Singapore Math lovers/users: ds needs more review & I need help!

[mamato3 all-boy boys]

We are in 3B right now. I am thinking that my ds needs more daily review of previous concepts than he is getting in the daily workbook activities we are doing. For example, we're working through various measurements right now (kg for instance), and he is doing OK with it (outside of careless math errors, but that is a whole 'nother post), but when we hit a review exercise, he is totally lost on previously learned measurement topics (meters, km, feet/yard, etc.).

 

Right now I don't have any supplementary workbooks for 3B, but will be going to CBD on Saturday and was planning on picking up the Extra Practice workbook. Will this solve all my problems :tongue_smilie:?I've never used the EP books, but have used IP and CWP before.

 

The behavior I"m observing in my son, is this a hint that SM is not a good fit for my ds? Would a spiral math program be better? (I have given him the Horizon's placement test and outside of not knowing about fractions, he'd place in the 4th grade book).

 

I'm hesitant to add *too* much more work on ds because on a daily basis he does math fact review as well as his SM assignment, and that in itself can take us 45-60 min. depending on his diligence. I also *know* that if ya'll suggest, 'just make up a problem or two to review at the beginning of your lesson' it honestly won't get done. I will forget. I will get angry at myself for forgetting. I don't want to go there.

 

Thanks for your help!

[Jen500]

We jumped around in PM3. I found doing all of the units on measurement was just too much. We did the US measures, did some geometry, and then came back to the metric measures. A lot of hands-on measurement activities were fun and helpful. I've found us reviewing these concepts as we do word problems in PM4, and also in our science units. I don't know if that's helpful for you, but that's how we worked through the measurements.

[amsunshine]

I like the Extra Practice books -- they offer a helpful review of concepts at the beginning of each unit, and then have practice problems, which are on the same level of difficulty as the regular workbooks. The IP and CWP can be, as you know, more difficult. It can't hurt to give the Extra Practice book a shot.

[Narrow Gate Academy]

I would just review the conversions as part of your drill work. Kilo means? so 1 km = ? m? and 1 kg = ? grams? How many legs does a centipede have? So there are how many cm in 1 m? etc. It only took us a few minutes a day until they were memorized. Then when my dd asked about kilometers, I said kilo means ... and she can fill in the blank and solve the problem. Eventually she learned to ask herself those questions. HTH

[dawn of ns]

I'm thinking measureent might be a lot easier to learn simply be using it. Pile a bunch of measuring tools (rules, tape measures, measuring cups, etc.) on the table and let it go at it for awhile.

[annabanana1992]

Which version are you using? The new standards version has more review that the US edition...

[mamato3 all-boy boys]

Which version are you using? The new standards version has more review that the US edition...

 

Annabanana (love the name, btw), I especially needed to know that, because I am considering switching over to the standards for 4A....I thought I'd heard that going from the US version (which we're using) to Standards at 4A was a good idea. You have prompted me to reinvestigate this as an idea. Thanks you.

[mamato3 all-boy boys]

My ds isn't just having trouble with retention in measurements, but in general, I can see that a little more consistent review in the freshly learned material would be a good idea for him. I really like SM -- I like the hands-on ->pictorial ->abstract representation teaching methodology, I like the math thinking skills he's getting (especially word problems) -- but I am just concerned that there is little review within each subject with previous topics. He seems to need more review than the every three unit reviews that are given in the TB/ WB.

 

Does this help? I'm not looking for measurement specific help, but more general "how do I keep what just got in his head, in his head?" review....

[bethben]

We just finished that part in the book. I think it's just a review problem. I take some of the excercises out of the Sonlight Teachers Manual that accompanies Singapore Math. I've also just copied down problems he's already done and had him do them again after a later lesson (he doesn't remember them). I totally skipped the whole section on gallons, pints, ect. I'm not sure if I will teach it or not. "I" don't remember all the conversions. If he has those yards/feet/inches ect on review problems, I just write the conversions on the top of the page. It REALLY makes me wish the United States had converted to metric all those years ago. Metric is sooooo much easier and makes sooooo much more sense. All that to say, I do think Singapore did those concepts really fast, but I don't think changing the whole math program is worth it.

Beth

[amsunshine]

You might already know this, so forgive me if it is not helpful, but the success of the Singapore curriculum assumes that there will be more review and drill being done outside of the textbook lessons and workbook problems. I assume this is why they provide the extra practice workbooks. It all depends on your child, but something that seems to be working for us so far is this: Do the text/workbook problems. Then do the extra practice problems for the sections just covered in the workbook. After we finish one workbook, and start on the next, we add in the IP problems from the previous section. For example, at the same time we are doing 1B in the workbook and extra practice, we are also doing the IP book for 1A (thus, review and more challenging problems for a deeper grasp of the concepts previously learned). Does that make sense?

 

This may not be the answer you are looking for, because you will necessarily be adding more time to your lessons (and you don't seem to want to do that). But I suppose you could just take it slower, doing the workbook and extra practice on a few days of the week, with the IP problems on one or more of the remaining days of your school week, maybe?

[dands]

Do the text/workbook problems. Then do the extra practice problems for the sections just covered in the workbook. After we finish one workbook, and start on the next, we add in the IP problems from the previous section. For example, at the same time we are doing 1B in the workbook and extra practice, we are also doing the IP book for 1A (thus, review and more challenging problems for a deeper grasp of the concepts previously learned).

 

 

I agree! This exactly what we are doing plus Abeka for the repitition.

[mamato3 all-boy boys]

This may not be the answer you are looking for, because you will necessarily be adding more time to your lessons (and you don't seem to want to do that). But I suppose you could just take it slower, doing the workbook and extra practice on a few days of the week, with the IP problems on one or more of the remaining days of your school week, maybe?

 

I like the way you've outlined the use of the extra practice books. And, I don't mind adding in more time, esp. on concepts that we're having trouble with, if we are still using SM's resources....I just didn't want advice that said to "make up your own problems and work them out before your lessons begins" because that isn't going to happen here.

Thanks for taking the time to write out how you use the extra books. I so appreciate it.

[amsunshine]

My pleasure -- hope it works for you!

[Tree House Academy]

We use the Miquon workbooks for now and they have lots of neat review...but my ds was having the opposite issue and that was TOO much of one thing. Once he can do something, he hates to have to do it over and over and over and over. However, last week, he was forgetting his place holder in multiple digit multiplier problems. I think more practice with this is exactly what he needs to cement the concept. I may look in to the extra practice book myself. Thanks for posting this thread.

[AnointedHsMom]

We do basically the same as amsunshine does. I haven't been using the EP books but I think I might get those too. We start the CWP books a half a year or year after we finish a book. So in other words after I finish 1A and start 1B I would start CWP & IP 1. This seems to give enough review for us. HTH, Paige

[AngieW in Texas]

I left Singapore after 3A for my youngest because of the problems she was having with the lack of review. We tried several different math programs over the next year and finally came back to Singapore at her request.

 

All we are doing now is adding in Evan-Moor Daily Math Practice. It has some topics that aren't in Singapore, but it's easy to teach those topics on the spot (cartesian coordinate graphs, probability, etc.).

 

It's a systematic review of all sorts of things that are often covered in the particular grade level of math. You can see every page of the workbooks at http://www.evan-moor.com .

 

I don't do any of the Singapore supplements.

[mamato3 all-boy boys]

All we are doing now is adding in Evan-Moor Daily Math Practice. It has some topics that aren't in Singapore, but it's easy to teach those topics on the spot (cartesian coordinate graphs, probability, etc.).

 

Interesting, AngieW, I'll check that out, too! Thanks for your input. I appreciate it.

[Karen in CO]

LIke pp have already said, to get the most from the Singapore, you should use all of the books. I use the Extra practice books, if my dd needs more of the same to cement a topic. Otherwise, I use the IP books, but slighty differently from how another poster suggested. In 3A right now we are almost finished with the first topic which is addition and subtraction. When we start multiplication in the workbook and textbook, we will start the IP for Addition and subtraction and work through a few problems each day after we do a multiplication lesson. It is the same idea - to cover the same topic again, but more deeply while covering new material, but my dd doesn't like going back a full level.

 

Another thing we use is Math Mammoth. I buy these digitally, and I will use them when I think my dd needs more practice on a topic but with a different presentation than Singapore gave. For example - she had a terrible time with doing carrying and borrowing. She could do it if you told her she had to do it for a problem, and she could do mental math that required it, but she couldn't move up to adding and subtracting hundreds and thousands with carrying and borrowing without a struggle because it just hadn't really clicked for her yet. So I got a MM workbook that was nothing but addition and subtraction with two and three digit numbers. She finally got it and we moved on - she just needed a different way to see it - and her brother to take over math for a couple of days. ;)