Math Help Needed!!! My 6th grader is at a 4th grade level.... What can I do?

[ckmommyof3]

My science minded 6th grade daughter (she wants to be a veterinarian) is very behind in math. We are in Saxon 4/5 and I'm not sure that she is retaining the lessons. What math program will catch her up quickly? We are considering sending her to a public highschool for 9th grade and would like her to at least on grade level for math. This is also going to be an issue with future science classes that have min. math level requirements. Please Help!!!!

Edited October 4, 2010 by ckmommyof3

[Rosy]

I wouldn't worry about catching her up quickly, I would try to find a curriculum that she understands and can retain, and will give her a strong foundation. Some kids are less math-inclined than others, and some take longer than others. Let her go at her own pace, even if it takes longer than the PS scope and sequence.

 

As far as which one, do you think a mastery-based program would work better for her (meaning she would have to master one concept before learning another)? If so, you might try Math-U-See (I haven't used it for higher levels, but a lot of people love it). If she's better with an incremental approach (where she is growing in her understanding of many concepts at the same time) you might try Teaching Textbooks. Life of Fred is a great supplement. I've also heard good things about Math Mammoth.

[Momling]

My daughter loves Teaching Textbooks. I think the computer format is appealing to her, the spiraling helps her remember last weeks/months lessons (though Saxon does the same...) and -- as a bonus -- there is a very good chance that your daughter would place into TT5 or TT6, even though she struggles with math. It might be just the thing.

 

Also, keep in mind that math is developmental and what takes a few years to master at age 6, often takes only a semester as a teenager. And even if she is not at 'grade level' by grade 9, assuming you're in an American educational system, it's no problem at all for her to catch up - even in college. So... I'd suggest not worrying too much -- just continuing on and focus on her mastering arithmetic and getting ready for algebra.

[EKS]

I wouldn't use Saxon with a child who is two years behind if your goal is to catch up within three years. It is very difficult to target weak areas in Saxon because everything is spread out all over the place.

 

Using Math U See is one (albeit expensive) way to remediate gaps and then push forward with new concepts. I did this with my son several years ago. He did Beta-Zeta in one year after coming out of Saxon 7/6 with spotty retention. We went quickly through the topics he already knew (usually the first half or more of each book) and then slowed down for the final topics. At the end of Zeta he was ready to move into Jacobs Algebra. If he had needed a year of prealgebra, I probably would have used Lial's Basic College Math.

[Mandy in TN]

I wouldn't use Saxon with a child who is two years behind if your goal is to catch up within three years. It is very difficult to target weak areas in Saxon because everything is spread out all over the place.

 

Using Math U See is one (albeit expensive) way to remediate gaps and then push forward with new concepts.

:iagree:Mandy

[Ida]

I find Singapore Math extremely easy to implement. Explanations are very straight forward and exercises are not very long, so it's easy to move through quickly.

[Kates]

I would also recommend taking her out of Saxon immediately and remediating with a mastery based program (like MUS). The same thing happened to my son, I took him out of 5/4 and he completed Alpha-Zeta in about 15 months - and went straight into pre-algebra. At 12, he's getting ready to start Algebra 2. It was just a matter of getting him out of a spiral approach into mastery - it made all the difference.

[brownie]

Would you consider instituting an hour of tutoring, perhaps by dad, each evening? After ds10 bombed his last semester test in Singapore, we decided to backtrack. During school we are repeating the curriculum from day 1 in the morning (with me teaching more than I ever did the 1st time around bc I thought he understood it) and in the evening 4-5 times a week someone (often dad) works with him for an hour on packets we made up based on concepts he missed on the test.

 

We have 2 youngers...the 8 yr old reads happily during the first 30 minutes followed by bed time and we make sure he gets one of the remaining evenings with dad to play games. I read with the 5 year old during this time...something that did not happen on a regular basis before at an appropriate level. (We either read picture books or he listens to family read alouds, but now we're getting in Beatrix Potter and Pooh). So we've made it work nicely for all of us.

Brownie