Singapore -- Intensive Practice?

[happypamama]

Ugh, I am really trying to decide exactly what I need to buy for Singapore 4 Standards for next year. Two textbooks, two workbooks, and apparently I really do need the HIGs, according to other threads. I have the 3B HIG, but I haven't really used it much this year, but I am mindful of other threads that say that the HIGs are really helpful for explaining the Singapore way, plus they have the mental math stuff, so I suppose I will get them. I'm also planning to get the CWP book; we are almost finished with 3B and will work through the CWP 3 book when we finish, and so I am intending to get the 4 CWP book too.

 

But what is the IP book? I'm really not sure if we need it. DS1 gets math pretty intuitively, and it doesn't seem like more of the same level of problems as are in the TB and WB would really help him. (I have him do a handful from the TB to be sure he understands, and then all of the WB problems, about 2 pages a day, and mistakes are rare; they're usually careless errors.) So, sell me on why I might need the IP book, or why I really don't need it.

 

Also, do Rainbow Resource or CBD ever have sales on Singapore? Their prices are already in line with what the Singapore site says, so I am thinking they already have them marked down as low as they will go, but maybe not.

[Dana]

IP is typically at a significantly higher level than the workbook.

It has some basic arithmetic, but it also has word problems.

[happypamama]

IP is typically at a significantly higher level than the workbook.

It has some basic arithmetic, but it also has word problems.

Crud, it sounds like I really need it too. Oy. Maybe I'll get him through all of 4, see how it goes, and then do the IP and CWP alternating afterward. Or does the IP really need to be done more or less alongside the WB? Like, go over the new material using the TB and HIG one day and have him do the corresponding pages in the WB that day, and then the next day, have him try the IP (does it correspond to the WB?), then the day after that go on to the next new material? I'm really trying to find a reasonable balance between "get whatever is needed to give him an appropriate challenge because this is his strong area" and "let's not go overboard with practice because he does get it easily," as well as "I need him to work somewhat independently because I have five children" and "I really need to be on top of things with him to make sure he's getting everything he can so that I don't hold him back in this area."

[charcat13]

We do IP a half level behind.

[Dana]

A lot of people do the supplemental books in different ways.

My son has always done IP, CWP, and the workbook on his own.

Typically we'd do the text orally.

 

IP isn't tied to standards, but it matches up pretty well.

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

I got on here tonight to ask the same question! I'll be ordering 3b soon and am trying to figure out if I should get more than just the TB and WB. A lot of people recommend the HIG but I've never used them. The way the method is presented in the TB makes sense to me and I've never felt like my kids had any trouble understanding it. Now I'm thinking maybe I should get it. I looked at the sample of the IP and it didn't look much more difficult than the workbook to me. Does anyone ever use it in place of the WB? I really can't see making time for both. The CWP looks really good. Maybe I'll add that in 1 day a week. I'd love to look at them all and then decide but our convention isn't until the end of April and at least 1, but probably all 3 of my girls will need the next level before then. 

 

....sigh....I love these forums, but they tend to complicate things for me.

[kbutton]

We use the IP on level instead of the workbook, and a few others do as well. It's not the standard or recommended way to do it. We use the US Edition, so I think the IP follows it more closely than it does the Standards edition. We try to work in the CWP, but I think it will be more of an end-of-year or summer review. My son works slowly, but the TB is not enough of a challenge. He needs reinforcement, but the WB is too easy. That's kind of what clinched using the IP for us. He's also quirky in that the harder problems help clarify the easy ones for him. I think the IP starts at the level of the TB and gets harder. The word problems in the IP are good.

[hellen]

My son did the IP for 3B instead of the workbook. Now that he's in 4A I'm going to combine the two. Since IP doesn't line up perfectly with the textbook it was a little weird. By that I mean that there are pages and pages of problems on a certain topic, like capacity, and then it will start with pages and pages of geometry. I'm sure one could teach a lesson and figure out the appropriate problems but it's not as easy as opening the workbook. The problems in a IP tend to be more difficult.

 

Here is an example from 4A about factors.

15=1 x _

15=3 x _

The factors of 15 are _ _ _ and _.

 

Here is the IP equivalent.

The factors of 35 are _____________

 

Here is another example of a workbook problem.

Alice spent 7/10 of her money and saved the rest. She spent $49. How much money did she have at first? How much money did she save?

 

There is a nice bar diagram and a kid to side with a helpful thought bubble. It is the only problem on the page. There are four problems in the lesson, one per page.

 

Here is a similar problem in IP.

Alice saved some money last month. She used 3/8 of her savings to buy a toy. The toy cost $27. How much did Alice save last month.

 

There are no pictures, only four other similar questions on the page.

 

 

Basically, there are a lot more problems in IP with a lot less hand holding.

[2ndGenHomeschooler]

Thanks! That's helpful.  :001_smile: It sounds like the IP may be good for my mathy 6 year old but I'm envisioning tears from the older 2. I think I'll go ahead and order the TB and WB like I've been doing and make a point to look at the supplements at the convention in April.