EmilyGF Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 My daughter does best with spiral math, and since finishing MEP 6 we have sort of floundered. She has to figure things out for herself 90% of the time (or she doesn't learn anything). What would be a good fit for her? We're doing Math Mammoth and I'm not seeing a lot of retention. Thanks, Emily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 (edited) The only spiral math I know anything about is CLE. We use it. We started with a mastery program for my DS12 and it wasn’t going well. At all. He couldn’t remember anything. I did a placement test for CLE and he was super behind. We started in on CLE where his placement test said he was and then worked really hard to get him up to speed (math in the summer, skipping the quizzes and tests). And now he understands math and retains it and is at his grade level. It’s a slow and steady spiral. They are constantly referring back to everything you can imagine all the time. It seems to be extremely thorough. The only weakness people talk about are word problems. This coming year, I’m going to supplement word problems, but I haven’t worried about it until about now (end of 7th grade right now.) If you have more specific questions, I’ll try to answer them. I can’t say whether it’ll work for your daughter or not, as it’s the only program I know that’s spiral. I can only recommend it as a math program that was successful for us. Edited March 9, 2018 by Garga 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countrymum Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 Abeka is spiral too. Saxon is sort of also. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 Horizons is spiral, and written to the student. It's been great for more independent learners here. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted March 10, 2018 Share Posted March 10, 2018 CLE coupled with Beast Academy on the side might work best. Spiral coupled with stuff to figure out. Run Beast behind CLE regarding level and give the placement test for CLE. No worries if testing below expected level. Easy to accelerate once acclimated (as long as no underlying learning challenges). Free placement test (look under Diagnostic tests). Start with lower level test and keep moving until hit major snags. May need to break up over a couple of days. Can be a long test. Be sure your kiddo is rested and not in a distracting environment so the results will be more accurate. The first workbook (light unit) of each level is review of previous levels so it is easy to go through and fill in gaps. https://www.clp.org/store/by_grade/21 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted March 10, 2018 Share Posted March 10, 2018 So is she doing pre-algebra now? I feel like Jousting Armadillos is the best "figure things out themselves" discovery based math for pre-algebra, followed by Jacob's Algebra. But neither of those are spiral. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted March 12, 2018 Author Share Posted March 12, 2018 I think one problem is that she *seems* to be doing fine in math, but then I just gave her a placement test for another program in order to double check that she was mastering the material (as opposed to figuring out the tricks of the curriculum) and she got frustrated a lot. I do have her doing two series from the Keys to... books right now because I recently realized she was using some weird tricks to do decimal and fraction math. (She currently does Math Mammoth 6 and Singapore Intensive Practice 5, now with Keys to Fractions and Keys to Decimals worked in. We've stepping back from MM6 until she's finished the first book in both of those series.) Since you say she needs to figure out things herself, I wonder if she'd like to work on Beast Academy? You could take her back to the earlier levels and use it as a supplement. The only spiral I'm personally familiar with is CLE, and it's solid. It's cheap to try too, so you could buy a Light Unit or two and see how it works without commitment. That's an interesting idea. I should look at the placement test. So is she doing pre-algebra now? I feel like Jousting Armadillos is the best "figure things out themselves" discovery based math for pre-algebra, followed by Jacob's Algebra. But neither of those are spiral. I have looked at JA before and thought it would be a good fit for her. I would probably need to use something else to give review in an unordered way. Emily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 The Middle School Math with Pizzazz books are good for random worksheet practice math for middle school math and pre-algebra. You can find them free online. One thing that has worked well for my kid who needs discovery based math but also needs review is to do a program that's more discovery based and thinky alongside a program that's basically test prep review, like a dollar store Spectrum workbook. Jacob's Algebra is really mastery at its heart and is so discovery based, but it does have a mixed review set that starts every single section, which you can use or skip. When she gets to algebra, it really might be a good program for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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