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I was reading in another thread that many go straight from SM 5B to pre-algebra.  I was planning to use SM 6A and 6B this coming year with my 6th grade dd.  I had no idea it was somewhat "optional."  Can people give me pros and cons for using it before going on the pre-algebra.  My dd is good at math but gets frustrated easily and often rushes her work.  It is not her favorite subject.  So, I would be happy for a low-key, confidence-building year.

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 If you are planning to stay with Singapore, I would recommend it as Discovering Mathematics is certainly a challenging course.  I have used Singapore 6 with both of my boys.  It took only half a year to complete and helped to review concepts and to be prepared for Discovering Mathematics 7. 

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If you are planning to stay with Singapore, I would recommend it as Discovering Mathematics is certainly a challenging course. I have used Singapore 6 with both of my boys. It took only half a year to complete and helped to review concepts and to be prepared for Discovering Mathematics 7.

I'm on one of the other threads. My Dd is finishing 5b, probably today. I agree that 6 is really nessesary to move into 7 unless the student has done lots of the CWP or IP.

 

I also want to point out the Standards 6 is a longer book than the PM US 6, and they cover different things, so Standards 6 may very well last a year for some students.

 

I don't think there is a HIG for Standards 6 b/c you really have already taught the material, so just an answer key will suffice. ETA, I have the Stds. Answer key and it does contain some errors.

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Thanks everyone!  I was not planning to continue SM after 6B.  I have not decided for sure what direction we will take but I am leaning towards AoPS.  Assuming this is what we do, what do people recommend?  We are using the SM Standards version.  Should we do 6A and 6B then go straight to algebra?  Or do 6A and 6B and go to pre-algebra?  Or skip SM altogether and go staring to pre-algebra?  In my mind, I assumed SM 1-6 was your regular basic "math" 1st-6th grade then on to pre-algebra.  It sounds like that assumption was not correct?  

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I'm on one of the other threads. My Dd is finishing 5b, probably today. I agree that 6 is really nessesary to move into 7 unless the student has done lots of the CWP or IP.

 

I also want to point out the Standards 6 is a longer book than the PM US 6, and they cover different things, so Standards 6 may very well last a year for some students.

 

I don't think there is a HIG for Standards 6 b/c you really have already taught the material, so just an answer key will suffice. ETA, I have the Stds. Answer key and it does contain some errors.

 

This is good info.  I did not know there was no HIG but that is because I have not used them since 3B.  I know many say it is impossible to do SM correctly without the HIG but I have a very strong math background and was taught very similarly as a child.  Between what I figured out myself and taking a look at the examples in the CWP, I found the HIG unnecessary.  So, I am OK with that.

 

Dd has done some CWP (about half of the problems) but really struggles with them.  She has no problem with the workbook or extra practice problems but is probably 50/50 on the CWP.  This concerns me as I worry she is not fully understanding the material.  She understands and can often correctly set-up the bar diagrams but seems to struggle with putting multiple steps together.  We do many of them together.  Knowing that she struggles with the CWP, would a slow approach (SM 6A and 6B, then on to AoPS pre-algebra) make sense?  I am not really in race-mode and would actually prefer she be on track with her schooled peers, not necessarily ahead.  

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As an aside, one big reason I am not planning to continue with SM is that there are simply too many confusing options.  The whole Standards vs. US version thing was irritating.  We switched from US to Standards at 4A.  The upper levels have me completely baffled.  Maybe I am too "old school" but I need regular topics/words.  Pre-algebra, algebra, geometry, etc.....

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I am a SM fan, and my older ds and I both hated level 6.  It was a lot of review, but the concepts that were deeper had almost no instruction (IMO) and too many leaps.  My ds had done so well with SM through 5B, but he cried through level 6.  I felt that we wasted a year.  I gave him the option of moving on to another program, but he wanted to finish.  It was miserable for both of us.  With my younger ds, I took him straight from SM 5B into AoPS pre-A, which is a good step up but manageable.  I thought it made sense to expose the boys to the AoPS way of presenting material prior to Algebra, and I am very glad I did.  It is a different type of program, but we will be continuing on with AoPS Algebra this year.

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As an aside, one big reason I am not planning to continue with SM is that there are simply too many confusing options. The whole Standards vs. US version thing was irritating. We switched from US to Standards at 4A. The upper levels have me completely baffled. Maybe I am too "old school" but I need regular topics/words. Pre-algebra, algebra, geometry, etc.....

I think if you have done CWPs and IPs, you can probably move on to aops preA after 5B. If you only have been using workbooks, the transition will be harder. We are planning the same switch, but I added JA to our line up so I could give my kid some time to mature. He is nine. If he were older, I probably wouldn't have added anything.

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Well, many consider 6a&6b to be a pre-algebra course. I think I've been told it doesn't cover negative numbers?  I can't remember. Anyway, we finished 6a&6b and then went to AoPS pre-A and then followed it with AoPS Algebra. I am not sure my kid was ready for AoPS in 6th grade, but maybe yours is. If so, then have at it. But as for finishing 6a&6b, we didn't regret it at all.

 

 

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My experiences.

 

Used Singapore Primary, US edition (not standards edition).  Oldest did 6A and 6B in her 6th grade year to have more growing time and more word problems.  We planned to switch to Saxon for prealg and above. But I wanted her a little older to do longer seat work.  There wasn't a lot of new material in 6A and 6B, but more in depth.  I'm sure there was something new material, but not a lot.  Then in Saxon 87 with prealgebra she filled in any prealg. gaps such as negative numbers.  My daughter placed higher on placement test than saxon 87, but I knew we needed to do 87 for some content and all of that.  She's strong in math, but not advanced super genius, so I knew placing into Saxon Alg 1 for a 7th grader with her mood and personality was going to be not the right thing.

 

Middle daughter, was in her level of Singapore finishing 5B at end of 6th grade.  I didn't bother with 6A and 6B  with her, but just went to Saxon 87 in 7th.

 

 

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Skimomma, we're in just about the same place as you are - I have 2 rising 6th graders who have been through 5B; my plan is to do 6A/6B unless we hit a wall, and when they are done, go straight to a standard algebra course. (I've thought about AoPS, but don't have the $ right now, and not sure it would be a good fit for 1 of the students - it's an option out there still, for us.) If we run into trouble, I'll drop them back to pre-algebra (maybe AoPS), but we plan to take our time through algebra (if it takes more than one year, I'm ok with that). We're doing CWP5 over the summer, casually, and have 1-2 hard problems per unit, but most of them are fine (i.e., they do them independently).

 

Students are 10yo, fairly confident in math, though one loves it and one merely tolerates it.

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Well, many consider 6a&6b to be a pre-algebra course. I think I've been told it doesn't cover negative numbers?  I can't remember. Anyway, we finished 6a&6b and then went to AoPS pre-A and then followed it with AoPS Algebra. I am not sure my kid was ready for AoPS in 6th grade, but maybe yours is. If so, then have at it. But as for finishing 6a&6b, we didn't regret it at all.

 

This was very helpful.  I think I am in a similar boat.  I would rather overdo it than jump to quickly.  Dd is so sensitive about math, a little extra time is probably the best course.  It sounds like you did not find this to be too boring or repetitive.

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Ds just did Singapore 6A/6B last year in 5th grade. It was not a lot of new material but I felt like it gave him a chance to go deeper. We use just the IP book so it gave him a lot of practice with tough word problems. It did not feel like a wasted year at all.

 

We're moving to AOPS Pre-Algebra this year and see how it goes. I'm not sure if it will still be review, I think some of it will and some will be new (6A/6B does not cover negative numbers). He's young and we have time. I feel like I want his math foundation to be strong and deep and if it's too much review we can always more through it quickly. 

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This was very helpful.  I think I am in a similar boat.  I would rather overdo it than jump to quickly.  Dd is so sensitive about math, a little extra time is probably the best course.  It sounds like you did not find this to be too boring or repetitive.

 

I will say that by the end of the year my son clearly found it easy. He was whipping through the problems. But I don't think that was a bad thing, lol.

 

 

We put oldest through SMPM 6a and 6b. I feel it is good pre-algebra work; especially with fractions, percents, decimals and other areas where a lot of kids tend to struggle. Doing equations with variables isn't the hard part of pre-algebra, imo.

 

Yes! It was a LOT of fractions, decimals,  percents, and ratios. And they were used in tricky word problems. Those were SOLID by the end of 6th grade. My son started the year moaning and groaning about them and finished the year feeling confident. Now, he was asking for a bigger challenge by the end of the year and AoPS pre-A provided it. But he had never asked for that before and I think that was a good thing that he felt confident enough to ask.

 

 

 

Negative numbers are covered in 6B standard according to the teacher's guide

http://www.singaporemath.com/v/vspfiles/assets/images/sp_pmstdtg6b1.pdf

 

It's not in the US edition. Link to scope and sequence for both editions

https://www.singaporemath.com/v/vspfiles/assets/images/SSUSandSTD2009.pdf

 

 

Ah, I used the US edition all the way through. Good thing too, because I needed the HIG guide for 6a6b, lol. FWIW, my son had zero issues with learning about negative numbers. It was introduced in AoPS and wasn't a big deal at all. I remember specifically asking my dh, who was his teacher with AoPS if negative numbers were a challenge for DS1 and he assured me it wasn't.

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Some people like to skip 6a and b but I don't really understand why. Middle school math is a time to strengthen skills, go into greater depth on topics, prepare for algebra, develop stamina for trickier problems... I wouldn't skip either SM 6 or pre-algebra. There is plenty to work on and no need to rush. Use the CWP and Zaccaro for extra challenge if your child feels it's too easy, but I wouldn't miss the opportunity for review and depth and a gentle introduction to more advanced math.

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Some people like to skip 6a and b but I don't really understand why. Middle school math is a time to strengthen skills, go into greater depth on topics, prepare for algebra, develop stamina for trickier problems... I wouldn't skip either SM 6 or pre-algebra. There is plenty to work on and no need to rush. Use the CWP and Zaccaro for extra challenge if your child feels it's too easy, but I wouldn't miss the opportunity for review and depth and a gentle introduction to more advanced math.

 

Thanks for this.  I feel better about doing it.  More confidence cannot hurt and no point in racing.

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We're doing MUS pre-algebra and Singapore 6a/6b this year with a 6th grader. Having just kicked off both this week, I can tell you that MUS starts with negative numbers while 6A starts with one and two variable equations (simple ones) and some of those assume you know what a negative number is. Negatives were covered only briefly at the end of Singapore 5b.

 

My thinking -- note I do not have a mathy kid -- is to do a "light" pre-algebra this year and leave next year open - if I feel she has the concepts firmly, we may skim/unit test our way through a more standard pre-algebra textbook and move on to algebra 1. If she doesn't retain this stuff, we'll still have 7th for pre-algebra from a more standard text. I want her to have a firm foundation and confidence with stuff or moving on is going to be very, very painful and slow.

 

We've had one freak-out already, the first time I showed her what to do with x + 4 = 10 (Monday); by today she was doing 1/4x = 24 on her own. On the other hand, exercise 5 of singapore goes to TWO variables in the equation. We'll undoubtedly take some time over that. Usually Singapore puts the new material in book a and the review/deeper word problems in book b.

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Oldest son did all the SM 6a, 6b, IP, and is still doing CWP. He is doing Dolciani PreAlgebra now.

Youngest is doing 6a now. He finds it easy and does all problems I dependently and correctly. I feel so relieved that he doesn't cry any more about math. He is very happy and proud. Some of the problems even trip me up. I have no intention of rushing him or skipping SM 6 because he is only 9. I bought the older version of Discovering Mathematics 1 and 2 sets for $25 and $30 with all TM, textbooks, workbooks and solutions. So I plan for him to go on to DM 1 after SM 6. Oldest might go on to Jacob's elementary algebra, or do a quick fill in type of learning with Discovering Mathematics 1 to cover what is not covered by Dolciani PreA before we move on to DM 2 for him.

So I would recommend doing SM 6.

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My oldest was 1/2 a book "behind" going into 6th grade so she 5B Sept-Dec and did 6A & 6B standards Jan-June. We condensed the two books by skipping over content she was secure in like fractions since she had also completed LOF Fractions the year before. She used Discovering Math 7A & 7B this year. It was challenging, but the correct placement for her. My son is entering 6th grade this year. Math comes easier to him, but I am still having him work through 6A & 6B this year in conjunction with CWP and LOF--this will give him a strong problem solving foundation. He was very successful with 5A&B, but I can't see him going straight to Singapore 7 (maybe an easier pre-algebra--but what would be the point?).

 

My 2 cents--If the Singapore program is working well for you and your child, stay with it.

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