Visual and accelerated maths for elementary level

[Neptune]

What is the best curriculum for that? DS is a visual, and he is very into maths. He hates repetition, and he is a whole to part learner.

 

Oh and I forgot to say that anything on computer wins more points for him. he loves learning anything on the computer.

 

Any recommandations?

 

Thank you!

[boscopup]

If he's at the right level, Beast Academy fits the bill. They only have grade 3 out though, with the first part of 4 to come soon. BA is from the Art of Problem Solving folks, so it's more challenging than your typical 3rd grade program. Very visual with the comic book format.

 

Singapore is visual, but not whole to parts. It doesn't have as much repetition as some though.

[kiana]

How old and what has he done?

[wapiti]

If he's accelerated, or math is a special strength, also see the Accelerated Learners board, where interesting math resources are often a subject of discussion.

[Crimson Wife]

Singapore is very visual and the Intensive Practice and Challenging Word Problems allow a bright child to practice concepts in a more engaging way. MEP is another good option, though not as visually appealing as Singapore.

 

The BA series is fantastic but as previously mentioned won't be complete for a while.

[Neptune]

Would right start math work?

 

He is almost 8 and out of a Montessori school.

[wapiti]

Eta, if he's ready for 3rd grade math, Beast Academy seems to be a good option for whole to part, visual learners. If he's beyond that level, it might still be useful to you, though there may be more aspects to discuss.

Do read the math discussions on the Accelerated Learner board, as there are a lot of interesting resources and a number of different possible directions to go.

Edited January 12, 2016 by wapiti

[Dahliarw]

My ds had no trouble going from motessori to singapore.

[Neptune]

No, indeed, I don't think his age is a reflection of what he did.

 

He knows his numbers to the millions, he has worked with fractions, knows operations, and substitution with them (but with same denominator fractions) he knows the various laws of maths (distribution, commutative...) , he has worked with long division and multiplication, although he might need a bit more work with this. I have no clue as where this puts him. I know that in his grade level this year at the local public school,(2nd grade) they are tackling division and multiplication for the first time, and see briefly fraction from a basic point of view. He is way beyond that.

And again, he hates repetition. I need something that goes fast.

 

Singapore, is it manipulative enough? I was under the impression that it was a workbook based program.

 

Thank you

[boscopup]

Singapore, is it manipulative enough? I was under the impression that it was a workbook based program.

 

Singapore starts with concrete (manipulatives), then moves to pictorial, then moves to abstract. If you use the HIG (Home Instructor's Guide), it has plenty of manipulatives. The workbooks have very few problems compared to most programs, and there is lots of space between the problems in the workbook. I always do the textbook problems orally, then assign the workbook problems. If using manipulatives, I use that during teaching of the textbook material, per the HIG. I have one child that doesn't need manipulatives and one child that does. Both use Singapore quite happily.

 

It sounds like he could drop into Singapore 3A pretty easily (though I would use the placement tests). You may find topics you can skip as you go along, but that's fine. Like place value - it's not uncommon for bright kids to learn the lower places and just extend that knowledge to the upper places. So while every math program teaches addition/subtraction with 2-digit, then 3-digit, then 4-digit, on up, these kids learn how to do 2-digit and automatically can do any number of digits. My son is like that, so we just skipped a lot of the place value stuff in later books. No big deal.

 

Singapore teaches long division in 3A. Unlike fractions is later (4B? 5A? I can't remember now). It's easy to accelerate Singapore though, so if you hit a topic that he knows well, you can just do a few problems for practice to keep it fresh, then move on to the next section.

[wapiti]

No, indeed, I don't think his age is a reflection of what he did.

 

He knows his numbers to the millions, he has worked with fractions, knows operations, and substitution with them (but with same denominator fractions) he knows the various laws of maths (distribution, commutative...) , he has worked with long division and multiplication, although he might need a bit more work with this. I have no clue as where this puts him. I know that in his grade level this year at the local public school,(2nd grade) they are tackling division and multiplication for the first time, and see briefly fraction from a basic point of view. He is way beyond that.

And again, he hates repetition. I need something that goes fast.

 

Singapore, is it manipulative enough? I was under the impression that it was a workbook based program.

 

Thank you

If he needs more practice with the algorithms for long multiplication and long division, that doesn't typically involve manipulatives.

 

Long multiplication and long division are usually fourth grade topics at public school, though I do not know where Singapore puts them. If you try to place him in Singapore with the placement tests, be aware that they are heavy on word problems, which might be something your ds has less experience with. Personally, I'd place him according to his understanding of major math topics - see the scope and sequence/tables of contents - and fill in any holes (e.g., intro to a topic) as you go, and practice the word problems separately (say, with the CWP a level or more behind) until he's at a similar level with both the major math topics and word problems.

 

From everything you've described, I would use either Singapore or Beast Academy (some people use both).

 

Eta, from what boscopup says, I'd also guess 3A, but see the placement test. As you go along in the book, if he already knows a topic well, it's ok to let him test out of that chapter or do the chapter review and move on.

Edited January 12, 2016 by wapiti

[ElizabethB]

Singapore, you want the Standards Edition, the HIGs are better. It is easy to skip topics since it is arranged for mastery. I switched over when my daughter was in 2nd grade or 1st grade, I do not remember which. I started a bit below where she was and skipped any chapters she knew well. Her first book that was mainly review, I used the textbook and the IP book, the IP book includes some challenging puzzle type problems. Now I use the textbook and the workbook as our main books.