Pre-algebra question

PASSWORD>aa4um5Lp2CxdUI haven’t used the series personally, but here is the sequence recommended in one of my homeschool catalogs. Measurement, Decimals, Fractions, Percents. A friend who used this series found that her daughter did not retain the material as well as she would have liked since once you finished a particular set of books, there wasn’t any review of that material. Perhaps you might want to go through book 1 of measurement, then of decimals, then of fractions, then go back to book 2 of measurement, decimals, fractions, etc. The book on percents assumes knowledge of fractions and decimals, so you probably want to go through at least the first couple of books of fractions and decimals before starting percents.Jean: I began homeschooling my 8th grade son last year, and have a very
: basic question about covering some math topics. He is Math LD,
: ADHD and gifted all at the same time, by the way. I have the
: “Key To” workbooks (Key to Fractions, Key to Decimals,
: Key to Percents, Key to Measurement, etc.) Could somebody please
: tell me the correct order to go through these math topics with
: him? Since I am not a math person, I am happy to find this board!
: Any other currricula ideas for covering Pre-algebra with a Math LD
: student would also be appreciated.: Thanks.

: I began homeschooling my 8th grade son last year, and have a very
: basic question about covering some math topics. He is Math LD,
: ADHD and gifted all at the same time, by the way. I have the
: “Key To” workbooks (Key to Fractions, Key to Decimals,
: Key to Percents, Key to Measurement, etc.) Could somebody please
: tell me the correct order to go through these math topics with
: him? Since I am not a math person, I am happy to find this board!
: Any other currricula ideas for covering Pre-algebra with a Math LD
: student would also be appreciated.: Thanks.I don’t know how this particular series is structured, and they might try some cute tricksy way of re-ordering topics.However, mathematically. fractions MUST come before decimals and percents, and before all but the simplest measurement.Why? Well, let’s go to decimals. What does .1 mean? .01? You say a tenth and a hundredth? Did I hear you right? Don’t look like ten and hundred to me … oh, you said tenTH and nundredTH? What’s that TH? What’s a tenth? Bingo, it’s a fraction, dividing something into ten equal parts. You cannot do decimals *meaningfully* (Yes, I know lots and lots of programs do them mechanically, and just look where our high school scores are) unless you have done at least the first chapter of fractions. You need to understand the concept of dividing up into equal parts, and the concept of *equivalent* fractions being exactly the same size (otherwise, .1 = .10 = .100 is just the weirdest mystical magic rule ever seen) and the concept of changing denominator by multiplying/dividing top and bottom by the same thing. Before you get into operations of +, -, X, and / with decimals, it helps to have at least the beginnings of these understood in fractions — why should .1 + .15 = .25?? Why should .1 x .1 = .01? These make sense if you have gone through the work of drawing fraction diagrams, and are pretty bizarre if you try to find any sense in them out of whole numkber rules.Fractions and decimals can be learned together, as two different ways to write the same thing, or they can be learned first fractions, then decimals. Decimals first *looks* easy — the calculation rules are so much simpler — but leads to the disconnect of math from reality that most American students get in upper elementary school, where they decide that math rules aren’t *supposed* to make sense or relate to anything in their real lives.Percents have to follow decimals which follow fractions. Why? Well, calculate 35% of $150. First you change the 35% to .35 — and there you have the decimal. Or, treat 35% as 35/100 (which is what a percent means anyway) - and there you have the fraction. Any other action with percents will lead to the same conclusion.Measurement: basic measurement can be done with whole numbers, one inch, two inches, etc. But as soon as you get into fairly accurate measurement, you get into half and quarter inches and tenths of a centimeter (equal millimeters) and all that. Measurement is usually done in *parallel* with the development of fractions and decimals; measurement provides the real-life concrete illustration that gives meaning to the number rules. For example, to do 1/2 X 2/3, you draw a piece of land 1 mile square (a square 1 mile on a side), divide it in half one way (horizontally) and in thirds the other way (vertically) and see that 2/3 of the 1/2 square mile does indeed come to 2/6 = 1/3 of the whole square. To do 1/2 + 3/4, you draw an arrow 1/2 inch long and another one 3/4 inch long, put them end-to-end on a ruler, and see where you end up. And so on.So the most effective order isFractions — Decimals — Percents ..Measurement…… (in parallel)

I really appreciate the help. Each topic has four or five think workbooks, and I wasn’t sure whether to do one topic thoroughly at the time, or to alternate the topics. But it looks like I will cover each separately in the order you mentioned.

Greetings Lucy,You might want to check out the FunBrain site for different math games to support your math curriculum. There is a math baseball game to practice addition/subtraction/multiplication/division with various levels of difficulty (click below). There are also other games you can access from the homepage. Have fun!Blessings, momoPS: I began homeschooling my 8th grade daughter last year too.

: I really appreciate the help. Each topic has four or five think
: workbooks, and I wasn’t sure whether to do one topic thoroughly at
: the time, or to alternate the topics. But it looks like I will
: cover each separately in the order you mentioned.If there are several workbooks, take a look at them in depth, see if there are any introductory notes to the teacher at the beginning or in the front covers; they may be planned so that you can start decimals after the first two fractions, or some such.But if not, use your judgement. If you have fraction meaning and equivalent fractions understood, then you can do decimal meanings and equivalent decimals. If you have decimal meaning and equivalent decimals, then percents will make sense. If you have fraction addition, then decimal addition will make sense. You need to be right up to fraction multiplication and decimal multiplication for a percent of money to make sense, however. So look at what the next topic is, and just ask if the things you need to use to explain it are already well-learned. You can always go back to the other series when you need a tool.