MM, Singapore, MIF: Which is easiest to teach?

[jer2911mom]

If you've used Math Mammoth, Singapore, and Math in Focus, which do you find easiest to teach? Do they all have solutions or do some just have answer keys? Thanks!

[Crimson Wife]

I haven't looked through the MIF teacher's manual but between SM and MM the latter is *WAY* easier to teach. SM assumes the student can make conceptual leaps while Maria Miller walks the child through step-by-step-by-step.

 

I think the difference is that Asian math teachers are assumed to have what Dr. Liping Ma calls "a profound understanding of mathematics" and so they can fill in the gaps when necessary. I personally don't have that strong of a background in math and even with the Singapore HIG's I sometimes struggle to explain concepts. So the single-topic "blue" MM worktexts have been amazingly helpful.

[bethben]

Between MIF and Singapore, it seems like MIF is more incremental in it's approach. I am strong in math and could help ds#2 make the leaps Singapore required, but ds #3 seems to need a little more time to let things sit in his brain before moving on. I only have the first level of MIF and all the levels of singapore but for the teacher who needs a little more hand holding, MIF seems a little easier.

 

Beth

[jer2911mom]

Thanks to you both for your replies. Can you tell me which of the three provide worked-out solutions and which provide just an answer key? I realize at the lower levels, sometimes just the answer is necessary, but I'm more concerned about the upper levels. Thanks!

[Corraleno]

I haven't looked through the MIF teacher's manual but between SM and MM the latter is *WAY* easier to teach. SM assumes the student can make conceptual leaps while Maria Miller walks the child through step-by-step-by-step.

:iagree:

 

Jackie

[Crimson Wife]

Thanks to you both for your replies. Can you tell me which of the three provide worked-out solutions and which provide just an answer key? I realize at the lower levels, sometimes just the answer is necessary, but I'm more concerned about the upper levels. Thanks!

 

The single-topic "blue" MM books have just an answer key, not sure about the full "light blue" curriculum. My DH is "mathy" so I just ask him to explain when he gets home if DD and I can't figure out the answer.

[ChandlerMom]

The single-topic "blue" MM books have just an answer key, not sure about the full "light blue" curriculum. My DH is "mathy" so I just ask him to explain when he gets home if DD and I can't figure out the answer.

 

Funny you should ask -- until you did I hadn't even checked what came with my light blue MM I got a few weeks back! :D

 

Looking at it briefly, I'd say it's an answer key that also provides the "why" on some problems, or intermediary steps.

 

I'm definitely "mathy" (understatement :lol:) and DD knows I don't assign anything I won't do, so I never use answer keys (she's finishing 4th grade which I can still do in my head, fortunately). That said, I can understand not everyone has the time or inclination to re-invent the wheel. :tongue_smilie:

 

But if the issue is that you aren't confident in your ability to solve your students problems [well or efficiently] I would encourage you to consider doing math WITH your child. Since you've seen it before and are a savvier learner (experience helps! :D ), you will pick it up quickly (so no, don't HAVE to do the drills, :lol:). Partly I suggest this for the same reason Liping Ma would (the belief teachers need profound knowledge to teach), but also because I think a lot of mathphobia and discomfort comes out of the bad teaching we experienced in ps and that we want to avoid doing. Maybe it's also cathartic? It's definitely a good example for your kids -- learning is life long!

 

The last is probably the best reason -- and the reason I enjoy studying history, art, and the finer points of grammar with my kids. Homeschooling gives ME a chance to learn things I missed, forgot, or just never knew and to make connections to other things I HAVE learned along the way. I enjoy that and I enjoy being able to share in that journey of learning with my kids.

[jer2911mom]

Thanks! My husband and I have engineering backgrounds, and my father-in-law teaches Calculus, so I really do think we'll be fine, but I've never learned the "Asian" way, so am probably going to need a little more guidance that I would with an American program. (I just don't know exactly what we are getting into yet!) Like you said, if I do it with her, I should have a pretty good feel for things. That's my plan with any program we use. I appreciate your looking at the answer key for me!

[ChandlerMom]

Btw, one of the reasons I chose MM is that there is only one book, so everything is right there in the workbook -- explanations, examples, and problems. I also like that the problems are in blocks, so even my 5yo understands I read the directions for that small group of problems, then she does them on her own and stops at the next group.

 

With your and dh's background, I don't think you'd need to do more than read the top section (intro topic, and examples) to feel refreshed enough to teach it.

 

I also like that if dc needs a break from fractions, I can easily skip over to a different topic for a while and then go back. I can also break a lesson into as many days as dc needs (since you can stop and pick up where you left off), or take a couple days to reinforce an idea that's new (more an issue for my k'r doing 1st grade work). I guess I'm saying because the format is very simple and in one place I can adapt it without feeling I am somehow undermining or unraveling "The Curriculum". :lol:

 

Definitely look at the MM sample pages if you are interested. You should also be able to locate some Singapore books to look through. MM is written by a Finn for homeschoolers whereas SM is setup more for classroom, which is probably why there's more juggling different books in SM -- something I would find really distracting. I don't know enough about MIF to comment.

 

Good luck! Selecting curricula is both fun and overwhelming, isn't it? :tongue_smilie: I'm finally set for Jan but not for next year. :confused:

[bethben]

I know that Singapore has the problems worked out in the upper level tms including little helps and hints (which I've had to use on occasion). There are problems in 5b that I couldn't figure out how to solve without algebra - really needed the tm.

 

Beth

[boscopup]

I never looked at the MM answer key until this thread. It looks like it explains word problems that aren't obvious or might have intermediary steps. I only have levels 1 and 2 though, so not a lot of help is needed at these levels. Sometimes it will have something like "Explain xyz to the child, and give them a hint about abc." So it is giving you everything you need to figure out the problem and to help the child figure it out.

 

I've not done the "Singapore way" of doing math in the past, but starting at level 1 in MM, I've been able to pick up on it easily. She explains everything so well in the text. If it's a new concept, I read it to my son (he can read, but I feel better reading it to him to make sure he understands it), we go over the first few problems together, and then I let him loose to do the rest on his own once I see that he understands the concept. We haven't run into any really difficult word problems, but we've only been working through level 1 so far.