Singapore Math Extra Practice Question/Also at Costco FYI

[umsami]

So, I saw the Singapore Math Extra Practice books at Costco yesterday.  You get both the A & B book for around $11 and change.  (This is what they look like: http://www.amazon.com/Singapore-Math-Practice-Level-Recommended/dp/0768239923/ref=pd_sim_b_4)

 

DS is doing Math in Focus 4th grade, so I'm assuming I'd just buy the 4A and 4B pack, right?  ('Cause the way they are labeled is a grade behind...so 4A and 4B they recommend for 5th graders.)

 

 

Thanks In Advance. :)

[Dana]

That's not the Singapore material. That's the Frank Schaeffer using the Singapore name.

Link to Singapore extra stuff http://www.singaporemath.com/Primary_Math_Supplement_s/57.htm

Extra Practice is on level with the text and workbook but didn't have enough practice IMO. I finally started buying the test books to have extra practice. We didn't do the tests for grades but just used the tests when ds needed extra practice on a topic.

[Annic]

Well, Frank Schaeffer is not any more or less making use of the success of Primary Mathematics or the Singapore name than Math in Focus.  Both are published in conjunction with a publisher in Singapore. Neither was written by Ministry of Education in Singapore like  or same authors as Primary Mathematics. So it is likely to have as many goods and bads as any supplement. But also it won't line up exactly. 

[umsami]

Well, Frank Schaeffer is not any more or less making use of the success of Primary Mathematics or the Singapore name than Math in Focus.  Both are published in conjunction with a publisher in Singapore. Neither was written by Ministry of Education in Singapore like  or same authors as Primary Mathematics. So it is likely to have as many goods and bads as any supplement. But also it won't line up exactly. 

 

 

Thanks everybody.

 

As an FYI, Math in Focus is the same as My Pals are Here (Marshall Cavendish).  Just the US version under license to Harcourt Brace.  Says so right in the beginning of the books. "Primary Mathematics" is published by Federal Publications, which is not the same as the Ministry of Education.   Both Federal and Marshall Cavendash are owned by Times Publishing Group.  Federal actually goes by Marshall Cavendish International.   So, implying that "Primary" is somehow "more official" is misleading.  

 

"Formerly known as Federal Publications, Marshall Cavendish Internatinal (Singapore) offers an extensive range of quality materials in print and multimedia formats that address the needs of learners at every stage of their education. As a leading educational publisher, our vision is to offer educators and learners exciting, relevant and effective solutions that stimulatre the mind, move the heart, and ignite the passion to learn."

[Annic]

Um., I wasn't. I don't care which math people use, or which math from Singapore, or Russia, or the US, or anywhere. Certainly My Pals are Here is newer than the original Primary Mathematics, and Primary Mathematics was what first came to the US. And what got everyone interested in Singapore Math originally, since it was first published in 1984 and the other two much later. And I was talking about authors, not publishers. Primary Mathematics was written by the Project Team from the Ministry of Education. They all have different authors.That is not to mean that another author can't do a good job too; they will just write it differently, though probably follow the same ideas. Maybe newer authors are  influenced by newer ideas in math education. Likely overall better than US math, but maybe it all depends on how it is taught. No magic in any math book. Primary Mathematics has pros and cons, Math in Focus has pros and cons.  Marshall Cavendish currently publishes Primary Mathematics and Math in Focus. Frank Schaffer publishes their books along with a publisher called Singapore Asian Publications. There are several series of textbooks used in Singapore, with different publishers, and loads of supplementary books by lots of publishers, so why should any one be more official than any other. There is nothing "official" about any of these,old or new, and I make no claim or assertion about which is better or worse. I was trying to say it was fine to use any supplement with any core curriculum, they won't line up completely.

[Dmmetler]

The only caveat I have about the Frank Schaffer books is that, compared to Primary Mathematics or New Primary Mathematics, they're BORING. No cute pictures, no color, and the problems aren't hard/unusual enough to be interesting. If that works well for your DC, they might be fine. My DD preferred NPM (one of the current versions of the Ministry syllabus used in Singapore) to the Standards edition PM, but it was fairly hard to get the supplements for that book, so I used whatever I could get, mostly the US ed. PM IP and CWP books, and they lined up almost perfectly with the NPM textbook-and at least some of the problems were challenging enough to make up for the lack of visual interest.