Math Suggestions for 6th grader coming out of PS

[michelea6]

Hello. My DS(11) just finished 5th grade at PS and will be coming home for 6th grade next year. I am looking for suggestions for math to start this summer and continue through the school year. He is good at math and enjoys it. He was in the gifted program at his school but I wouldn't really consider him necessarily gifted in math but definitely bright and picks up math concepts quickly. After having him home with me I am sure I will have a better grasp on where he is but in the mean time I need some suggestions. I was originally going to use Saxon and he placed into 8/7 but that seems high to me.

 

Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

[Arcadia]

You might like to read this thread on Saxon 8/7 and Saxon Algebra 1/2

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/386634-need-advice-on-saxon-algebra-12-or-1-from-those-who-have-btdt/

[Crimson Wife]

For a bright kid, I would NOT recommend Saxon as all the repetition would drive many bright kids batty.

 

Art of Problem Solving Pre-Algebra is one book to look into. Normally I'd recommend Singapore but it might be difficult to jump in at the 6th grade level and it is integrated at the secondary level rather than the traditional American sequence of pre-algebra, algebra 1, geometry, algebra 2, etc.

 

TabletClass Pre-Algebra might be a good option. That has gotten good reviews as being on the more rigorous side.

[dereksurfs]

Please tell us a bit more about what he did in terms of this last year as school districts vary so widely. For example would you say he has mastered decimals, percents, fractions, etc... basically elementary math? Or does he still need work in those areas? You may want to take a few assessments to get a better idea of where he is at now. That will help answer if you should move to the Pre-Algebra stage which involves both review of primary math along with an introduction to algebraic reasoning.

 

Math Mammoth 6 may be good place to start since it covers 6th grade material as well as some Pre-Algebra concepts. MM is very affordable and would be a good resource to have which you could then build from and even accelerate if he knows most of the material. Without knowing more of the specifics I might recommend a hybrid approach of MM say 4 days a week along with a solid Pre-A program on Fridays. This will give you a good feel for where he is at as well as provide adequate challenge and motivation for him to get to that next level. You could then bring in more algebraic content as he demonstrates readiness along with mastery of these primary skills. Allowing our ds11 to work ahead say once a week worked well for us. It was fun for him as he likes challenges along with having a natural curiosity when it comes to math.

 

Derek Owens is another really good Pre-Algebra program worth considering among others mentioned. AoPS and TabletClass are more challenging than most and serve there place if a child is ready that sort of thing. We had to build up to both of these before using them.

[Chrysalis Academy]

I'd second Derek's suggestion of MM as a starting place for a kid coming out of ps. We did that when dd came home in 4th, and were very pleased. There *were* holes, but MM is very incremental, logically structured in steps so it was easy to identify the holes, and once identified, easy to figure out how to fix them. And, once the holes were identified and filled, it's been easy to accelerate the pace so that we aren't bogged down repeating things she already knows.

 

MM6 is kind of a hybrid itself, with some PreAlgebra topics included, so if he's pretty solid and doing well with it, it would be easy to add in PreA as Derek is suggesting.

 

I definitely second the idea of doing the diagnostics - both for where to start, and for finding holes. If MM appeals to you, you might have him do the end of year diagnostic for 5th grade, and then if you need to remediate specific areas before moving on with MM6, there are free worksheets available from MM, or you can buy specific topic books very inexpensively.

[regentrude]

Saxon 8/7 is doable for a 5th grader coming from ps with strong math skills. I pulled my son out in 5th, and he did 8/7 second half of 5th grade.

That's said: it was miserable, because he hated the infinitesimal spiral. For a gifted student, I would not recommend Saxon.

 

Starting in 6th grade, we switched to Art of Problem Solving - Intro to Algebra. OK, my kids is mathy. But now they also have a pre-algebra text available. Check it out.