Cross Post - how to help a child prepare for algebra rapidly

[Michelle My Bell]

Here is the backstory, I have a child who has always struggled with math. She is in high school and has always been homeschooled up to this point. Next year she will be participating in a homeschool program at our local Christian school.

 

We had a meeting with them today to have placement testing and to hand in transcript of the work she's completed so far. I knew she would not do well on the placement testing for math because it is an area that she struggles greatly with. In order for her to graduate on time she will need to complete three years of math in a two year time span. Algebra one algebra two and geometry. She's honestly about a sixth or seventh grade level in math at this point and she will need to get up to grade level by the fall.

 

The reason we joined the program was for her to have opportunities to play sports and go on trips with the school. But one of the requirements to participate in the program is that all of our academics are monitored by the school and they will issue us a legal diploma at the end of that her senior year.

 

As expected she failed the math portion of the placement testing miserably. But I recently started working with her at home and I have seen some progress. In the past she has largely worked on her own and has made progress, but she had fallen so far behind years ago that she just hasn't been able to catch up.

 

Normally the school charges $600 a year for classes and we had decided that she wasn't going to take any for that reason. But after her placement testing today the principal decided that he wanted to offer her a full scholarship in order for her to come in and take the class algebra one for free. He is completely aware of her struggles in math, and hopes that being in a classroom with their math teacher will help her to progress. I really think this is an incredible opportunity and one that I could not have afforded on my own. I couldn't even afford to hire a tutor long-term. So now I have from tomorrow until August 22 to do everything I possibly can to help prepare her for algebra one.

 

If anyone has any ideas to how we can start from fractions and move our way forward learning pre-algebra concepts as quickly and efficiently as possible I would be very grateful. I would also like advice on what to really focus on to make sure she has it down the most. I realize all of it's important but if I had to really focus in on certain areas that would help prepare her what would they be?

 

Also, how would you handle this if this were your child? What would you do to get them ready for this class?

 

As far as her accomplishing algebra two and geometry. We will probably begin working throughout ext summer and into the next school year. If the opportunity arises for her to continue algebra two at the school then she will be doing geometry as part of her homeschool curriculum.

[Crimson Wife]

Could you have her do the Let's Go Learn Pre-Algebra assessment to determine which areas specifically are weak? https://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/lets-go-learn-math/?c=1

 

Once you know where she needs the most work, I would look for topical resources focusing just on those areas.

[AmyontheFarm]

Aleks.com might be another good choice.

[Lolly]

Will she be using a calculator in her algebra class? I would suggest Lial's Basic College Math. You can pick and chose what to use section-wise. Fractions might be a good place to start, especially if she will be allowed ot use a calculator for the basic math parts. Order of operations is also a huge part of algebra. Make sure she has that down well. Pre-algebra stuff is towards the back of the book. 

[Farrar]

If you know that fractions are particularly an issue, the Key to Fractions books are nicely simple and would be easy to do all of in that time frame if you were focused.

 

[Hunter]

I think it is unrealistic to expect a "behind" student to perform at an accelerated pace. We could start 10 threads about WHY some students are "behind", but whatever the reason, "behind" students don't do well when expected to "catch up" by rushing and compacting. Any school than cannot accommodate the REALITIES of a student, is not an opportunity for that student.

 

My response sounds unsupportive and invalidating to me, and I don't like it, and don't know if I should just refrain from responding. I don't know what else to say, though.

[madteaparty]

We are not specifically preparing for algebra bc my DS will do a full prealgebra class. But we realize as we go that certain areas, such as ratio and fractions/ decimals need deeper work- for these we have been using and liking the dark blue math mamoth books.

[Mandy in TN]

Hard to say without knowing where she needs work. I agree with doing an assessment and looking at the book the tutorial will be using. Did the school give you any direction based on the test they gave? With a young algebra student, there is sometimes concern over how they will handle abstract thinking. Without that concern, she probably just needs to have mastered the four operations with fractions, decimals, and percents. If she has mastered the four operations with whole numbers, then that should be fairly easy to accomplish as long as she is motivated. If there is time, the first three books of Keys to Alg contain beginning algebra to set her up for algebra 1.

 

Where is she with the four operations with fractions, decimals, and percents? Can you spend one week on fractions and one week on a decimal/ percents combo, and then begin Keys to Alg and do a book each week?

 

HTH-

Mandy

[Chris in VA]

I echo what Hunter said--and hope it isn't unsupportive, too!

 

If she is behind because of some difficulty in processing mathematical knowledge (mild dyscalculia, for instance) then that's a different story than if she's behind because she didn't have the teaching or materials she needed. You will have to figure that out, I suppose.

 

What I'd do--ask for the results and the actual placement test she took already. Ask the school for advice on what areas to look into practicing this summer. Use them as a resource of information! Then I'd ask if they would keep in close contact with you, to "partner with you" (that's a good, "teacherese" phrase) in providing what she needs to be successful.

 

[AimeeM]

I agree with others that I would first ask for a copy of the placement test. You need to concentrate only on her problem areas right now. I would also be concerned about a math disability at this point.

Without sounding unkind (and I sincerely do NOT mean this unkindly), could this be because you said she had been largely working on her own for previous years? Even my mathy kiddo could not have successfully self-taught math in the elementary or early middle school years. The good news is that if this IS the issue, working with her may *just* rapidly help her progress.

Honestly, it sounds like the school is well aware of the problem. I can't imagine they would offer the class for free, knowing how far behind she is, if they didn't think they had the resources to help her succeed. If they had wanted you to pay for the class, regardless of her being ready, my reply would be different (I would reply more along the lines of "money hungry private school just looking for an enrollment", lol).

[Chrysalis Academy]

Could you have her do the Let's Go Learn Pre-Algebra assessment to determine which areas specifically are weak? https://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/lets-go-learn-math/?c=1

 

Once you know where she needs the most work, I would look for topical resources focusing just on those areas.

 

 

This sounds like a really good plan - this assessment will give you detailed information about what areas she has mastered and where she needs work, along with specific steps to take.  Don't they link to Khan Academy videos and exercises now?  So you can go there and work on the specific areas you need to work on, in a logical sequence, or use the information gleaned to choose other targeted resources.

[Farrar]

I do agree with Hunter in general and actually originally clicked on the thread thinking that would be my take based on the thread title, but the way Michelle has outlined it...  It seems like they're bending over to try and help her dd and like maybe her dd hasn't tried a classroom structure for math before, and like the teacher is interested in trying to bring her up to level.  That's different from being thrown in without a net.  Plus, the price is clearly right.  It seems like it's worth a try.  Especially if she's motivated, which Michelle didn't really say, but if she is, I think it could work.  You can't force a student to learn things they're not ready for or go faster than they're capable, but you can set up a situation where a student is more likely to be able to work at their highest capacity for learning.

 

Concurrently doing geometry and algebra II also sounds like a lot down the road a little ways, but, again, if she's motivated, sounds doable.  They're pretty discrete courses.

[Mandy in TN]

While I agree with others that this is not an optimal situation, I do think a lot of how this works out will depend on how badly your dd wants it to work out. How motivated is she? Is she willing to do math several hours a day for the next five weeks? Does she want to do this? If the desire is originating in her, then it may happen.

 

My oldest took the ACT and did poorly enough on the math section that it was going to effect his acceptance to the colleges he wanted to attend. I enrolled him in Kumon and he did levels D-I in less than a school year. There are 200 worksheets per level, so that was 1000 worksheets he completed and some of them he had to do more than once. Those sheets covered multiple digit multiplication and division through the quadratic equation, factorization, and square roots.

 

Now, he had covered the material previously. He had hobbled all the way through Alg2 without retaining and using his dyslexia as the reason he couldn't do any better. So, it wasn't completely new, but he had not mastered it. He pretty much covered the computation skills used in late elementary school through the basic skills of Alg1. He did this while going to a tutor to review Alg2 and study the few advanced math topics on the ACT. However, he was crazy focused, and, after previously dragging him through math, I found myself pretty much just staying out of his way.

 

So, if the motivation is there, and she just needs a few middle school topics and an introduction to where Alg1 will be heading via Keys to, then she has a real shot at getting there. She will really have to put forth effort this next year. She needs to realize that she will be spending a lot of time on math not just the next five weeks but this whole next year. She really needs to consider doing Keys to Fractions, Decimals, and Percents as review this next year while she is doing Alg1 to solidify those skills, because a couple of week introduction this summer may enable her to start Alg1, but she will not have mastered the material. So, she would do her Alg1 and a page in Key to every. single. day including the weekends.

 

How badly does SHE want it?

Mandy

[Reefgazer]

OP, I saw your post last night on the high school board and passed commenting on it because I didn't want to seem negative, but I agree with the basic idea of not rushing remediation.  I do not agree that this child cannot be brought up to grade level, but I do not think it is realistic to do it in a month or so.  I would meet her where she is at, and use that month to get her as far along as you can, with the expectation  that it might take a few years or more of working extra, on Saturdays, in summer, etc... to get her up to grade level.  I'm not trying to be negative, but just saying it's an awful lot to expect in a month.

I think it is unrealistic to expect a "behind" student to perform at an accelerated pace. We could start 10 threads about WHY some students are "behind", but whatever the reason, "behind" students don't do well when expected to "catch up" by rushing and compacting. Any school than cannot accommodate the REALITIES of a student, is not an opportunity for that student.

 

My response sounds unsupportive and invalidating to me, and I don't like it, and don't know if I should just refrain from responding. I don't know what else to say, though.

[ElizabethB]

This sounds like a really good plan - this assessment will give you detailed information about what areas she has mastered and where she needs work, along with specific steps to take. Don't they link to Khan Academy videos and exercises now? So you can go there and work on the specific areas you need to work on, in a logical sequence, or use the information gleaned to choose other targeted resources.

Their ADAM K7 test links directly to Kahn Academy remediation.

[kiana]

I think that it would depend on why she is behind. Is she behind because she genuinely struggles with math? Or is she behind because she's been left to her own devices and expected to self-teach?

 

I assumed the second when I responded. I think that MOST students would struggle immensely with math when trying to self-teach. A patient and kind algebra 1 teacher who's willing to help her with topics she's missing may actually work out. She'll need to continue remediation throughout the year, and basically I would block double-time for this. I would look at it like concurrently taking pre-algebra and algebra 1.

[birchbark]

I agree with the others. Advancing one or two grade levels with a struggling student in one month is a lot of pressure. I would not rush it. Frankly, we use a lot more "middle school math" in everyday life than we do algebra. These are important skills, and you want her to master them for life. 

 

I would recommend looking into Math Rescue. I don't have experience with it directly, but we are using the regular math modules and I am very impressed with the clear, incremental instruction. This program has 47 lessons and prepares a student to enter Algebra. 

[MotherGoose]

While I agree with others that this is not an optimal situation, I do think a lot of how this works out will depend on how badly your dd wants it to work out. How motivated is she? Is she willing to do math several hours a day for the next five weeks? Does she want to do this? If the desire is originating in her, then it may happen.

 

My oldest took the ACT and did poorly enough on the math section that it was going to effect his acceptance to the colleges he wanted to attend. I enrolled him in Kumon and he did levels D-I in less than a school year. There are 200 worksheets per level, so that was 1000 worksheets he completed and some of them he had to do more than once. Those sheets covered multiple digit multiplication and division through the quadratic equation, factorization, and square roots.

 

Now, he had covered the material previously. He had hobbled all the way through Alg2 without retaining and using his dyslexia as the reason he couldn't do any better. So, it wasn't completely new, but he had not mastered it. He pretty much covered the computation skills used in late elementary school through the basic skills of Alg1. He did this while going to a tutor to review Alg2 and study the few advanced math topics on the ACT. However, he was crazy focused, and, after previously dragging him through math, I found myself pretty much just staying out of his way.

 

So, if the motivation is there, and she just needs a few middle school topics and an introduction to where Alg1 will be heading via Keys to, then she has a real shot at getting there. She will really have to put forth effort this next year. She needs to realize that she will be spending a lot of time on math not just the next five weeks but this whole next year. She really needs to consider doing Keys to Fractions, Decimals, and Percents as review this next year while she is doing Alg1 to solidify those skills, because a couple of week introduction this summer may enable her to start Alg1, but she will not have mastered the material. So, she would do her Alg1 and a page in Key to every. single. day including the weekends.

 

How badly does SHE want it?

Mandy

I am completely unqualified to talk about algebra preparation--my oldest is 8. However, I think that if SHE does want to do this, then it can be done. My dd, when 5, taught herself the names of all the dinosaurs and the names/locations of all the states because SHE wanted to. I just gave her the tools. I would never have tried to make her learn it. My younger dd, now 5, has absolutely no clue about these things because SHE'S not interested. If your dd wants to prepare for algebra, REALLY wants to, then she can (barring some learning disability, again about which I know nothing). But if it's YOU wanting this, then I concur with Hunter :)

[kiwik]

It depends entirely on WHY she is behind.

[Lanny]

I think it is unrealistic to expect a "behind" student to perform at an accelerated pace. We could start 10 threads about WHY some students are "behind", but whatever the reason, "behind" students don't do well when expected to "catch up" by rushing and compacting. Any school than cannot accommodate the REALITIES of a student, is not an opportunity for that student.

 

My response sounds unsupportive and invalidating to me, and I don't like it, and don't know if I should just refrain from responding. I don't know what else to say, though.

 

+1   for this.  I hope the student can catch up and do all of this, but completing 3 years of Math in 2 years, with this background, I fear is not something she is going to be successful at, and I fear that it may cause Psychological problems.  

 

For someone who is behind, to be expected (pushed and prodded) to suddenly perform at a much high level, I don't think is realistic and I believe it is going to cause intense stress on the student. I wish her well!