the preschool level books). I feel like he has a really strong grasp of the basics. But I'm starting to feel concerned that he may not be at the level he should be? Even an irl friend whose kids are in public school in the US was asking me about algebra the other day (her ds is going into 6th I believe) -- what's with all the algebra? Should I be concerned?

 

 

I think you're doing just fine! Singapore 6 is a challenging and deep curriculum that covers a lot of pre-alg topics. You could focus on Singapore 6 Sept through April, spend 2-3 months reviewing and cleaning up on uncovered pre-algebra topics and be ready for algebra next fall if you wanted to be at that point. Or you could take a more leisurely approach and be more than ready in 9th grade for algebra. Either way, I think you're doing fine. If you are covering Singapore well, your son has a VERY good math backing and conceptual algebra understanding already. He will be well set up!

 

My 9 yo just finished 6B and I have a degree in math (my husband has a technical degree too), so we're just mathy around here.

 

Edited to add - I have a BS in math and comp sci after doing horrible in a drill style elementary math curriculum and not doing algebra until 9th grade! Once I hit more conceptual math and didn't have to memorize random things, I rolled. Just another little validation that all doors are still open on this road! I think Singapore is such a great math curriculum and set up for higher level math.

Edited June 22, 2010 by kck

[mombygrace]

My dd going into 7th would be doing mainly pre algebra. We have done a lot of reviews along the way.

[Kate in Arabia]

 

You could focus on Singapore 6 Sept through April, spend 2-3 months reviewing and cleaning up on uncovered pre-algebra topics and be ready for algebra next fall if you wanted to be at that point. Or you could take a more leisurely approach and be more than ready in 9th grade for algebra.

I find that it takes us longer than a year to get through a level of Singapore (obviously). We do all the extras (EP, IP, CWP), although I will sometimes pick and choose from IP. I suppose I am not 100% clear myself on where most highschools start off in math, maybe I should spend some quality time on the highschool board here :)

[MarinesWife]

My upcoming 7th graders schedule looks like this:

 

7th: Math 7

8th: Pre-Algebra

9th: Algebra

10th: Algrebra II

11th: Geometry

12th: Pre-Calculus

 

She is not a math genius and she has had lots of opportunity to work quicker through her work and it hasn't happened, so she just stays on schedule. She'll get in plenty of math through the high school years.

[mcconnellboys]

I think it's fine! Some kids here still don't do it until ninth grade. I don't think there's any need to push it unless he's really a math guy and you want him to have time to take some AP calculus courses in high school or something like that.

 

If he does Algebra I in eighth grade, he can do II or geometry in ninth, then the other in tenth, then trig/pre-calc in eleventh, then calc in twelfth (if you want that much math)......

[Corraleno]

Singapore 6A/6B is mostly pre-algebra. There are only a few pre-algebra topics that it doesn't cover and those are typically covered at the beginning of algebra.

:iagree:

Singapore 6 is equivalent to the pre-algebra level in many other curricula. Your DS should be fine going from Singapore 6 to Algebra 1, especially since you've been doing so many of the "extras" with Singapore.

 

Jackie

[kewb]

My 7th grader will be doing Math-U-See Zeta. My plan is pre-algebra for 8th, and algebra for 9th grade.