If you had two days a week to teach grade 5 math

[MamaSprout]

I'm looking at my fall schedule, and have discovered I'm running out of teaching days for dd. I'm still looking at different scenarios, but the most likely at the moment leaves me with 2 solid instructional days, and some "hour here and there" days. The other days dd is with a grandma or college student.

 

I don't really "trust" any of them to teach math (threats of doing everything she's assigned during the day later that night or <gasp>, on Saturday are probably enough to keep her on track for what I assign, but she won't have help). She actually finds their "help" distracting. She won't have an internet connection part of the time.

 

She's youngish- 8- and is solidly at a fifth grade level. Knows her facts, does well with mental math and is consistent in her work. She doesn't have a lot of stamina, though.

 

She likes BA, but that won't work for day to day math. Math Mammoth is okay if I'm beside her watching where to accelerate, but the pages are so busy to her. I think Singapore would be okay, but the book juggling could be a problem, as would any teaching that differed from traditional Saxon-style, "put the number here" if she got stuck.

 

I've bought Key to Fractions and Metric Measurement (she's pretty solid on decimals). It looks almost completely independent. I used the series to remediate a nephew in Algebra from a distance, and found it to be very straight forward. I've considered having her work through those independently, then using the two teaching days for something challenging. I don't want to juggle a lot of resources, though, and I see a few missing topics if I she uses Key to series as a spine.

 

My other thought was to drop her back a half-level into a Singapore book she hasn't done yet, so she can build stamina and learn to work more independently. However, I know from experience she'll deliberately make the work harder (re-write the questions) if she starts to get bored.

 

Up until now, we've followed Singapore's S & S, but have used materials from MEP, MM, BA and Singapore. We use the Singapore placement tests to check for understanding. I think she's accelerated into her comfort zone, though, and I would like for her to do "grade 5" math pretty much start to finish.

 

I guess my third option is math "after schooling", even though she's not in school. But that would be less than ideal, as well.

 

Thoughts?

 

Thanks!

 

Bean

[EKS]

Math in Focus seems to be set up to be able to teach a lesson less than once a day, meaning that you could teach the lesson and then have her do a homework set the next day with someone else. Could you add a teaching day on the weekend? Math in Focus also has some good supplements.

 

Now I'm telling you all of this without actually having used Math in Focus myself. I do have the 5th grade books, though, and my son used the 7th grade books for a few months at his school at the beginning of the year before he transferred to algebra, so I'm reasonably familiar with them.

[The Governess]

If you use Singapore, you could teach her two lessons per day from the textbook/HIG and have her do the textbook problems with you. She could do the workbook problems the next day independently.

[wapiti]

I would "afterschool" math on the days that it's necessary (I afterschool math for two of my kids who attend school - you are correct, it's definitely not ideal, but we make it work - the earlier, the better, though it has not been uncommon for us to get stuck doing it right before bed). If you already have two full days with her, I'd "afterschool" math on two of the other days and do a lesson on Saturday or afterschool math on just one of the other days and then have lessons on both Sat and Sun - whatever gets you to five days per week.

 

If that's not possible, I'd use MM and assign problems ahead of time by circling them, or, have a standing assignment of half the problems (note, by level 5, I'd assign more than half, but as you have experienced, how much to accelerate through depends on your student - my dd needed more practice but my ds whipped through much more quickly and I'd end up consolidating many lessons at once). It's not a perfect system, but MM5 is excellent, and at least with MM, the lesson is right in front of her with no extra books needed.

 

You may (or may not) find that she goes slower through grade 5 material as she gets even further ahead for age. Also, regular fifth graders can typically sit through longer lessons than third graders, so note that the lessons may be organized to be longer (e.g., while it varies, MM5 lessons are often around 3 pages rather than the 2 pages that is typical at earlier levels).

 

The difficulty is that independence with any program depends on so many factors, not the least of which is her young age, as well as her personality, how much explaining she'll need and how her language skills compare to her math skills, how much she needs you to keep on task or just prefers to have you sitting beside her, etc.

[MamaSprout]

The difficulty is that independence with any program depends on so many factors, not the least of which is her young age, as well as her personality, how much explaining she'll need and how her language skills compare to her math skills, how much she needs you to keep on task or just prefers to have you sitting beside her, etc.

 

 

Good points. Her language skills are also roughly fifth grade, and our math style has been Socratic. If she gets stuck I ask a few leading questions and send her back to the book. Getting her started is harder than keeping on task.

 

Thanks for the input so far. Can anyone speak to the differences between Math in Focus and Singapore Standards?

 

Bean

[texasmama]

For the past school year, I have worked two days a week, and we attended co op on one day a week, leaving two solid instructional days for teacher/mom led instruction, which included Singapore math for all three kids - levels 1,5 and 6. It worked just fine. On those two days a week, I taught using the textbook and then had the kids do the workbook exercises with me available for help as needed. I even have a 36 week, two day a week schedule which I made up for SM level 5A and 5B if you want to see it. :)

[MamaSprout]

For the past school year, I have worked two days a week, and we attended co op on one day a week, leaving two solid instructional days for teacher/mom led instruction, which included Singapore math for all three kids - levels 1,5 and 6. It worked just fine. On those two days a week, I taught using the textbook and then had the kids do the workbook exercises with me available for help as needed. I even have a 36 week, two day a week schedule which I made up for SM level 5A and 5B if you want to see it. :)

 

Really? sure! which edition?

[texasmama]

 

 

Really? sure! which edition?

US Edition. Message me your email address if you can use it. :)