Math woes

[kandty]

I am at a complete loss on what to do about math. My 5th grade boy has always struggled with math. We used MUS until last year and we tried Rightstart. I think it is a great program, but it wasn't for us. I went back to MUS and retaught Gamma as it didn't stick the previous year. Last spring we finished and were ready to move on. Because of lack of funds (and wondering if MUS was the cause of our math problems) we switched to Math Mammoth. I used it to teach him division which went ok. We started Math Mammoth 4 on August 1st and it has been a struggle. I have tried teaching it to him and have tried letting him do it on his own. I struggle with some of the instruction myself and half the time I teach it to him a different way. What makes it worse is that is has all been review! We are working hard and almost in tears (yes, both of us) just about every day on review stuff. I asked him today what he thought was making this so hard and he said he doesn't understand what they are talking about in the instructions. We are both visual learners and I think MUS is a better fit for this type. There are some pictures in MM, but when I read the instruction I swear it is written in a foreign language. :lol:

 

I plan to talk to Dh tonight. But, I need to make a decision tonight on what to do. What would you do? Keep using MM or switch back to MUS?

[wapiti]

Here is what I would try - I'd just print out plain worksheets to practice things he's already covered elsewhere (for example, with the worksheet maker, in the supportive materials folder). In other words, I wouldn't make him suffer through something he's already learned. Then I would jump ahead and begin at topics he's never learned before. If he has already mastered multi-digit multiplication and long division, I'd probably begin with the small fraction and decimal chapters at the end of 4B. There will be a lot more in-depth teaching on word problems in 5A, so I would not worry too much about them, but if you want to concentrate on them, I think the word problem lesson in 4A starts on page 25. The geometry chapter can be done independently from the other chapters.

Edited August 23, 2011 by wapiti

[PeterPan]

Well if it's any consolation, my dd thought the same thing of the MM explanations. ;)

 

In your shoes, I'd look at either going back to MUS or switching over to something straightforward with plenty of built-in review like CLE. CLE has free online placement tests and will send you a free sample. Can't get better than that! Check it out. CLE might be a huge breath of relief for him.

[thowell]

:iagree: Dd11 did fine with MM however, dd8 couldn't get past the instructions. We have switched back to CLE and things are great. I can say that dd11 is a very "out of the box" thinker where dd8 is a very black and white thinker. This may be where the problem comes from. I think both are very solid programs but you do have to find what works for each individual child.

[kandty]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Well an update from yesterday. Dh wants to try MM a little longer and said he would do it with him. We worked on a new plan (more time spent on math each day with more review, and I need to go through the lesson ahead of time and then teach him first). It sounded great but, afterwards I just told Dh the plan sounds great, but I really would feel more comfortable teaching from MUS. I understand that program. I went to order it today, but the student book for my other son was back-ordered. :tongue_smilie: My youngest is so easy going and can use anything and everything works for him. I was going to switch him back to MUS too, just to make it easier for me. I think we will use MM for extra practice and their word problems are awesome. We are spending the rest of the week playing math games. Basic math facts always need review in our house. :001_smile:

[BatmansWife]

I guess I'm late coming in to this discussion and you have a plan already. But when I read this I felt his (and your) pain (math was such a struggle for me). My very first thought was Teaching Textbooks. Have you looked at that yet? There are placement tests at the website and plenty of samples. He could do some of the samples and see what he thinks.