Math question, 3rd grade

[mamashark]

Good morning! I've got a question about math. My daughter turns 8 next month and I am struggling to identify how to proceed.

 

She currently is halfway through McRuffy Math level 3. It is too easy for her, as I can tell that she puts no thought into it and can zoom through 2 lessons in 10 minutes with accuracy. I do not have to teach any of the new concepts because she can figure them out accurately without instruction. I feel like rushing her along is not going to be helpful, but I am unsure how to proceed.

 

She is weak in problem solving - she simply won't apply thought. This has not been a big issue with mcruffy as there is very little problem solving required. 

She is strong in concepts - she is quick to "get" a new concept.

She's probably fairly average in computational skills - freezes up with timed tests but when untimed, has mastered basic addition and subtraction, and has mostly mastered multiplication (still slow with the 6s, 7s, and 8s but they are coming).

 

Last year we used Horizon's math - this drove us nutty. We both got to the point where it wasn't worth it to continue - too much repetition of the same types of problems over far too many lessons. We went through level 1 and 2 and I gave up partway through level 3. We tried switching to Math mammoth but it overwhelmed her because of the busy pages (even if I did not require many problems per page - she has SPD so I think the visual clutter was too much for her to handle - this is one of the reasons we liked McRuffy - the pages are clean and not too busy).

 

I was thinking about doing Beast Academy with her next year, but am concerned that our current path is not going to properly prepare her for that kind of challenge.

 

My current thought is to continue through the end of McRuffy 3 this year, but that I might need to add something else to it. Not sure what that something else is?

[kateingr]

It sounds like your daughter will have the computation skills needed to start Beast next year, but building her problem-solving stamina now is a good idea. Balance Benders and Primary Grade Challenge Math are two possibilities for giving her some practice with puzzle-y problems that can't be solved with straightforward computation. 

 

Also, looking ahead, be warned that the first chapter of Beast Academy 3A is extremely difficult. You may want to skip it and start with chapter 2, which will build your daughter's problem-solving skills a bit more gently. 

[mamashark]

That sounds like exactly what I am looking for. Thanks! And thanks for the warning on the first chapter of Beast 3A, I have the books, I just need to take a good look at them to see how I want to attack them next year.

 

 

[kateingr]

Make sure you read their FAQ, too. (Beast academy.com/faq) It has a ton of tips on pacing the program and teaching problem-solving.

[Spy Car]

The Ed Zaccaro books, you'd probably want Primary Grade Challenge Math, are very good for building up problems skills. Zaccaro is a great teacher who breaks down difficult problem solving into easy understood parts, and then provides graded (in rising difficulty) problems to reinforce learning. 

 

You might also cherry-pick problems from MEP, as they are often puzzle-like and require thought to solve.

 

Bill

Edited February 11, 2016 by Spy Car

[mamashark]

I ordered Primary Grade Challenge Math, I think it's exactly what I was looking for!

[Spy Car]

I ordered Primary Grade Challenge Math, I think it's exactly what I was looking for!

 

To be clear PGCM is a supplement, not a full math program. I hope you understood that?

 

I do think it will fill the need you stated.

 

Good luck!

 

Bill

[mamashark]

To be clear PGCM is a supplement, not a full math program. I hope you understood that?

 

I do think it will fill the need you stated.

 

Good luck!

 

Bill

 

Yes, I understood that :) I plan on using it along side the current curriculum I'm using. 

[kiwik]

Or process skills in problem solving.

[MrSmith]

Or process skills in problem solving.

I second this. Having used both zacarro and process skills, I prefer process skills. More focused, more detailed teaching and harder problems.

[mamashark]

Do the levels of processing skills books coordinate with grade levels?

[kiwik]

Do the levels of processing skills books coordinate with grade levels?

I think so but the usual advice is to start from level 1. Ds8 did levels one and two last year but is doing CWP 3 due to availabiliy.

[MrSmith]

Do the levels of processing skills books coordinate with grade levels?

Well...sort of? :) There's a number on the front on each book, but grade level is such a relative term. They correlate strongly with the Singapore math texts, FWIW.

[mamashark]

Interesting, thanks! I'll have to think about whether I can add them in over the summer.

[Spy Car]

I've heard nothing but good things about the process skills books (but have not used them). Don't give up on Zaccaro though. His approach is so conversational, humorous, and humane that I find his books a way of having a "break," while still learning difficult topics that are well-explained and broken into digestible parts in language kids seem to get.

 

Zaccaro has easy problems, medium problems, harder problems, and Einstein level problems. 

 

Nothing wrong with a mix of resources.

 

Bill

Edited February 13, 2016 by Spy Car

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Zacarros is awesome. It teaches all they need and builds step by step. Highly recommended