Horizons Math

[bethanyjoy]

I saw this sample on AOP’s Horizons Math website. It’s the middle of 3rd grade. This seems really advanced for third grade. Is this typical of this curriculum? I know my fourth grader is not ready for their 4th grade curriculum and seeing this in the 3rd grade program has me a little concerned. 

Edited November 30, 2018 by bethanyjoy

[8filltheheart]

Yes, it is typical. I don't think it is advanced for 3rd grade, though. If there was a blank box for 7 x ___ = 56, 3rd graders should know the answer is 8.  They are simply teaching that you can solve for the ____ or in this case n, by performing the same operation on both sides of the equation, for this problem dividing both sides by 7 to get n all by itself. Fwiw, this isn't new for students using Horizons bc IIRC, solving this way for addition and subtraction starts in the 2nd grade book.

Edited November 30, 2018 by 8FillTheHeart

[RootAnn]

I agree with 8. Abeka Arithmetic has this also in their 3rd grade book. Many math books lead up to this sort of thing gradually.

[knitgrl]

We are about halfway through MEP Year 3, and dd would probably be able to figure out the 4-digit subtractions, though we have not yet dealt explicitly with numbers that large - all 4-digit numbers have been under 2,000. We have not yet encountered the fractions seen at the top of Lesson 83 in the picture.

[8filltheheart]

54 minutes ago, knitgrl said:

We are about halfway through MEP Year 3, and dd would probably be able to figure out the 4-digit subtractions, though we have not yet dealt explicitly with numbers that large - all 4-digit numbers have been under 2,000. We have not yet encountered the fractions seen at the top of Lesson 83 in the picture.

Those fractions are just division. So if your student knows 15 divided by 3 = 5 then she would not be seeing anything new. It actually makes learning fractions and algebra quite easy bc they aren't things they have never encountered before. A fraction is simply division written in another form.

[88keyspiano]

We encountered some trouble in Horizons 3 as well.  We were about on Lesson 37 this fall and my daughter did not understand the whole variable concept although she could solve the problem in her head.  We used Horizons K, 1, 2 and loved it until grade 3.  I finally gave up and switched to another curriculum and she is doing very well.  Perhaps some children just don't understand the algebraic concept until later.  My daughter is 9 and in 3rd grade and learns concepts very quickly but this totally frustrated her to tears. 

[MerryAtHope]

I often found the Horizons' levels were half a year to a year ahead when compared to some other curriculum. When my kids were going through it, I compared Ruth Beechik's recommendations for 5th grade from her book, Yes You CAN Teach your 4th-8th Grader Effectively to Horizons' scope and sequence for 4th grade and they were nearly identical. I had no qualms using the level one lower than my kid's grade (ie, level 2 in 3rd grade etc...). My kids went from Horizons 6 in 7th grade to Pre-Algebra in 8th (we switched to Math-U-See at that point) and Alg. 1 in 9th, and I was comfortable with that sequence--it was a really good match here. I'm not a big believer in doing Algebra in junior high though, unless the student is really showing readiness signs--I think it's important to go at a good pace for the student and lay a solid foundation, and there are lots of students who are better served by going a bit slower. So all that to say--you can do Horizons without matching book number to grade level and have it work out if that's the right pace for your student. 

[nixpix5]

That seems about right for 3rd when comparing it to many 3rd grade curriculums. It would be advanced if someone was comparing it to Teaching Textbooks 3, Saxon 3 and MUS gamma but about on par with other curriculums. 

[bethanyjoy]

Thank you all for your responses. I really appreciate your help.