anyone had to go one level below starting Sing Math in upper grade?

[babygemma]

What did you to catch up, did you only cover topics where there are weaknesses, if so did you move along with topics he has already mastered at grade level? My son will be going into 5th grade but I think I'll start him in 4a to cover some gaps. he hasn't gotten much of this Asian math at public school where he's been esp. Mental math. Thanks for your input.

Edited August 1, 2011 by babygemma

[BridgeTea]

Oh, yes, definitely we "backed up" as far as we needed to for Singapore Math after public school. The time we put in absolutely nailing the basics has paid off and I'd do it again. For us (starting in 5th grade, also) that meant pulling out the addition and subtraction flash cards, the multiplication drill sheets, and the math manipulatives just to check for any math "gaps". I found plenty to work on, believe me! :lol: (This, in spite of algebra lessons being her favorite part of math in PS. She didn't thoroughly appreciate going back to "baby math" for awhile, until I kept reminding her that I was not a math teacher, just a mom, and it was the best way for me to get a grip on where she was at. She understood that.)

 

Working closely with her made it easy to stop and concentrate on the bits we needed to work on, and "blow through" the stuff she really understood. Whenever we hit areas of a book she already grasped, I'd have her skip the easier problems or better yet, have her teach me the steps she'd take to solve a problem, and what she was looking for in each of her steps (not sure if I explained that right, but I was having her prove why she was doing what she was doing).

 

Singapore placement tests (online) are reliable. I'd go by those. Don't forget, the Intensive Practice and Challenging Word Problems supplements will up the ante if you decide to use them. We did the IP books at the same level as the textbook we were on, but the CWP books were done one level below the textbook level.

 

"Backing up" in math works! We do what we have to, don't think twice about it, and then sit back in amazement as we watch the lightbulbs go on over their little heads!

[Capt_Uhura]

:iagree: back up, let him get used to the SM method. IF he's absolutely solid on something and can teach it to you, let him do a few problems and move on.

[Coffeemama]

I started my 3rd grade DD in the 2B book and she has stayed at that pace adding in the CWP, so that now entering 5th grade she will be starting 4B. I don't feel she is behind b/c the program is so solid and deep and she has a great handle on mental math and mastery of the topics covered. The other reason I'm not concerned about being a half book "behind" is b/c she should be (based on what I've read on the math threads) ready for pre-algebra, if not algebra, by the time she finishes 6B, which will be mid 7th grade.

 

So don't feel like you need to rush to "catch up". Better for the knowledge to be solid. Hope that helps! :001_smile:

[Crimson Wife]

FWIW, the major topics in Singapore run ahead of the California state standards by the mid-elementary grades. I've had one "afterschooler" in particular on this board try to claim that isn't the case. However, I have to go through the exercise of lining up what DD has covered in her Singapore book with something on the CA standards every month for her virtual charter. I'd say at least 4/5 of the time, I find the topic on the standard for the grade above.

[missmoe]

We are using Singapore Math level 6 in 7th-grade. Two of my other kids have been ready for Algebra after completing level 6, so that has worked out well for us. I do supplement with the first four books of Key to Algebra in 7th-grade to help the transition to algebra in 8th-grade.

[Lori D.]

JMO, but I would seriously consider getting the 3A/3B to start your year with as a review of math concepts -- but especially because the 3A/B is where Singapore first introduces their method of problem-solving by drawing the "bars" for seeing what you know and to understand what you are trying to solve for. If you are wanting to understand the Asian math method of problem-solving and "math thinking", you really don't want to skip this!

 

I foresee that your DS will finish both 3A/B, 4A/B and even get into 5A this year, and might complete 5/B, 6A, and 6B the following year, while in grade 6. We did this with our older DS and it worked very well -- he moved quickly through the 3A/B level, it ensured there were no "gaps", and he was "caught up" at the end of the first year, and moved ahead in his second year of Singapore, and by the third year, he finished Singapore 6A/B at the end of 6th grade. BEST of luck -- and enjoy your math adventures with Singapore! :) Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited August 1, 2011 by Lori D.