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Miquon without c-rods?


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We've been combining Singapore and Miquon. I *thought* that Miquon would provide a nice, hands on example of the things we are learning in Singapore. However, DD doesn't seem to get the c-rods. She only turns to them if the page absolutely requires it.

 

Is it even worth it to continue the program at this point? I feel like the strength of the program is in the c-rods. Should I keep encouraging her to use the c-rods when she can and figure they will come in handy eventually? Or just give up and focus on Singapore? (Which, for what it's worth, other than some small speed bumps, she's doing fine with and moving through pretty quickly.)

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Boy #3 was like that with the rods; he'd use them with this "Oh, this is sooo stuuuupid," attitude. "I don't NEED them!" he kept on saying...

 

SO, I said, "Ok, you don't need them. You understand it all. Great. SHOW ME." Throw down the gauntlet. I made him use the rods and talk me through how he got the answer for a few problems on each page. Making him *show* me his thought process helped me see if he did indeed understand it.

 

Sometimes, he did.

 

Sometimes, he just thought he did. ;) The rods helped him see where he was zipping through something skipping steps.

 

Most kids hit a point in Miquon when they don't NEED the rods for each and every page. That's fine. But we have found that the rods are wonderful for helping to *understand* a concept (such as long division) when you first encounter it. Needing the rods, and not needing the rods seem to go in cycles, as the concepts deepen.

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if she is getting the concepts i would not force the rods

 

Most kids hit a point in Miquon when they don't NEED the rods for each and every page. That's fine. But we have found that the rods are wonderful for helping to *understand* a concept (such as long division) when you first encounter it. Needing the rods, and not needing the rods seem to go in cycles, as the concepts deepen.

 

Well, this is what I was thinking, except... we are way before long division. As in- still doing addition and subtraction! :lol: I guess I'm just worried that because she's not working with the rods NOW, she won't really understand how to work with them later, when the concepts get harder.

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I guess I'm just worried that because she's not working with the rods NOW, she won't really understand how to work with them later, when the concepts get harder.

 

If you use them to model and set up/solve during teaching sessions (the Singapore HIG has lots of ideas for games and recommends the use of lots of manipulatives), she will still get to be "fluent" in c-rods, even if she is not using them as much.

 

I use them a lot when teaching a lesson. Then I play dumb, and make him *show me* with the rods. THEN I let him loose with his worksheets, with the rods close by. They are there if he needs them. Many times, he doesn't. But when he messes up, I make him work the missed problems through *with the rods* to see his mistake.

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I think Miquon without the rods isn't a complete program.

 

However, you're using it as a supplement to Singapore. I still don't think it's as good as it should be, but there are things in the lab sheets that are totally apart from the C-rods, so it's hardly worthless. I think you could keep using it as you have been and still get something out of it.

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Well, this is what I was thinking, except... we are way before long division. As in- still doing addition and subtraction! :lol: I guess I'm just worried that because she's not working with the rods NOW, she won't really understand how to work with them later, when the concepts get harder.

 

I think c-rods come in handy with more complicated concepts, not necessarily addition and subtraction, for some kids. I didn't use c-rods for those operations because we played with RS games. I used c-rods for multiplication when DD was 4, but not really for division, since it was grasped quickly. But c-rods are useful for division with remainders.

 

I find that using c-rods for reducing fractions is extremely helpful. Singapore Math 4 does somewhat of a good job with its pictures of c-rods (there is a specific name for this but it's late now), but it immediately tells you what you are supposed to do procedurally, and I find that somewhat disturbing.

 

I didn't fully appreciate Miquon when DD was 4 but after reading more about math programs, especially middle school programs, and reading through Miquon again, I wholeheartedly believe in math lab work.

 

If you understand how to use c-rods, you could teach it with a more difficult concept without having your child continually use it from the beginning. Miquon with c-rods is parent intensive, and I appreciate the program more now as I understand more about teaching math to little kids.

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if she is getting the concepts i would not force the rods

 

:iagree: My oldest just isn't much of a manipulatives guy. He got a lot out of Miquon anyway. In fact, he calls it his fun math. I do use rods to demonstrate things too him in both Miquon and Singapore, but he rarely pulls them out on his own. In the beginning, I would also demonstrate problems he had already solved with rods just so he could physically see what was happening. When he is stuck on something, I will encourage him to use them and he has no trouble figuring out what to do.

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