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Has anyone tried Math in Focus (Singapore Math) grade 7 or 8 ?


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It supposedly adheres to the Common Core Standards, which may be good to get into if I plan to have my ds enter regular school next year. I'm curious about it and have the chance to use it with my ds13 (grade 8 level) in a program now, but know nothing about it. I can't even find samples of the TOC online. I haven't heard of anyone using it in the upper grades. So, if you have used it, I'd love to hear more about it. Is it directed to the student or do you teach it? Is it algebra level or more of a pre-algebra?  Any comments will be appreciated!

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I wonder if they follow the same scope as Discovering CC/ Dimension Mathematics grades 7&8?

 

The scope and sequence is here:

http://www.hmhco.com/shop/education-curriculum/math/math-in-focus-singapore-math/why-math-in-focus-singapore-math/scope-and-sequence

 

Rainbow Resource has the TOC for the Extra Practice. That gives you an idea of what is covered. Here is 8A: http://www.rainbowresource.com/pictures/017833/f95bef86fcd3b48561e650c9

 

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Our copy of course 2a just arrived..and I'm considering sending it back...I need to sit down again with the tg but chapter 1 overwhelmed me! It looks like lessons are taught. While the student textbook does address the student..the concepts seem very teacher directed..and not having a strong background,,I'm worried I can't teach it!

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Interesting! We've used 1b-4a, which is our current spot. I didn't realize they had upper levels.

 

If it's anything like the lower books, I think it would be hard to jump into this kind of math mid-stream unless the child had a basis in similar math (Singapore, Math Mammoth). It builds on itself, and the thinking is different than typical/standard math.

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Our copy of course 2a just arrived..and I'm considering sending it back...I need to sit down again with the tg but chapter 1 overwhelmed me! It looks like lessons are taught. While the student textbook does address the student..the concepts seem very teacher directed..and not having a strong background,,I'm worried I can't teach it!

 

We went back to 1b before moving into 2A. That gave my kids and I enough basis to go forward from there. In our case it was not so much the concepts or presentation, but that our previous program had a different scope/sequence. You could look at grade 1 on the MIF site (I thought I saved the link, but can't find it--where they let you preview the whole thing online) to see if it made it all makes sense to you. I really like the program. I don't think it's difficult to teach.

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2a as in Course 2.. grade 7

  We are keeping it and I do think that, while it might be a bit hard at first, this is a good step for our homeschool... I am also transitioning the younger children into the grade 1 and 4 books...We've been using Saxon math for several years.. but I was never really happy with it or the results.. lots of OK work in the math.. but no transfer...Hopefully this will help with higher level thinking

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  • 2 months later...
Guest elgato

We are currently using the Math in Focus Course 2B book and finished book 2A in the fall semester.  I can't comment on any other curriculum mentioned since my experience is limited to this one.

 

We have used Math in Focus with 4 kids now for several years and like the format and delivery of the content.  With regard to the Course 2A and 2B specifically I believe it is set up to be the 7th grade equivalent to an advanced or what we in Texas call Pre-AP math.  I have been a public school educator in a very good district, Katy, TX where I taught Pre-AP science to 9th grade kiddos.  Before deciding to do this curriculum my wife and I compared the books to the Katy ISD curriculum for Pre-AP math in 6th, 7th and 8th grade.  Our understanding, and this is just our opinion as public school educators and homeschoolers, is that the Math in Focus 6th and 7th grade books cover the same information that is covered in Katy, ISD Pre-AP math for 6th and 7th grade.  The idea there is to cover 3 years of math in just 6th and 7th grade so that you can take Algebra 1 in 8th grade and get high school credit.  I think the course is challenging but my youngest daughter likes it and seems to understand it just great.  I admit I need to read things over frequently when instructing her, just because it's been a long time but concepts are explained and modeled well I think.  That being said the books seem difficult to come by.  We used rainbowresource.com.  Best wishes and God Bless.

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Ok I am usurping this post....how hard is it a transition to MIF from Singapore math-Primary Math?

 

I heard it is Common Core and given that my kids may end up in school again (you never know) I would like to follow the course a bit. We have been using Singapore Math and thinking about transferring over to MIF. 

 

I had to back track a lot for the kids....currently we are moving forward with a Glencoe textbook (they like singapore better of course) but review work using Singapore Math (they are also learning new skils like Mental math and the word problem blocks with Primary math),
My 6th graders -one is finishing up 3b and the other is in 4a, my fourth grader is in 3a. 

 

 

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We just switched from Singapore math (did 2A-4B) to Math in Focus this year, now about 3/4 of the way through 5A.  The switch was pretty seamless.  The presentation of ideas is very similar, the pacing is about the same, and we didn't find any jumps or gaps in the material- I compared the 5A book for Primary Math and MIF and they were almost exactly the same in scope and sequence (compared before I switched to make sure!).  My son was a little apprehensive at first, since he was used to Singapore, but after about 2 lessons, he actually likes this a little better, since the workbook has a lot more room to work things out.  Be aware that some of the lessons are designed to take more than 1 day (it's noted in the TM, which you can access online if you don't want to buy), or you'll be wondering why something is so long.  MIF does seem to present a few more ways to solve problems- for example in multiplying and dividing fraction word problems, it goes through methods 1-3 for several different examples.  For the most part, we only really focus on 1 or 2 of them, since it's the way we would have already done things through Singapore.  Otherwise, it was pretty much a no big deal for us.  Of course, it may be a little more different at different levels.

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We tried jumping into 5A last year after my son completed CLE 5. The word problems are MUCH more complex than the piddly ones in CLE. He was not able to do any independently, even with tons of modeling, so we did them together. Lots of bar model drawing, which for him was just really difficult to wrap his head around. He does fine with an algorithm, though. Maybe if he'd done bar modeling all along it would have been OK.

 

My complaint with MIF is that the lessons are LONG. The lessons are often meant to take more than one day, but it's not clear from the textbook where to stop. For example, lesson 4.1.

 

1 new example

9 guided practice problems.

1 new example

3 guided practice problems

1 new example

2 guided practice problems

1 new example

1 guided practice problem

16 textbook practice problems (to be done on separate paper)

 

The extra practice workbook has 13 new problems that could substitute for the textbook practice problems.

 

Now I use the extra practice workbooks (found online) from Course 1 to review/supplement Holt math. I just use the real-world problems from each chapter. I don't require bar modeling, but I still demonstrate how to use it, to show why the algorithms work.

 

 

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For ondreeuh- you need to look at the teacher's manual to see where the lessons are supposed to break.  It will tell you to do pg 134-137 on Day 1, then 137-138 and the Workbook on Day 2, for example (just throwing out numbers here).  You can view it online through the publisher's website if you don't already own it- 

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Would I be absolutely mad to jump my girls from 4B to 7A and B? 

I had backtracked them in Primary Math and such and we use Primary Math as review but moved forward with regularly Glencoe. I am tried of doing it this way and want to just use one Math program. Does &A provide review of concepts in 5 and 6 A and B I wonder?

Or should i just get the 5A and 5B practice workbooks and have them go through that as review and continue on with 7A and 7B next year?

 

I find with regular textbooks there are plenty of review from previous grades. So just wondering if MIF is the same with the same dulling recap.

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5A and 5B is not a practice/review.  It introduces adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing mixed fractions, algebra (yes, there's a sections titled Algebra, and it does really get into the number/letter and balancing concepts of Algebra), geometry, and many other concepts.  You can check the scope and sequence online and compare, but MIF does not spend a lot of time going over things multiple times.  There's a short concept review at the beginning of each chapter, which we often skip, and a few cumulative reviews, but we just finished Singapore Primary Standards 4B and went into MIF 5A, and it's not a review at all.  It takes the level 4 concepts and moves them forward another big step.  Some sections are easier than others, like adding fractions, but those are ones that you can accelerate through and do quickly.  I believe the 6 level is more review, at least in the Singapore scope/sequence.

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  • 1 year later...

Well I wanted to update our time with math in focus. So we went from 4a Singapore and dabbled in glencoe textbooks to help with state testing stuff to math in focus course 2. My 7th grader girls learned a lot. I really really Luke math in focus. Few words and reading and very visual. Pretty much taught from textbook and didn't use teachers guide hardly. So I sat on couch With the girls and read examples, solved guided practice together and found let's practice problems to practice if they didn't get concepts immediately. At first I handed book to them to work on their own and then they corrected themselves because I was busy dealing with boys needs, big mistake. They still needed handholding. Plus khan academy helps too. We didn't have workbook. I recommend workbook To have more practice problems.

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  • 2 months later...

Just wanted to update. I had no problems jumping into Course 2. It was pretty easy for the most part. What stumps me are the word problems sometimes...so I hired a tutor to help with that part. She is in Canada and knows Asian math well. She says for middle school she likes Math In Focus course 1-3 but for elementary school aged Primary Math. For high school she likes the IB math. International baccleaureate math. 

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  • 3 years later...

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