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Math opinions – PLEASE HELP!
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Hello All!
I have a 12 yo (almost 13) dd who’s in 7th grade. We pulled her from public school after 3rd grade. She is very bright and is generally a great student. However, we have discovered some gaps in her mathematical understanding, most likely due to two things: my not monitoring her more closely, and her desire to just get the right answer and move on and be done for the day. SHe used MUS for gamma, delta, and epsilon. Then we decided to try something different and moved to Life of Fred. ;She completed LOF fractions without too much problem, but felt that there was not enough explanation of concepts or I guess, enough “how to”. Maybe that’s it – there was more “concept” and less “how-to” and that frustrated her a bit. She finished and moved into LOF Decimals and Percents. But we are discovering some gaps in a basic understanding of fraction concepts (applying them to a situation that looks a little different than how she learned it) not understanding the concept of a decimal, or their place values, or their connection to fractions.
SOOOOO, here’s my dilemma – where to go from here to help her cement these facts conceptually. Not just for right answers, but for understanding and application. We use Math Mammoth for my son, who just this year switched from MUS. But for my DD to get caught up, she’d have to go back and do parts of the 5th and 6th grade curricula, b/c there is so much taught there that she didn’t do in MUS. I could just put her back in MUS Zeta, without any major loss in time (but she’d prefer a change – she’s tired of MUS). I have also been looking at two different programs I previously knew nothing about: Professor B’s Math and Teach Textbooks. Both of these are quite expensive, however, and I don’t have the money to make a mistake!
Can I get some opinions on MUS Zeta vs. Math Mammoth vs. Prof B’s MAth vs Teaching Textbooks? Anyone used any of these with a kid like mine – bright, but not inherently a Math person, so just trying to zip through and be done?
Thanks So much,
Amy
Amy, you may not need anything else at all. One strategy that has worked for us is to ask for at least one ‘proof’ a day. That means that when I take a look at a child’s work, I say, “Okay, use something in this room to prove that you got the right answer.” In my opinion, any math curriculum is going to lack the ability to make it real for students until they are put in a position to bridge the lesson with real life. Another strategy is to ask a word problem, also on a daily basis (make up your own based on the current lesson, or the internet has oodles of them by grade, I’m sure). This is all besides the real life experiences they will have that puts this stuff to use. That’s a good time to say, “See, this is what that means…”
Blessings,
Cindy
Wow – Cindy, love your idea about ‘proofs.’ I was going to suggest watching some Khan Academy videos in the areas you find problematic. There is a good series called math detective from the critical thinking company that might have some workbooks to cover her problem areas – they probably have a scope and sequence for each book that you can look at online. There is also a Murderous Maths book that covers fractions – I think it is “The Mean and Vulgar Bits” – I bought it but we haven’t got to it yet. Maybe you can sort this out without having to invest in a new curriculum.
Good Luck!
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