Have you ever skipped a book in a math curriculum?

[EmilyGF]

I'm thinking of doing this - skipping the third grade math book for DS. For background's sake, I skipped third grade math and the only minus was that I never memorized my fractions perfectly. I did fine otherwise, and I can make DS do a few extra fraction sheets.

 

We're doing RS C right now and DS gets 95% on each end-of-unit test. He likes the program, as do I, and we play lots of games. We're about a third of the way through the text. We also do a lot of oral math since DH and I are both physicists who love math. We sometimes double up lessons (my goal is about six lessons per week), but that often leads to doing too much math for my DDs who end up neglected.

 

He loves anything hands-on (origami, drawing geometric shapes) which is why I kept up with RS after B.

 

My goal is challenging enough to be exciting without being overwhelming.

 

Emily

[Crimson Wife]

I personally found RS C to be disappointing in terms of the challenge level after B. Looking ahead to D & E the balance of review to new material seemed even worse. I ended up switching to Singapore 3A after DD finished RS C. Singapore is far easier to accelerate and/or up the challenge level for a bright child because of the unscripted lessons and the extra books.

 

Towards the end of 4B, however, I started getting complaints again about too much repetition of the same topics and not enough new material. I decided to do 5A because of the fraction chapters, but after she finishes that book (she's 1/3 of the way through), I'm going to accelerate her to pre-algebra. The plan is to pair Horizons Pre-Algebra with Singapore Discovering Math 1 and try to spread it out over 2 years. The Horizons scope & sequence looked like it covered everything in Singapore Primary Math 5B-6B, just at a faster pace.

[RootAnn]

I skipped A Beka 5 Arithmetic with my oldest. She completed CLE 400 & then started A Beka's 6 based on scope/sequence, the idea that A Beka "slows down" a lot 4-7, and my belief that she could handle it. I won't know if it was a good idea until we're further along (than Lesson 25).

 

:bigear:

[Deniseibase]

We skipped Saxon 2, and have never regretted it. When a child who gets everything right in math starts sighing and acting bored during lessons, it's time to step it up.

[boscopup]

I haven't skipped a whole grade level, but I did skip about half of one. When we got to MM 2B, I realized that he already knew all of the material except for one little dinky section. So we did that section, then moved on to 3A.

[Muttichen]

I skipped 5th grade math with several of my children and went from 6th to Algebra 1 with all of them. There is so much review and overlap that it gets tedious if they "get it."

[regentrude]

We sort of skipped - DS went from public school 5th grade first semester to Saxon 8/7 the second semester (and on to algebra in 6th). So, if we had followed the school's progression, we have skipped at least a year and a half.

[smillard00]

I'm assuming you're using a spiral curriculum, not a mastery curriculum? Skipping a whole book could leave a big gap otherwise.

 

I think the best way to accelerate ahead in math is to just give the test for each lesson. If they can pass the test, then keep going. If they have trouble, then go back and teach the trouble spot. You just want to be sure that they don't get all the way to upper level math and then have a hole in their knowledge. They need to know all of their math facts. They need to be able to follow the order of operations. They need to know place value. They need to know how to handle fractions and decimals and percentages and exponents. They need to be able to do long multiplication and division problems without getting lost in all of the numbers. That sort of thing. And then the really important thing is to be able to think mathematically through the word problems and applications.

 

A lot of bright kids get really bored in those middle math years and may be able to skip ahead, but sometimes they can end up weak in computation skills or math facts which slows them down in the end.

 

When we get to an easy spot in math, I go over the lesson. let them show me how to work a few problems and then I have them work the word problems from that lesson to get that practice. The next day, we take the test and move on. When we get to the end of a book, we go to the next one.

[Muttichen]

I don't use a spiral curriculum. Skipping a whole book didn't leave a gap at all. When I started homeschooling I had one in 4th grade math and one in 6th grade math. I didn't see any reason my son (very strong math kid) couldn't go straight into the 6th grade book. I got the book to see what he would be missing and it was lots of review and introductions to topics he'd cover in more depth in the 6th grade book. I did it and he did fine. Some of my children weren't so solid so I thought they needed more review.

[lewelma]

My ds only did grades 2,4,and 5 in Singapore Math's Intensive Practice series before starting AoPS intro algebra.

 

Ruth in NZ

[smillard00]

Definition of spiral curriculum:

Curriculum in which students repeat the study of a subject at different grade levels, each time at a higher level of difficulty and in greater depth.

http://www.education.com/definition/spiral-curriculum/

 

So if you saw topics in the 4th grade book that were covered again in more depth in 6th grade, then your curriculum is spiral.

 

On the other hand, we use a curriculum that is mastery based. Fractions are only covered in one book. If you skip that book, you don't learn fractions. It isn't covered again. They do put review problems on half of the lesson sheets so there is practice, but the concept is never taught again.

 

So that was my caution about skipping books. It's less risky in a spiral curriculum.

[joannqn]

I used MUS through Algebra with my son. We didn't skip any books but sped through them crazy fast, with two books being covered by doing the tests only in about 30 days each.

[Crimson Wife]

Definition of spiral curriculum:

Curriculum in which students repeat the study of a subject at different grade levels, each time at a higher level of difficulty and in greater depth.

http://www.education.com/definition/spiral-curriculum/

 

So if you saw topics in the 4th grade book that were covered again in more depth in 6th grade, then your curriculum is spiral.

 

On the other hand, we use a curriculum that is mastery based. Fractions are only covered in one book. If you skip that book, you don't learn fractions. It isn't covered again. They do put review problems on half of the lesson sheets so there is practice, but the concept is never taught again.

 

So that was my caution about skipping books. It's less risky in a spiral curriculum.

 

Well, there are "soft spiral" programs where each chapter is on a different topic but topics are reviewed & added onto from year to year. Singapore, MM, and Right Start fall into that category. Then there are "spiral" curricula where each lesson includes a mix of topics like MEP, Horizons, CLE, etc. Saxon is an extreme "spiral" and Math-U-See is "mastery".

 

Sometimes people call "soft spiral" books "mastery" to distinguish them from ones that spiral within each level.

 

Clear as mud, huh? ;)

[TGHEALTHYMOM]

We are skipping Saxon 8/7 because we switched to TT for Math 7 when it got to be such a struggle. Now we are using Math U See for our younger children and older ones have to help. Algebra 1/2 with Saxon CD is our plan, we will let you know how it goes.

[EKS]

I'm not sure if this counts, but after about 2/3 of Singapore 6A we opted out of the rest of 6A and all of 6B.

[wapiti]

I'm not sure if this counts, but after about 2/3 of Singapore 6A we opted out of the rest of 6A and all of 6B.

 

Kai, if you don't mind my asking, what did you follow it with, prealgebra? How did it go? (My plan for dd10 is to do some of MM 6 and then start AoPS Prealgebra, but I have so many options - e.g., Dolciani, Russian Math - and sometimes I get cold feet. We start selections from MM 6 tomorrow.)

[EKS]

Kai, if you don't mind my asking, what did you follow it with, prealgebra? How did it go? (My plan for dd10 is to do some of MM 6 and then start AoPS Prealgebra, but I have so many options - e.g., Dolciani, Russian Math - and sometimes I get cold feet. We start selections from MM 6 tomorrow.)

 

We did Lial's BCM in an accelerated fashion for the most part, slowing down when necessary. We also did Life of Fred Fractions, Decimals, and the Prealgebras for fun and conversation. He's ready now for a text like Jacobs Algebra, but we're going to use AoPS Prealgebra as an entry point to that series instead.

[wapiti]

We did Lial's BCM in an accelerated fashion for the most part, slowing down when necessary. We also did Life of Fred Fractions, Decimals, and the Prealgebras for fun and conversation. He's ready now for a text like Jacobs Algebra, but we're going to use AoPS Prealgebra as an entry point to that series instead.

 

Thank you! hmmm....

[EmilyGF]

Thanks for the input! It is interesting to see the variety of ways people approached situations and the many things to consider. DS loves math and generally doesn't seem at all bored during math, so I'm not in a position that requires immediate action. However, when we do verbal he's working so far ahead of what we're doing in "class time" that I think about this issue. I'm not sure what we'll do, but I probably won't do much unless he seems unhappy instead of excited before the end of our current book.

 

Thanks,

Emily

[AK_Mom4]

DD10 skipped Saxon 7/6.....Did Saxon 6/5, then jumped to 8/7. Had no problems at all....

[Mandy in TN]

After Miquon Orange and MUS Alpha, my youngest did Singapore 1 and 2 and then skipped to Saxon 54, Saxon 65, and half of Saxon 76. He enjoys math and does lots of extras. After the first half of Saxon 76 it was obvious that he had jumped ahead of the material.

 

We wrapped up last spring with some Key to Algebra books and the geometry section of The Complete Book of Algebra and Geometry. He is now breezing through Chapter 3 of Foerster's Algebra alongside Kumon Math and a little Khan Academy. In mid-September he will be starting Jacobs' Mathematics: A Human Endeavor.

 

Thanks to Kumon the little man is rock solid on the four operations with whole numbers, fractions, and decimals. I have only jumped to a new book when it has become apparent that he already knows the material in his current book. I have never just skipped material. He may have looked over something, understood it, and we quickly moved along. He may have had exposure in some supplement and that was all it took, but we have not, to the best of my knowledge, just skipped over skills/ topics.

 

So, this is another voted for running through the material at least orally through tests or otherwise to make sure he knows it. If he does, keep going. If he doesn't, squat there until he does.

 

HTH-

Mandy