Using Singapore without the texts

[mamachanse]

We are new to using SM, and I started ds on 2B. I go through the HIG and start to explain things and then he asks to write whatever we are covering out himself on the dry erase board, using different numbers than I used for the example. We do this for each area. Then I actually pull out the text and it's more of what we just did surrounded by pictures. Do you feel children really need the text? Might this change with higher levels? Ds catches on quickly and gets bored with too much repitition. If he's getting it I should just keep doing what I'm doing, right? No? :confused:

[Satori]

We're in 1B. We also use the HIG and I think it does a superb job. I then pull out the textbook and we look at the colorful examples for a second confirmation/visualization before we tackle the workbooks.

 

However, the textbook we only spend a few seconds on really, it is the one book in Singapore we don't really rely on too much. We could probably do just as well without it.

[almondbutterandjelly]

I guess it depends on your child's learning style. We use the textbook but not the HIG. My dd is very visual, and we just read over the textbook together, and she's pretty much got it from that. She hated the stuff we did from the HIG, so I don't buy them anymore.

[Dmmetler]

I expect it depends on your child and how they learn. My DD is visual and likes figuring concepts out on her own, so the textbook, plus some manipulatives here and there, is ideal for her. About 90% of the time, she works through the textbook examples herself, explaining the steps to me as she does, and by the time she gets to the practice problems, she's got it and is ready for the IP. I only go to the HiG for those areas where she needs support (like bar diagrams, where she jumped immediately to solving them, but in a different way).

 

But, I could easily see a child go in exactly the opposite direction and prefer the HiG explanation by someone else, and then find the textbook redundant and be ready for practice in the workbook or IP book.

[lewelma]

My son never liked the textbook, so we quit using it early on (by 2b I think). And we never used the HIG either. We just winged it. The books are incremental enough that he could figure it out on his own usually. We did use the text book for a few tricky concepts like dividing fractions. The main problem we had was the word problems in the IP by about 5th grade. Some of these get really hard, and it would have been nice to have a fully worked out solution guide and not just the answers.

 

Ruth in NZ

[Spy Car]

For a different perspective :D

 

My approach is to highly differentiate the way we treat the Textbook vs the Workbook. With the Textbook I "explain" and "demonstrate" when I feel that's what's needed. There is much of this already built into the Textbooks. I often turn to the Socratic method to probe his understanding, and will usually ask him to explain "how" he is problem solving. For me this is as (or more) important than getting the right answer.

 

The time with the Textbook is time to "talk", to explore various additional options we might use for problem solving, and time when I try to make sure my son's understanding is complete.

 

The Workbook I try to make "independent" work to the greatest extent possible. I will clear up any misunderstanding on his part if he is uncertain what is being asked, but I want this to be his time to use the skills he's built in the Textbook time himself.

 

So I like having these two different books and putting them to different uses.

 

Bill

[Halcyon]

We have one child finishing up 1B and another beginning 4A. The textbook is "fun"-a straightforward intro which works well for my younger. My older, OTOH, uses only the IP and the CWP, although we're debating whether to try the workbook so that he can have some "fun" too ;)

 

You might look at the IP and the CWP for more challenge, without the repetition.

[The Governess]

We're in 1B. We also use the HIG and I think it does a superb job. I then pull out the textbook and we look at the colorful examples for a second confirmation/visualization before we tackle the workbooks.

 

However, the textbook we only spend a few seconds on really, it is the one book in Singapore we don't really rely on too much. We could probably do just as well without it.

 

:iagree: We are also in 1B and this is pretty much how we use the text as well. We are starting 2a in a couple weeks though, and I noticed that in some sections of the 2a textbook there are groups of practice problems that are supposed to be worked on a separate sheet of paper. For these sections, not using the textbook might cut the total number of problems in half. So I think the textbooks may become more important at higher levels.

[mamachanse]

For a different perspective :D

 

My approach is to highly differentiate the way we treat the Textbook vs the Workbook. With the Textbook I "explain" and "demonstrate" when I feel that's what's needed. There is much of this already built into the Textbooks. I often turn to the Socratic method to probe his understanding, and will usually ask him to explain "how" he is problem solving. For me this is as (or more) important than getting the right answer.

 

The time with the Textbook is time to "talk", to explore various additional options we might use for problem solving, and time when I try to make sure my son's understanding is complete.

 

The Workbook I try to make "independent" work to the greatest extent possible. I will clear up any misunderstanding on his part if he is uncertain what is being asked, but I want this to be his time to use the skills he's built in the Textbook time himself.

 

So I like having these two different books and putting them to different uses.

 

Bill

 

That is what I do, but just using the HIG. Following the natural flow of the lesson, I ask him how he is solving the problems and what other methods he might use. I <3 Singapore!

[Spy Car]

That is what I do, but just using the HIG. Following the natural flow of the lesson, I ask him how he is solving the problems and what other methods he might use. I <3 Singapore!

 

There are many ways to use this program, and no one "right way."

 

I do like having two different approaches, one very hands on and one (more or less) hands off. But what ever works! :D

 

Bill

[Researcher]

For a different perspective :D

 

My approach is to highly differentiate the way we treat the Textbook vs the Workbook. With the Textbook I "explain" and "demonstrate" when I feel that's what's needed. There is much of this already built into the Textbooks. I often turn to the Socratic method to probe his understanding, and will usually ask him to explain "how" he is problem solving. For me this is as (or more) important than getting the right answer.

 

The time with the Textbook is time to "talk", to explore various additional options we might use for problem solving, and time when I try to make sure my son's understanding is complete.

 

The Workbook I try to make "independent" work to the greatest extent possible. I will clear up any misunderstanding on his part if he is uncertain what is being asked, but I want this to be his time to use the skills he's built in the Textbook time himself.

 

So I like having these two different books and putting them to different uses.

 

Bill

 

This is how we use the Singapore textbook and workbook too. I make sure DS has an understanding of the topic from the text & HIG. Then the workbook is used as independent practice.

[Crimson Wife]

We use the textbook but not the workbook. DD goes through the chapter in the textbook including all the practices but not the reviews, then does the corresponding chapters in IP and CWP. The reviews she does 1 semester behind, on Fridays. So she's currently in 4B but doing the reviews from 4A. The reviews are overkill for her when they're scheduled in the textbook, but perfect delayed.