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Math Mammoth users, a question--


Kidlit
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I started my 5th grader on MM Multiplication and Division 3 last week after finishing almost all but the last geometry lessons in RS E. She has always used RS, so there's a bit of a learning curve in switching to a new curriculum. My question is this--how much MM should I require daily? Do you veteran MM users do one section per day, work by timer, or something else?

 

Thanks!

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In the upper levels - 4th grade on - we worked by timer.  I think we started with 45 min a day, and gradually worked up to an hour.  Definitely not by lesson or page - some pages have big teaching blocks, and some have tons of problems.  Some lessons are two pages, some are 4 or 5.  So time works best.

 

Also, unless she needs to, don't necessarily have her do every problem - there are a lot!  I would start by assigning 1/2 to 2/3 of the lettered problems for each number - so if 1) has a-g, I might assign just 4 of those.  If she can do those, so can move on.  If she needs extra practice, she can do the rest of the problems.  This makes it move more quickly and keeps you from getting bogged down.

 

Also also, just be aware that she teaches multiplication and division *very* incrementally.  My kids both made mental leaps and got the concept down without needing to practice every.single.step so much.  And that's fine.  They need to understand why and how the algorithm works, but some kids don't need to belabor each step.

 

It's a great program - Shannon used it in 4th-6th.  It prepared her solidly.  Good luck!

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We use a timer and aim for 45 minutes a day.  My goal is about 12 pages a week but, some days 1 page is enough.  Other days we'll finish 6.

 

We only do half the problems.  I assign the problems (or have her pick half) and then correct.  If they are correct we move on.  If she has 1 wrong, she does one more.  Adding the rule of 1 more for every incorrect problem really cut down on the careless errors.  If she gets most wrong we review the concept and do the rest together.

 

If the chapter is really long we pick different pages from different chapters.  For example, 3 pages from decimals, 6 pages of fractions, 3 pages of division, ... keeps it from getting too repetitive. 

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DD is doing 4A now, just having left RS D in the middle, and having done a little BA3 work. I'm trying to move quickly as she has no problems with the concepts, but I want her to have the practice. My goal is 4 pages a day if she understands all the concepts. We're using the Light Blue series, so I'm sure there's some difference. And yes, last week was quite a learning curve and almost some tears over "When are you going to teach me the lesson?!"

 

She understands now that we discuss the instructions/teaching at the top of the page, she does her work, comes back and checks in. I think she thought I was going to abandon her to math, just because it's less teacher intensive than RS.

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We always worked by timer. The number of problems is pretty uneven from page to page and ds always found some sections easy and other hard. I generally sat and worked some with him back and forth, then assigned about half of what was left, then let him move on if he got it and go back if he didn't.

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Thank you all for your responses! I REALLY appreciate your taking the time to help me. Dd actually knows how to multiply and divide, so I'm using this for more practice (that's a weakness of RS, IMHO--not quite enough practice). I'm finding, though. that the slightly different approach is providing a challenge, too.

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We only do half the problems. I assign the problems (or have her pick half) and then correct. If they are correct we move on. If she has 1 wrong, she does one more. Adding the rule of 1 more for every incorrect problem really cut down on the careless errors. If she gets most wrong we review the concept and do the rest together.

 

If the chapter is really long we pick different pages from different chapters. For example, 3 pages from decimals, 6 pages of fractions, 3 pages of division, ... keeps it from getting too repetitive.

These are great ideas! Thank you for sharing!

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We do 3 pages a day for MM4. I divided the number of pages in that level by 36 weeks and figured that's how many we need to do to finish in a year. We don't do math on  Fridays. Some days math takes an hour, sometimes only half an hour, but that is working out better than when we set a timer and worked for the same amount of time every day. Ds does better when he can see a clear end point on a page, otherwise he drags his feet. And I definitely agree- you do not need to do every problem. I work through some from each little section with him, then he tries a few on his own. We probably leave a 1/3 undone.

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Two pages a day (4-5 days a week) for my 10 yr old (working on MM3) is about all she'll tolerate. 4-5 pages for my 13 yr old who is also working on MM3, but who I'm expecting to race through to the next level pretty quickly. 

 

I cross out alternate problems, sometimes entire pages if a concept has been grasped.

 

I don't worry about finishing a particular level at a set time. Either they get it and we can move on, or they don't and we need to spend more time working on it. Some things can't be hurried  :001_smile:

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We aim for a lesson a day with my 4th grader, but if it is more than 3 pages I break it up. If I see it take more than 45 minutes-1 hour I cut her off and we pick it up there the next day.

For my ds in 2B we do a lesson a day-- he works a lot faster and I work alongside him. Though if it takes more than 20-30 minutes we stop and pick up the next day.

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I have one dc that is a dawdler. For this reason assigning math for a certain number of minutes doesn't work for him. He may only do 4 problems in an hour! His dawdling gets worse with time limits placed on subjects. I know what he is capable of if he focuses & assign the math accordingly. My goal is for math to be done in 45 mins to an hour. We often do every other problem and adjust the assignment as needed if there's comprehension issues or it's just taking to long.

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FWIW, my 3rd grader is doing 2 pages a day.  Rather than using a timer.  I started the timer thing in 4th grade.

 

Although now that I said that, she did 5 pages today!!!  So yeah, it depends on the pages . . .  I haven't started doing it by time with her yet.  I can usually tell when she has juice to go on, or when she needs to quit.

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We are using MM5 and do a lesson a day.  We do about 1/2 the problems in each area.  On Fridays, after a lesson, we go back and pick up some of the skipped questions for review.  Then the week that we are wrapping up the chapter, we go back and pick up a few skipped questions from each lesson for about 5 days in addition to the lesson that she is learning that day.

 

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We are also working on MM5 and also doing one lesson per day most days. I used to give ds 3 pages but it would confuse him to have 1 page of one lesson and 2 pages of the next lesson, so now most of the time we just do a lesson, regardless of how many pages it is. If he is really melting down and not coping, I occasionally split the lesson into two sessions. The idea of working for 45 minutes would be useless for us, because ds can easily waste 45 minutes and get nothing constructive done, so for him it is more motivating to say here is the lesson you need to do, you get to stop when it's done.

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We also do 2 pages per day 5 days a week of MM6, all but 2 or 3 problems in each section.  Those few extra problems can be added in if there are careless mistakes or if there is a lack of understanding.  Also, we have enough additional time for a multivide (from RightStart), or Math Minutes for review, etc.

 

Jana

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We are using 4A right now with my 4th grader.  She does 2 pages per day unless they are "light" on problems.  Then she'll do three.    My 1st grader just started 2A.  He also usually works 2 pages per day, sometime a little less as he's young and working ahead of grade level.  

 

I assign the entire curriculum.  We do not skip problems.  I've found the repetition works well for retention.  

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