LOF or SM for fractions

[zilya]

My son is doing 4A/4B in SM and he is struggling with fractions. I think he gets it and doesn't get it. Is LOF a better curr for fractions ? Should i supplement with LOF ?

 

thanks

[Alice]

LOF is a good supplement. Ds used it after he’d already done Singapore. I’m not sure I’d say LOF is better, it’s just different. If I was only going to pick one I’d pick Singapore but it may help him to see it another way and it may give him extra time with fractions without seeming like just repeating the same material.

[dancingmama]

I have one child on SM and the other on LoF. Neither is better. Both my kids learn differently. If you have LoF or can get it at the library, I'd give it a whirl. I'd also recommend using Khan Academy and pick up a game on fractions and/or do a lot of cooking. Hands on, IMHO, is the best way to learn fractions.

[wapiti]

Another alternative: pick up a couple MM Blue topic books (Fractions 1, Fractions 2) to supplement.

[NittanyJen]

I agree with Dancingmama. My older kiddo learned fractions entirely from LoF and never needed another source. My younger has been in Singapore Primary Math since 2A and has fractions down pat from there, but wants to do Fred anyway.

 

I do feel Fred pushes the problems to a more difficult and more applied level, and teaches them differently from Singapore; both teach both the why and how very effectively, just from different perspectives.

 

It's hard to make a recommendation without knowing how you tackled Singapore-- did he self-teach, or did you teach? Did you use ideas from the HIG? How confident dd you feel? Did you use C-Rods, fraction stacks, pie wedges, paper plates, a ruler, a stack of pencils, measuring cups, or any other manipulatives? Did he use both the workbook and the text? How old, roughly? Knowing some of that might help make it easier to know whether to recommend heading more toward Fred or something likevMath Mammoth, both of which are quite good, but have very different strengths that would apply depending upon your situation. I'd hate to send a kid to Fred because I didn't know his learning style might be more suited to MM (which is also very inexpensive to just acquire a topic book).

 

 

[hsbeth]

We did LOF fractions as supplement review after working through level 4A/4B of Singapore and use Decimals/Percents after 5B.

[Chrysalis Academy]

We needed a little bit more than LOF - not a whole 'nother program's worth, but it there wasn't quite enough practice in LOF alone.

 

It's fantastic as a reviewing, broadening, making connections kind of extension-of-the-concept thing. But it wasn't enough all by itself for my dd.

[Crimson Wife]

Another alternative: pick up a couple MM Blue topic books (Fractions 1, Fractions 2) to supplement.

 

I did not feel that Singapore did a good job explaining fractions in an incremental enough fashion, so I supplemented with MM in 3B, 4A, and 5A.

[zilya]

Ah.. Thanks for all the replies. DS is 8. He is leaning SM 4A/4B at school this year. From next year I am thinking of homeschooling but that's a different story. He is falling behind and I need to do something about it. I will look into both LOF and MM fractions.

 

Thanks

[boscopup]

I would recommend MM over LoF if he's having trouble with Fractions. MM will lay it all out, step by step. It still teaches in a Singapore type way, but it is much more incremental.

[Momling]

LOF is a fun supplement but won't help much with a child who is struggling. I'd go with MM or Keys to Fractions.

[NittanyJen]

Loaf Factions is written for a student who has completely mastered multiplication and long division. If he is struggling in Singapore level 4, Fred is going to be tough. The explanations are very clear, but the actual arithmetic could become frustrating.

 

 

[besroma]

You could also look at Key to Fractions.