My child was doing Saxon math over summer. It is great for her going over the days of the week,months and counting, which she needed, and it is going pretty well. We were doing 1/2 hour sessions 4 days a week. Now we will be doing it twice a week. We are using the 3rd grade level. My child is in 5th grade. The IEP is having her count, doing time to the minute,money to 5 dollars.adding and subtracting multidigit numbers with regrouping,and multiplication with two digit times one digit. I am wanting second opinions on the saxon math to see if it is a good one to stay with. I am concerned about the gap in the math from where the tutor is and where the school will be. My child can do the IEP goals but not during formal testing. Saxon seems appropriate for her verbal needs and sequencing right now but I am wondering if we should continue at that level. Thanks for the input.
Re: continue saxon math?
I agree with Janis (not about Saxon math, don’t know about that) but the On Cloud Nine. I am going thru all the LMB stuff chapter by chapter very slowly ( I hope to go to a workshop of theirs soon). But anyway I am very wowed by OCNine. It might actually help my own math disability. The organization and visualization are extremely good.
—des
Re: continue saxon math?
I’ve used Saxon math for a number of years with LD kids, all of whom used curriculums that were below their actual grade level, usually 1-3 years. It’s excellent ~ I’ve found that the constant repetition is exactly what they need to help the concepts stick, and I really like the way that they actually teach how to solve word problems.
Based on my experiences with the 3rd grade curriculum, from about Lesson 110 on it overlaps the 4th grade curriculum. I usually have my kids go up to that lesson, as at that point they have “officially” been introduced to all the times tables, then jump to the 4th grade curriculum.
I use the Math 54 in the hardback book rather than the Math 4 program. Once you hit that level, I highly recommend investing in the [b]Adaptions for Special Populations[/b] kit ~ it contains all the lessons on worksheets, as well as tests, math facts quizzes, teacher resource guide, supplemental worksheets for harder concepts, and a wonderful 6 page “cheat sheet”, with all sorts of information that the kids need. This has been [u]invaluable[/u] for me and my students ~ with the problems on the worksheets they don’t have to waste time and make mistakes copying problems out of the book. I begin the Math 54 program by giving them the first 3-4 tests to see where they fall: the first 20 lessons or so are basically a repeat of the addition and subtraction taught in Math 3, with the difference that they introduce missing numbers right away. The kids catch on very quickly to this once you show them the tricks, which are all outlined in the Adaptions book. Once they reach the test we’re they’re scoring in the low 80’s, I stop and have them begin with the corresponding lessons. Math 54 moves more quickly than Math 3, since it’s much of it can be done independently, and it’s easy to have the students skip over some problems once I know they’ve mastered a particular skill.
I would recommend you continue with Saxon at home: the constant reinforcement will help her with what she’s doing at school, and her IEP objectives as you’ve listed them are all covered in both Math 3 and Math 54 (double-digit multiplication is after Lesson 110 in Math 3, so my kids don’t see it until Math 54).
I know this is long, but I hope it helps! Good luck!
Here’s my thought on the matter. I like Saxon for kids on grade level. My own child is in Saxon math. But if a child is behind by two years, I think you need to hit the big areas heavily and not worry about the non-essentials. The way Saxon is structured, it is hard to do that. You don’t have the luxury of getting through 140 lessons (or however many lessons are in a year) when a child is behind. Take a look at the On Cloud Nine Math manual by Lindamood Bell. It may have some strategies that will help her get the concepts she doesn’t have yet.
Janis