Anyone go from Singapore 6B to algebra 1?

[summer]

I know my dd is missing a lot of things from scope and sequences of typical prealgebra programs and even some things from prior to that. I have been trying to work with her to fill the gaps but am now wondering if I should not try to start a full algebra program this fall. We are working through Keys to Algebra now. What do you think?

[Brenda in MA]

For most children, if she is 13 or 14 yo, she can probably start Algebra now. If she is under 13, she might benefit from a year of Prealgebra. All that being said, it really depends on her math abilities. Some younger children have succeeded with Algebra, and some older children still need Prealgebra before beginning Algebra.

 

HTH,

Brenda

[TRILLIUM]

Both my dd went from Singapore 6b to Jacob's Algebra in 7th grade-- 12 yo.

[kpupg]

What do you think?

 

My son went straight from 6B into NEM 1&2. It was not a problem for him. But this is the kid who wants to BE a mathematicisn :)

 

You don't say how old your daughter is, nor whether she enjoys/is good at math. If she's young, a year of pre-algebra wouldn't hurt -- I recommend the Russian Math 6 book -- I plan to use that for my dd's 7th grade year after she finishes 6B, then start her in algebra for 8th grade. If your dd is high school level already, what would be the implications for her transcript, college admission, etc.?

 

Karen

[Niebski]

My daughter finished 6b, did ALEKS pre-algebra (which took her about 2 months), then into Foerster's Alg 1. She's sailed through, but then somehow she always does!

 

Sue

[Sandy in Indy]

DS went from 6B to Alg. 1 in 8th grade--he did well.

[Jenny in Atl]

We went from 6b to NEM1. We did run into a little trouble half way through geometry. Not sure if I have the brain cells for NEM2. We may go back and do Jacob's Alg & Geo next year.

[AngieW in Texas]

My middle dd finished 6B in April of her 6th grade year. She did a one month free trial of aleks pre-algebra in May (didn't like it) and worked through Math Smart Junior over the summer. She started Jacobs Algebra and Kinetic Books Algebra in August. They are both complete programs, but she prefers switching back and forth between them after each chapter. She's only a 7th grader, so she has plenty of time.

[summer]

My DD is 12 and turning 13 the next school year. If she had stayed in public school, she would be in algebra this next school year. She wants to go to MIT or Stanford and be an aerospace engineer when she is older. Lately, she has also been talking about maybe going in to the Air Force Academy.

[Kimber]

Check out Life of Fred Fractions and Decimals. The scope and sequence for both are at this link. They can be completed in two months or less. And they're fun.

 

Then you can put your daughter back onto your original schedule, and she should be prepared.

[KAR120C]

I know my dd is missing a lot of things from scope and sequences of typical prealgebra programs and even some things from prior to that. I have been trying to work with her to fill the gaps but am now wondering if I should not try to start a full algebra program this fall. We are working through Keys to Algebra now. What do you think?

DS finished 6B in the middle of a school year, and we dabbled in some algebra things (Gelfand, Kinetic Books) for the rest of that year, through the following summer, and into the next fall (this past year). We picked up NEM 1 in the middle of this year. By then he "tested through" the first four chapters and I started him in the fifth. It was slow going for a while (and we were doing a lot of extras) but he has picked up the pace and is halfway through right now (about to finish the Algebra portion).

 

The current plan is to skip the geometry sections, go to NEM 2 Algebra (to finish Algebra 1) over the summer, finish that and then go back and do geometry. It's a long complicated reason that doesn't really apply to anyone else, so I'm not actually recommending it as a general thing, but I think it will work for us.

 

Anyway. He has actually done extremely well with NEM 1 and I think it was a good move from 6B. We ended up with a whole calendar year between 6B and NEM 1, but most of that was due to his maturity and again not a general recommendation.

 

One thing you can do, which we did after 6B, is the Iowa Algebra Aptitude Test. If you administer it yourself, the only place I know of to get it is BJU (and it has all the same requirements for administering as the ITBS). There is a score cutoff that suggests readiness for algebra, and I think a range where they suggest pre-algebra, but it's a very straightforward test to give and to score.

 

Hope this helps!