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Saxon76!!


HollyDay
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Dd did really well with Saxon 54 and 65. But, 76 is a problem. She is struggling with the problems. I think she needs more time with the concepts rather than constantly moving on and adding on. Yes, Saxon does all the review, but it also adds something new each lesson. It is just "piling up"

 

I'm thinking about TT7. I'm not a huge TT fan, but I do own it (older dc used it) and it does teach material differently. I'm thinking it might move at a slower pace and allow her the time she needs. I could then either go back into 76 at the end of TT7 or just move into 87.

 

Any suggestions or thoughts on this sequence that I have not considered?

Edited by HollyDay
had to change title
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Saxon 7/6 does take a big leap from 6/5 (it's a more gradual change from 5/4 to 6/5). I guess I have more questions than answers.... first, how well does she know her math facts? If she is still struggling with some of them, I would take a break from Saxon to drill the facts until she can say the answer correctly- immediately without hesitation. Next, is she doing all the problems? If she is skipping some, I would have her do all the problems in every lesson. The mixed review does get progressively harder. The review problem for lesson 3 might be combined with a concept from another problem in a later lesson. I'm convinced that skipping problems will only cause headache and confusion the further you get in the program. If she is still having problems, it might be that Saxon is just not the right math program for her. A lot of kids really need to switch to more of a mastery program if Saxon is causing frustration.

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Good questions!! She is not as solid on the facts as I would like and we are practicing and drilling the tables. We do not skip any problems or lessons. We do all the problems every lesson. Saxon has worked very well for her the past 3 years. This was an unexpected problem.

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We were in the same exact place last year when she was in 6th. I don't know, maybe she just wasn't ready. We were doing practically a level ahead - 5/4 in 4th, 6/5 in 5th, 7/6 in 6th. My girl had to go back to the beginning and we started again. I don't have any thoughts as to why. She's in 7th now and SAxon people say she should be doing 8/7 by now. She's not, who cares :) kwim. She needed an extra year.

 

I do have thoughts though about switching to TT before you give Saxon a good solid try again. We were in that same spot with my son (dd's older bro) and switched. I really wish we hadn't.

 

I would suggest going back to the beginning if you're before lesson 30 or so. If not, go really slowly through one lessons whole problems with her. My guess is you'll see gaps. Go back to where that lesson is introduced and try to see what the problem was. If there are big gaps, like many missed problems and you don't want to go to beginning, do the testing method Saxon recommends.

 

Take test 1, do better than 80% do test 2 and so fiorth. For me, I didn't want her only doing 80%, I expected 95 - 100%. I mean, what good is it to move on if she doesn't know it?

 

Anyway, she is doing better now. Much better. That's not to say if I allow her to do a lesson independently for four/five lessons she won't have problems.

 

I don't know...maybe it's this level where there's somuch thrown at them (decimals, fractions, factors, longer division, etc) they just need us checking comprehension.

 

 

If it helps, we do facts practice on her own. We sit down together at a whilte board and do mental math (all of it) and the lesson. Then she, on the white board with me watching very carefully - literally every move - she does the practice set for the lesson. THEN she moves on to her "homework" on her own. IF she were having problems, I sit with her while she does those problems.

 

If she misses more than 5, she redoes the lesson. This is incentive to not be careless. It takes a long time at first. THere were tears, but as a lesson learned from her older brother, we aren't switching :)

Here's a similar post, wonder why it's such a common problem?

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=214294

Edited by momee
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Saxon 7/6 does take a big leap from 6/5 (it's a more gradual change from 5/4 to 6/5).

:iagree:

I guess I have more questions than answers.... first, how well does she know her math facts? If she is still struggling with some of them, I would take a break from Saxon to drill the facts until she can say the answer correctly- immediately without hesitation.

:iagree:

 

Good questions!! She is not as solid on the facts as I would like and we are practicing and drilling the tables. We do not skip any problems or lessons. We do all the problems every lesson. Saxon has worked very well for her the past 3 years. This was an unexpected problem.

Before beginning Saxon 54 a child should have mastered their addition/subtraction facts and be familiar with the concept of multiplication.

Before beginning Saxon 65 a child should have mastered their multiplication/division facts and be familiar with fraction concepts.

Before beginning Saxon 76 a child should have mastered the four operations with fractions and be familiar with decimals and aware of order of operations.

 

If she is missing any of these skills, work on them. She will need them to move comfortably through Saxon 76 where she should master the four operations with decimals and order of operations and become familiar with signed numbers and basic geometry.

 

That said- there isn't a math program that is a good fit for everyone. If she isn't retaining the material maybe a different program would be a better fit. I wish I had pulled my oldest out of Saxon sooner. OTOH- I wish I had never pulled my middle child out of Saxon.

 

HTH-

Mandy

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