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teaching textbooks vs math mammoth


mom2vikha
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Hi Ladies,

 

I am in a fix. My second grader is starting mm3b. She is very good at math. But something tells me the stuff doesn't stick with her. I have to give her hint in review each time we do it. But during the lesson and practice, she gets it in 1 or 2 times. I am thinking about switching her to teaching textbook. Took the placement test and she is placed in  math 4 and in table of contents she knows more than half of math 4. Should I go ahead and place her in math 4 or math 5 or should I continue with mm. Please do help!! I am in a complete fix.

 

Thanks in advance.

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They are both good programs. I use both, actually. We use TT for our primary program because the kids really enjoy working on the computer because for whatever reason, me interacting with the kids on a daily basis with math causes upset and friction. The neutral friendly voice of TT that can be played and replayed as often as necessary just avoids friction. If there's a topic we need more review on I take out MM - it's so affordable and such high quality there's no reason not to have it on hand.

 

TT is about a year "behind" MM (and a reason a lot of people criticize it, but this is very arbitrary. Don't get caught up on what grade level appears on the cover.) I have one child using it a year above her stated grade level and another (gifted child) using it 2.5 years ahead at a rate now of 1-2 lessons a day. 

 

TT needs additional supplementation for math fact practice for any kid that doesn't pick them up extremely easily. (That's probably true of MM, too.) For the gifted child, we enrich with Life of Fred, Khan Academy, and Problemoids.

 

I think the main criticism with TT is there is just a temptation to pop in the CD and walk away. Parents still need to watch progress and intervene (whether for enrichment or supplementation) as necessary.

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I would stay in MM, but slow down a bit and get more review in. Use the worksheet generator. Do review more often. These things take time to solidify, and if she is in 3B, you have been going through them very quickly.

 

Are you using the cumulative reviews? They are separate--not included in the books themselves and easy to forget they exist.

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Keep her in MM. If she placed that high in TT, she's doing fine. Plus there are things to consider before placing a 2nd grader into 5th grade math. Does she already know all her multiplication and division facts? That will make it quite frustrating as she progresses.

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Why are you considering switching?  Is it because TT is spiral/reviews more frequently?  That might help us advise you.

 

Does your dd like MM ok? Do it without complaining too much?  It's an excellent, very strong conceptual math program.  I wouldn't consider dropping it just because a 2nd grader needs hints - there will be lots of repetition over time, both within the chapter, within the year, and across years.  

 

Just so you know where I'm coming from, I started my home-from-ps 4th grader in MM4 and TT5 at the same time.  At first, she liked TT, but after the novelty of working on the laptop wore off, she got really bored with the program and asked to drop it.  We also started needing to skip multiple lessons because we found that everything in TT5 was covered in the early lessons of MM4.  It's an expensive program, when you skip much of it! We're now on our 3rd year of MM - MM6 - and we are both delighted with the math education she has received learning this program.  So I'm definitely biased in favor of MM!

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Thanks a lot everyone!

She has all her multiplication and division facts down and she can do 4 digit addition and subtraction in her head etc. The thing is she forgot the whole and part in missing addend yesterday in the review and the prder of operation. she got everything else rite. But she should have gotthen them by now. But when she did multistep word problems, she was excellent. This is what is confusing me. I lost my temper as well (My bad! I agree). Both of us were in tears. I love math mammoth and it is done brilliantly but I thought maybe I have a problem explaining and maybe video lecture is better. :( Even more confused now.

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Thanks a lot everyone!

She has all her multiplication and division facts down and she can do 4 digit addition and subtraction in her head etc. The thing is she forgot the whole and part in missing addend yesterday in the review and the prder of operation. she got everything else rite. But she should have gotthen them by now. But when she did multistep word problems, she was excellent. This is what is confusing me. I lost my temper as well (My bad! I agree). Both of us were in tears. I love math mammoth and it is done brilliantly but I thought maybe I have a problem explaining and maybe video lecture is better. :( Even more confused now.

 

It is truly exceptional for a 2nd grader to have multiplication and division facts memorized.

 

I don't think switching programs is the answer. I think it is a problem with offering her concepts that are too difficult for her to retain at her age. The type of problems you are doing are very challenging for her age. Give her a break and slow down. Find a way to give her more practice when she misses it in review. You have plenty of time to slow down considering her level.

 

If you feel a video lecture is needed, go look it up on Khan Academy and see if that helps

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Thanks a lot everyone!

She has all her multiplication and division facts down and she can do 4 digit addition and subtraction in her head etc. The thing is she forgot the whole and part in missing addend yesterday in the review and the prder of operation. she got everything else rite. But she should have gotthen them by now. But when she did multistep word problems, she was excellent. This is what is confusing me. I lost my temper as well (My bad! I agree). Both of us were in tears. I love math mammoth and it is done brilliantly but I thought maybe I have a problem explaining and maybe video lecture is better. :( Even more confused now.

 

Neither of the things you mentioned are expected to be mastered the first time a student encounters it and certainly not in 2nd grade. I can't think of anything that is, really.

 

Order of operations? That appears (and is explained as if for the first time) in EVERY math level up through algebra.

 

She's your oldest right? Try to remember she's very young.

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I would stick with MM.  Frankly, between MM and TT, MM is the superior program.

 

I'd add in a few review problems every day.  If she misses one on, say, long division, as part of the review, have her do one long division problem every day until she gets five right in a row, then do it every other day for a few weeks, then once per week, then once per month.  If she makes a conceptual error (not a computation error), start again with the every day thing.  The idea here is to get it into her long term memory.

 

 

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Thanks again ladies! Order of operations is covered in MM3a. She is my oldest and I agree. I need to slow down and I think I listen to her when she says she wants to move on next chapter. I am going to stick with MM and add in reviews more often I guess. Thanks a ton ladies. What would I do without you all? :)

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