Looking for slow-moving beginning first grade

Most programs come with extra supplemental practice books. Your daughter may need more modeling and guided practice before independent work is given. Make up more problems that match the ones in the book. Be careful not to add a task before it is taught.

In a proper environment, students should not be given independent work until they are ready.

Perhaps the teacher will let you video tape him/her doing the lesson. You can watch it again & again and have your child watch, too. More practice helps the concept sink in. (I used this trick to get through Trig, except at that level, there are taped lessons available.)

Unfortunately, the class will probably move on before your daughter is ready for the next step. That means, you’ll really need those video tapes for the next lesson.

You know, I think I just gave myself a good idea for the LD resource room…

I homeschool my dd (adopted). She has multiple diagnoses, including autism & fetal alcohol damage, with brain damage from other prenatal exposures. She tends to be a visual learner. What I am finding, is that she does OK with manipulating numbers up to about 15 as long as she can use either a picture or manipulatives. Now, the book is starting to move beyond what it seems she can hold in her head. I am wondering if there is a curriculum out there that would have, say, 40 practice sheets per skill instead of 2 or 3, I am guessing that is about what she would need & if she “gets it” before that, I could go ahead & move her on. I am wondering if perhaps the Cusinaire rods or Miquon math would be a good match due to the visual component, but am afraid they would still go faster than her mastery. I can pull things together from a variety of sources for her if I need to (I am a former 1st grade teacher so have access to lots of things) but hate to reinvent the wheel if I don’t need to. Oh, I am also wondering about Touchpoint Math.

Thanks for your thoughts.

You might look at Saxon math. Based on what you have written, it could be an excellent choice for your situation. Saxon worked very well for my CAPD, visual son. One of the biggest supporters for Singapore on this board used it for her dd who had visual processing problems.

Saxon incorporates a lot of repetition. (In fact, too much repetition is a common complaint you hear from some about Saxon.) In your dd’s case, I would definitely recommend getting the teacher’s manual (instead of just the workbooks) as it gives invaluable hints for dealing with language problems that can arise in math (for example, the meaning of “between” as in “name a number between twenty and thirty”). The manual also tells the teacher everything—and I mean absolutely everything—to say in teaching each lesson. During the lessons, there is extensive work with manipulatives, as well as a lot of auditory work which is often repeated, e.g., skip counting, math facts. The workbook sheets repeat a lot of old material frequently. If your daughter needed even more reptition, you could probably copy sheets and repeat them, but I think you would find the practice sheets as they are sufficient.

The website is www.saxonpub.com. The homeschool package for grade 1 is $94. Manipulatives good for K-3 can be purchased separately for $60. (The teddy bears were a big hit in my house.) Not cheap, but a lot easier than putting together your own curriculum.

I am considering combining things, using Singapore as the primary but supplementing with Touchpoint for addition & subtraction facts, maybe using some of Miquon, and using the whole Meeting idea out of the Saxon book. Does that sound feasible or is there an easier way?

my 2 older dds and liked it. (Switched to Singapore because I think it does teach reasoning better & they did not need the extensive drill.)

I think this dd would find the lessons far too long to tolerate but I am considering using parts of it, especially the “Meeting” part as I know she needs the drill on skip counting, calendar skills, etc. Thank you for this reminder.

Homeschooling is perfect because you can proceed “as slow as you must but as fast as you are able.”

Cuisinerre Rods, one of the many concrete manipulatives, work for many demonstrations/practice sessions. Don’t pull them away too quickly. This is what happens in schools. Let the child stop going to them first, then gradually remove them over a day or two…until the next concept is introduced.

Part of what teachers learn in math methods classes are which manipulatives fit what kind of teaching & learning applications. It is one of the few areas I felt I got really excellent training (but I’m picky and was old by the time I started taking those classes). Before that, I wasn’t sure what concrete to use for what concept.

Despite what many parents believe, teachers do learn a few things in their coursework. There are probably many on-line resources for homeschools that give great ideas.

I haven’t used Touchpoint, but know teachers who think it’s tops. I’m not even sure what Miquon is…information on it?

I can go either way with Saxon. It worked great with my son…not so well with some others. We use a McGraw-Hill series at school and I’m happy with it. It has a supplemental problems book that I make good use of for students who need more, more, more. I absolutely loved the McGougal-Littel for the classroom; however, would not recommend for homeschool unless a “math group” is possible every day or two. Lots of cooperative learning…which I like…to supplement the individual activities. Many children do learn best in a social environment.

I really do appreciate what training can do, I am a teacher too, just not enough background in math special needs to know what’s out there. That’s why I’m here asking. : )

Here is a link to a Miquon page, if you are interested in taking a look. My understanding is that it relies heavily on the Cuisinaire rods, which I have used with my dd & she responds well to. It sure is inexpensive, so I have nothing to lose on it.

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http://www.keypress.com/catalog/products/supplementals/Prod_Miquon.html

I took a quick peek and the books seem inexpensive enough at first glance…not sure what else is ‘recommended’ to go with the books. I’ll look again when I have more time.

Thanks for posting.

Hi, Toby,

I just wanted to say hello and tell you that we have a daughter adopted from China who is also in first grade. She was adopted as an infant, so that has minimized her problems, but she does have auditory processing disorder and speech/language delays. She is now in a charter school, but I may homeschool later if circumstances change. She is repeating first grade because I felt her skills weren’t strong enough to go to second. They use Saxon phonics and math which is great for her and therefore worth repeating.

I read a good bit about homeschool and special ed. curriculum, so I wanted to mention one that hasn’t been mentioned yet…Math-U-See. It is hands-on and is often recommended for visual or LD kids. As a matter of fact, I noticed that Math-U-See will be presenting at the international conference of the International Dyslexia Association.

http://www.mathusee.com/index.html

Janis

http://www.resourceroom.net/Surfin/index.asp#math

Also… there’s an ongoing discussion about math on the Sonlight forums (www.sonlight.com)

MathUSee is generally most successful with visual learners who are good with abstract ideas.

A program designed for kids who struggle w/ Math which I’d recommend based on having it (but not having used it — it’s new and I’m not working with young students) is the one by Landmark Schools (a school & college for LD students)… go to www.landmarkschools.org and click on “outreach and publications” for information. It’s got lots of manipulative work to connect that visual stuff with those strange little symbols we call numerals.

I have looked at Math-U-See & it looks too abstract for where my dd is now… maybe at some point in the future we’ll be ready for it. Thank you again.

the landmark site is down but I will be back & give it a look. DH said we could order new materials this week, so I should soon have something new to try. Thank you for all your input.