dakarimom5 Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Two of my children attend the local magnet school, one in 2nd and one in 3rd grade. Since kindergarten, Joey has had the same teacher Justice had the previous year. I was okay with that until this year. The teacher this year is doing things completely different than last year and I don't like it. One example is the spelling words. Last year we had words like dictionary and principal, this year we have owl, Ipod and voodoo. But the biggest problem is math. They didn't do multiplication or division at all last year. This year they have already blown through multiplication and are now on division. And they are not teaching the multiplication tables!! They are using pictures of grapes and the problem will be something like, "If you have 2 bunches of grapes and there are 3 grapes in each bunch, how many do you have?" And the questions were random, not even all 2's. and then the child fills in the blank on either side of the multiplication symbol. I just feel like they are doing a disservice to my child and I'm not sure if I should teach him the multiplication tables right now and possibly undo what he is learning or if I should wait until summer. And I'm also unsure if I should say something to the principal or teacher. They say that this school is a grade ahead of all the other elementery schools in the city..but I don't feel that they are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 So, is this how they are teaching multiplication to second graders? If so, I would say it was right on level and totally appropriate. They are teaching them what multiplication is and how to do it before they memorize facts. The ps here teach multiplication facts in third grade, so if he learns how this year and memorizes next year, he is right on track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2bee Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Removed by the Author. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeidiKC Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 I always thought schools taught multiplication in 3rd grade. My son's school (Catholic) does that. I agree with the pp that what he's doing seems very grade-appropriate. Is your 3rd grader learning multiplication tables? In any case, I think you're fine teaching them at home whenever you want to - as long as the child understands how multiplication works. It isn't going to confuse them when they do the picture problems at school. The tables are just memorizing the facts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClassicalTwins Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Here in KY & IN the term the schools use is "discovering math" and "discovering writing". They do not reach rote memorization of multiplication tables as they say that children learn better through discovery of math :001_huh: They also say they can use a calcuator in upper math so there is no need to memorize as the kids will begin to remember facts through discovery:001_huh: My boys were pulled out in K, while we were discovering addition....because my husband and I had seen what our other friends' kids were discovering and we thought we would completely go nuts by 3rd grade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 I'm totally cool with teaching "why" multiplication works. I think that's how it should be done. Along the way, facts should be memorized, but I think practice practice practice helps with that. Rote memorizing of the facts without knowing why multiplication works won't do them any good. It's also normal for multiplication to be introduced in that manner in 2nd grade. The spelling though, yeah, that seems out there. But I know how schools teach spelling anyway - rote memorization without learning the "why". Some kids don't need to learn "why" in order to be good spellers (I didn't). Some kids do need to learn it. Schools tend to focus on sight words and such though, so most of the spelling will be memorization rather than learning spelling strategies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakarimom5 Posted February 24, 2011 Author Share Posted February 24, 2011 I always thought schools taught multiplication in 3rd grade. My son's school (Catholic) does that. I agree with the pp that what he's doing seems very grade-appropriate. Is your 3rd grader learning multiplication tables? QUOTE] My 3rd grader is learning his multiplication tables. Oddly enough, out of my 3 oldest children he is the only one that has had to learn them. I think it's because his teacher is old school!:D I think I'm just projecting my irritation at the school to this subject. I haven't had any problems with the schools this year...until this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalphs Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsMe Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 (edited) Two of my children attend the local magnet school, one in 2nd and one in 3rd grade. Since kindergarten, Joey has had the same teacher Justice had the previous year. I was okay with that until this year. The teacher this year is doing things completely different than last year and I don't like it. One example is the spelling words. Last year we had words like dictionary and principal, this year we have owl, Ipod and voodoo. But the biggest problem is math. They didn't do multiplication or division at all last year. This year they have already blown through multiplication and are now on division. And they are not teaching the multiplication tables!! They are using pictures of grapes and the problem will be something like, "If you have 2 bunches of grapes and there are 3 grapes in each bunch, how many do you have?" And the questions were random, not even all 2's. and then the child fills in the blank on either side of the multiplication symbol. I just feel like they are doing a disservice to my child and I'm not sure if I should teach him the multiplication tables right now and possibly undo what he is learning or if I should wait until summer. And I'm also unsure if I should say something to the principal or teacher. They say that this school is a grade ahead of all the other elementery schools in the city..but I don't feel that they are. Well I think the words "dictionary" and "principal" are a little too much for 2nd grade. There's a lot more to a word like "dictionary", using c insted of K and tion instead of shun and y instead of ie, etc. Owl I believe should be mixed in because is it spelled ou or ow? IPOD and voodoo on the otherhand would make me cringe as we need to know how to spell such ridiculous words? Please! So I think they're both a little off. I've used about 4 spelling programs and neither sets are really good. As far as math it sounds like just introduction, which it should be, and my personal opinion is that kids should be learning addition and subtraction and know it like the back of their hand before moving on. In this case it's probably okay as they're introducing how it works and why you may use it, not really getting into the facts so-to-speak. If they don't have the why and understand and go straight to rote, they just won't get it. Too much too early makes for a disaster. Basics first. After all, so many can't do simple addition or subtraction, nor spell. PSs are on a slippery slope between dumbing them down and too much too soon. Neither have a good outcome. Edited February 24, 2011 by alilac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mama27 Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Two of my children attend the local magnet school, one in 2nd and one in 3rd grade. Since kindergarten, Joey has had the same teacher Justice had the previous year. I was okay with that until this year. The teacher this year is doing things completely different than last year and I don't like it. One example is the spelling words. Last year we had words like dictionary and principal, this year we have owl, Ipod and voodoo. But the biggest problem is math. They didn't do multiplication or division at all last year. This year they have already blown through multiplication and are now on division. And they are not teaching the multiplication tables!! They are using pictures of grapes and the problem will be something like, "If you have 2 bunches of grapes and there are 3 grapes in each bunch, how many do you have?" And the questions were random, not even all 2's. and then the child fills in the blank on either side of the multiplication symbol. I just feel like they are doing a disservice to my child and I'm not sure if I should teach him the multiplication tables right now and possibly undo what he is learning or if I should wait until summer. And I'm also unsure if I should say something to the principal or teacher. They say that this school is a grade ahead of all the other elementery schools in the city..but I don't feel that they are. Here's an idea: Homeschool them!! Then you can do things your way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsMe Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Here's an idea: Homeschool them!! Then you can do things your way. :thumbup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sophiasapientia Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 But the biggest problem is math. They didn't do multiplication or division at all last year. This year they have already blown through multiplication and are now on division. And they are not teaching the multiplication tables!! They are using pictures of grapes and the problem will be something like, "If you have 2 bunches of grapes and there are 3 grapes in each bunch, how many do you have?" And the questions were random, not even all 2's. and then the child fills in the blank on either side of the multiplication symbol. It seems like this is fairly typical. My 2nd grader, who attends a charter school, goes to a 3rd grade classroom for math. They whipped through multiplication and, while my kiddo understands the concept, she does not have the tables fully memorized. My impression is that the teacher isn't thrilled by the curriculum/pace but has to abide by it. We are working on memorizing the tables with DD at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmoe Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 "Regular spelling texts, as a general rule, pick grade levels for words according to when the words first begin to occur in the curriculum. This would seem to make sense, bur it does bring about some rather odd sequences. Since the word ice may not occur in the curriculum until the fourth grade (when it appears in the science class), its introduction is delayed until that time even though nice may occur in the first grade, twice in the second grade, price in the fifth, and rice in the sixth." Little blurb from Sequential Spelling. Could it be her spelling words are coming from the curriculum. Last year perhaps her class was introduced to who a principal was and what he did, and this year they are learning about owls, ect. I would suggest Sequential Spelling if you want to supplement spelling. It's easy and painless 5-10 minutes a day that teaches the pattern of spelling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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