Help needed for SM 5 Schedule for 5 months?

[Brill786]

Hi,

My dd (12 yo) just started SM 5 and she is behind in Math due to my chronic health condition and I would like to finish SM US Edition 5A & 5B by January 2022. I know HIGs have the suggested schedule but I need the accelerated schedule. Any tips or schedule to cover them at a fast pace with complete understanding? How do I make sure she catches up?  Any experiences or tips to share? Thank you!

[Clemsondana]

I used Singapore with both of my kids and it is definitely a 'do the next thing' program.  We didn't do extra practice and rarely used the textbook - normally my kids could look at an example, or get a short explanation from me, and then do the workbook.  We did use the end-of-chapter tests from the tests book at the end of each chapter, but that's not required.  Singapore has some practice that you could possibly skip if your child is grasping the material quickly, but since you describe them as being behind I don't know that I would plan to do that.  She may be able to double up on the exercises - my kids sometimes did that if we wanted to take a day off later in the week.  But, a lot depends on what your kid is able to do.  Is she able to focus for long stretches?  If she needs to work through the problems in the text to get a good understanding before moving on to the practice problems, then even one lesson in a day might be a bit much sometimes.  

The end of most Singapore books seemed to involve a section on graphs that was a bit tedious (not the graph reading - the calculating averages and such), so you might be able to streamline that a bit.  There is also a geometry section that is kind of fun.  We sometimes would do 1 regular and 1 geometry lesson in the same day because then it didn't feel like doing 2 math lessons - one was the usual computational stuff and then the geometry was enjoyable and easy.  

All of that being said, understanding elementary math is important for being able to do the next step.  The biggest issues that I've seen kids have with math is moving on before they understand what they are doing, so it's better to be a year, or years, behind but actually be able to do the algebra or whatever when you get to it than it is to not really understand what you are doing.  Once she finished Singapore 5, she can do 6 quickly (we did it in a semester - for whatever reason, it's shorter) and then move to pre-algebra.  6 is mostly a review, so many skip it and go to pre-A.  While not advanced, that would have her doing algebra in 8th or 9th grade, which is on track for high school. 

 

[Lori D.]

Totally agreeing with @Clemsondana, especially about the NOT racing through to meet an arbitrary deadline -- you absolutely want to get the foundations down rock-solid so that Algebra is not problematic.

That said, IF your student is "getting" it all without any troubles, you could just do the  Singapore Primary 5A and 5B workbooks (US Editions). Each is about 90 pages each (total of 180 pages), so if you're doing 2 pages a day, you'll be done in 90 days (1 semester).

Or, if you already own/are using the Standards Editions, those workbooks each run about 145 pages (total of about 290 pages). That could be done in about 3 pages per day (270 pages), and you could skip a few pages here and there where she is solid with the concepts and doesn't need the additional practice/review.

Another option, if your student is really getting it and doesn't need ALL the problems, is to just have her do selected problems, and move through 3-4 pages that way.

Another option is to do 2 pages in your regular math time, and then do a 3rd page in the afternoon. I also really like @Clemsondana's idea of occasionally doubling up with a lighter lesson on a completely different topic (the geometry or graphing, for example), with the heavier computation lesson.

But again, in the long run, it is FAR better to go at the pace the individual student NEEDS to make sure the student really is solid in those foundations -- because otherwise, when you hit Algebra, you may end up having to take twice at long at that point, and have to actually *go back* to get those foundations that were rushed through earlier. 😵

Finally, that really does NOT sound like she is behind. She's on track to do Pre-Algebra in 8th grade and Algebra 1 in 9th grade -- which is VERY standard for public schools, AND it absolutely still allows the student to complete the 4 credits of math needed to be "college prep" while in high school (Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, Pre-Calculus).

BEST of luck to you both in your math adventures! Warmly, Lori D.

[Brill786]

Thank you very much for your insight!