SM HIG/edition poll

[blondeviolin]

It's interesting to me those who are strongly for or against using the HIG in SM. I have heard the Standards edition has a superior HIG. I'm wondering if there is a correlation between preference for using the HIG and edition of SM being used.

[Esse Quam Videri]

Thanks for this poll! I'll be watching to see how it all ends up. We us US ed and have used the HIG only a handful of times.

[nandmsmom]

I use the standards edition. I only get the HIG for levels 5 and 6. It seems superfluous for us in the younger grades.

[alisoncooks]

We're finishing 1A and have found the HIG to be a wealth of info. And I don't consider myself a slouch in math...

[MamaHappy]

I used the U.S. Edition with my oldest ds for a few years and only used the HIG here and there. I found it pretty cumbersome and wordy. I basically just referred to it when I needed help with how to teach something, which wasn't very often. He has since switched to Rod & Staff math so I can't comment on the upper levels of Singapore.

 

My youngest ds is starting the Standards Ed. this week (1B) and I think I will get the HIG's next year for 2A/2B. I would like to have the manipulative ideas all laid for me so I don't need to think of them myself. :) And the HIG for the Standards Ed. looks soooo much better than the U.S. Ed. HIG. Maybe I will use it more if it's easier to follow.

[Random]

We use Standards and find the HIG to be indispensable. And, FWIW, I loved and aced (nearly) all my math course in high school and university.

[UrbanSue]

We use the HIG with Standards. I didn't at the beginning because I was (mistakenly) told that it was just an answer key and wasn't necessary in the early grades. When I discovered the HIGs I actually started my older over in math (we went really quickly but covered a lot of the concrete conceptual stuff we'd skipped earlier.

[poiema]

We use standards and, though I have the HIGs, I don't use them. We are only in 1a/b and 2a/b so I just don't find them necessary yet.

 

ETA: I kind of wish I could change my answer. I don't use it a lot, and I don't teach from it, but I have used it to figure out how to teach things like adding a number close to 100 to a 3-digit number (643+99=642+100). I just peek at the HIG to figure it out and then teach it on my own.

[Esse Quam Videri]

Just posted a long response on the General Ed forum thread. Can anyone give a specific example of an instance where the HIG gave info that the TB did not?

[chepyl]

I have actually used both editions and not used the HIG with either one. I think it depends on your confidence with mathematical concepts and how your child's brain works. My son does not need manipulatives. They drive him crazy. He holds it all in his head. Explain a new concept with manipulatives/games etc once and he gets it. If my daughter needs more work with manipulatives and games, I may use the HIG.

[bensonduck]

We are using the standards edition (1a/1b) and i use the HIG daily. It has fantastic ideas to explain the concepts and the mental math strips at the back are perfect for reinforcing knowledge and practice. I would be utterly lost trying to teach this curriculum without the HIG.

 

Woo, first post! : blush:

[Five More Minutes]

We are using the standards edition (1a/1b) and i use the HIG daily. It has fantastic ideas to explain the concepts and the mental math strips at the back are perfect for reinforcing knowledge and practice. I would be utterly lost trying to teach this curriculum without the HIG.

 

Woo, first post! : blush:

 

Welcome! And like you, we'd be lost without the HIG. It makes the curriculum complete for us.

[MinivanMom]

I voted that we use the US edition, but do not use the HIG. I have them, but I only use them as an occasional reference. The Singapore method is very similar to the way I was taught in school, so I'm very comfortable teaching it on my own. If you were taught in a traditional American way, then I think it could be helpful for how to integrate manipulatives and teach mental math. Personally, I find the HIG to be a little wordy, but I'm generally not a huge fan of Teachers Manuals.

[a27mom]

I used the U.S. Edition with my oldest ds for a few years and only used the HIG here and there. I found it pretty cumbersome and wordy. I basically just referred to it when I needed help with how to teach something, which wasn't very often. He has since switched to Rod & Staff math so I can't comment on the upper levels of Singapore.

 

My youngest ds is starting the Standards Ed. this week (1B) and I think I will get the HIG's next year for 2A/2B. I would like to have the manipulative ideas all laid for me so I don't need to think of them myself. :) And the HIG for the Standards Ed. looks soooo much better than the U.S. Ed. HIG. Maybe I will use it more if it's easier to follow.

 

 

Cumbersome and wordy describes the U.S. edition I have exactly. I am glad to hear there may be a difference. I was starting to think I was seriously missing something. There is no novel or radical teaching method that I have seen yet. (We are only in 1b though). It also doesn't seem to go along with the textbook all that well.

[scbusf]

We are in 2A Standards and I do use the HIG. (Background: I have a Master's in math and teach college math, but I did not learn math the Singapore way).

 

I don't do every single thing the HIG says. I pick and choose what we do.

[Lucy the Valiant]

Didn't use it much in the earlier years, but I'm in 4B and using it a lot this year!

[ccolopy]

DS used the Standards edition from 3A-6B independently without the HIG.

[Dana]

We are in 2A Standards and I do use the HIG. (Background: I have a Master's in math and teach college math, but I did not learn math the Singapore way).

 

I don't do every single thing the HIG says. I pick and choose what we do.

 

Welcome!

 

And :iagree: .

I've got a MAT in math and have taught at the cc for 15 years now - generally developmental math. We're finishing up 5B. I buy the HiG and use it regularly.

 

I don't follow the lessons exactly, but sometimes the extra examples from the HiG are just really cool for additional explanation. There also was one problem with triangles in the HiG for 4B that was just way cool.

 

We use textbook, workbook, IP, CWP, and iExcel Heueristic Problems.

I love the bar model as a great way to move into algebraic thinking.

[daffodil]

Standards and I use the HIG. We're on 2B.

[amyrobynne]

We just finished 3A and now my younger son will be joining in with Singapore so I'll have one in 3B and one in 2B, US edition. I have the HIGs and print out and use the mental math sheets, but I think I've only used the instruction part once (I voted other). Math is my strongest subject and although I didn't grow up with Singapore methods, I have been able to figure out what they're getting at via the TB. We use the TB, WB, and IP.

[SFM]

Thanks for this poll! I'll be watching to see how it all ends up. We us US ed and have used the HIG only a handful of times.

 

 

 

This is us as well. I feel like I SHOULD be using the HIG more but it's not the best layout.

[acsnmama]

I should use the HIG more often as well, I am going to start doing that! My new goal! However, we are switching to Standards edition for the next book, I'm looking forward to it. We DO use EVERY SINGLE Mental Math sheet in the back. I love those, they have been a huge benefit.

 

I like the idea that the Standards edition HIG comes spiral bound (am I correct?) I've had to get my US Edition 2a/2b HIG's spiral bound, I cannot stand to have to copy from them without being able to open them up all the way. I also had the textbooks spiral bound, I will likely do the same with the standards Edition, it's easier for them to lay flat, or isolate one page that we're working on.

[Dana]

It is spiral bound.

[sweetpea3829]

We are using Standards Edition 1A and 1B and I just started picking up the HIG for 1B. I did use the HIG for 1A for planning which workbook pages to do when, etc. For me, mostly, it's a reference.

 

Don't make the same mistake I made and purchase the teacher's guide AND the HIG... :blushing:

[Crimson Wife]

I have used both the U.S. ed. HIG and the SE HIG, and for me there is no comparison. The U.S. ed. HIG is IMHO useless except as an answer key. The SE HIG is significantly better. However, I don't use it much until 3A. That may be because I previously took my oldest through Right Start B & C and prefer using the abacus to the Singapore manipulatives.