Rod and Staff Math

[Krisi in GA]

Would a child who has finished Rod and Staff Math Grade 8 be prepared for Algebra, or would a pre-algebra course be needed?

 

Thanks,

Kristi

[Krisi in GA]

Anyone?

[Mom0012]

I'm only on R&S 6 with my son, but yes, I have heard many say that R&S gives a solid foundation for algebra. Here's a post you might be interested to read that gives a little insight into what people think about R&S Math and how it preps a child for algebra. http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=247895&highlight=R%26amp%3BS+Math+algebra

 

Basically, the current trend is to introduce a lot of geometry and algebra concepts prior to algebra. R&S does not do that but does give a very solid foundation. If you want your child to be introduced to those concepts before algebra, then you may want to switch math programs after R&S 5 or 6 or skip R&S 7 or 8 and do a prealgebra program. Once my son finished R&S 5, I had him start doing R&S 3 days a week and CLE 3 days a week. Over the summer we are just using CLE and he is doing very well, so I'm not sure if I'm going to pick R&S back up again in the fall. I made this decision because I've seen what a solid program CLE is as my daughter has used it over the last few years and also because we have to do testing here in VA and my son would not likely do well on that as he approaches middle school given the current trend to introduce these concepts earlier.

 

Lisa

Edited June 26, 2011 by LisaTheresa

[Pink and Green Mom]

I would like to hear from any of you who have used both 2nd and 3rd grade R&S math. Did your child have a hard time transitioning to the non-workbook format? If you chose not to continue using Rod & Staff, what did you use for your 3rd grader instead?

 

For 3rd grade, I was able to make xerox copies of each lesson and have my son work on those sheets - there was plenty of room to do the work. For 4th grade, the problems got more complex I copied the problems I wanted him to do on lined paper so that he could just do the math work. His hand starts to hurt with too much writing so this method really helped him.

 

Hope that helps.

[Mom0012]

Ds is finishing Rod & Staff Math 2 and is doing well with it. I am trying to decide if we should continue with R&S Math 3 next year. The only thing that might be an issue is that the student book is hardback and he would be expected to write out his math problems on a separate sheet of paper. I would like to hear from any of you who have used both 2nd and 3rd grade R&S math. Did your child have a hard time transitioning to the non-workbook format? If you chose not to continue using Rod & Staff, what did you use for your 3rd grader instead?

 

Yes, my son was not ready to transition away from the workbooks. For 3rd grade, I took the student text and had the binding cut off and he just wrote onthe pages. There was plenty of room for him to do that. There wasn't enough room for him to do that in the 4th grade text, so I actually cut the binding off and then copied the pages, enlarging them. That worked pretty well. For most of 5th grade, I made him a worksheet. It really wasn't as time-consuming as I thought it would be. I would make worksheets for 5 lessons at the beginning of each week. At some point, I began to transition him, by writing some of the problems out for him and then having him write others. By the end of the year, he was able to do all the copying himself.

 

Lisa

[Dina in Oklahoma]

Hello ~

We are going to complete Rod and Staff 7 then transition to Lial's Basic College Math. You might like to research posts by Jann in Texas. She is a math teacher and HS mama with alot of great wisdom and advice. Jann also teaches an online class!

 

Best Wishes