UPDATE:
I spent all day at the math meeting. It was very interesting. I thought I would go over some different points people on the thread made and how they played out in the meeting.
There was one representative from each grade and they discussed what they actually do for math instruction, what the kids don't already know that they feel they should, how well our regular text (saxon) alligns with the state standards/testing, etc.
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Originally Posted by Amys1st  I was told by a friend of mine who teaches at the middle school - 7th grade math, the EM kids are coming into 6 and 7th grade now. They are having to stop and teach these kids facts.
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Getting facts down in an on going issue. It was left as an open and important issue. Most feel the answer is not in the math program choosen and there was no agreement on what to do. Although we have a couple of supplement computer programs, the kids who get the most time to do them are the ones who need the least practice. The teachers all feel that they go over and over stuff, and yet the next year the kids still don't know it.
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Originally Posted by MattBronsil "Why are we learning math from text books when real math is learned through actually practicing the math with our hands and materials?"
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Our current math program is very hands on through 3rd grade. After that the program isn't, and how hands on the class is really depends on the teacher. The teachers felt that many kids still need hands on activities for many threads of math, partly because of modern life. Kids don't measure, use analog clocks, etc much in their regular lives.
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Originally Posted by Mama Shifra The schools that I know that use it sucessfully spend about an hour a day on math.
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In most grades, our school spends an hour or more on math every day. This is often divided into two different instruction blocks. 6-8th grade only have 45minutes a day on math. In the middle grades, the kids do double math on Friday -- a regular math lesson and a special math lesson targeted to a skill on the state test not covered well in the curriculum. An hour and half a math some days is typical for kids in grades 3-5.
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Originally Posted by caned & able Saxon Math.
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This is the program we currently use and there are a lot of things I like about. However, I'm less of a fan of it now that I was this morning.
In fourth grade, the teachers are spending 1 - 1 1/2 hours a day on math and some of the students need more than an hour to complete their homework. On average, about 1/4 of the 4th graders fail to complete their homework. Some teachers have given up their planning time while the kids are at recess to provide math tutoring to their struggling students.
Our school currently stops Saxon in 7th grade because it wasn't preparing our middle school students for high school math. Unless the kids are going to use ONLY saxon in high school, using only saxon in middle school sets them up for failure.
Also, we live near a military base. Kids moving in and starting Saxon (in any grade) need a great deal of time to adjust. More so than a text book with a mastery approach. The teachers of the upper grades said that if we stick with Saxon, we need a plan in place for math tutoring for kids who enter the district to get them up to speed in Saxon. Right now, we fail kids who move (many of these are also kids who are dealing with a parent being deployed).
Kids with ADD or other learning issues often have trouble with Saxon starting in around 4th grade because they just can switch from concept to concept. The really bright kids eventually just end up on auto-pilot and not really thinking while they work.
None the less, our school has great test scores with Saxon.
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Originally Posted by ecoteat most of the other teachers feel like they really like this program enough to want to get the new edition--mostly for the sake of continuity for the kids moving K-8.
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One of the topics we will discuss in the meeting is where the break can happen. The 7th and 8th grade look toward the highschool, not backwards. Having the same series for several years makes sense, but which years to keep together is an open question.
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| I don't use textbooks at all. I haven't ever seen a math textbook I felt was worthy, either, and I wouldn't be using this one if I didn't have to. I find I fall back on it since I am not as confident in that area since it's only my second year teaching this grade math. If teachers are given the support and materials to develop more meaningful learning experiences instead of using these terrible books, then everyone would be better off! |
The teachers at the school supplement a lot and share materials they develop. Part of what the committee will do is organize what is actually being done to make it easier for new teachers coming in.
How much the teachers depart from the curriculum really vaires from grade to grade, and if possible it would be nice to have a curriculum that was helpful and useful.
The school is budgeting for all new math with all the bells and whistles, so the question is what is really the best option.
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Originally Posted by LauraLoo How closely tied is your school to the high school?
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Your question prompted me to bring this up with the math person from the middle school. She was awesome, BTW. She's in touch with the math staff from both the high schools our school feeds into, knows what curriculum they use, and how are students perform.
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Originally Posted by ecoteat Right now I recognize that we all expect the kids to learn what is in that year's textbook,
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One thing that struck me today is how many different directions the teachers are being pulled. The state test is in March, so they are trying to cram all this stuff in before then. The book isn't aligned to the state standard. The kids ability levels are all over the board, and level of support and help kids get at home is all over the place.
The teachers want the homework to be reasonable and helpful, not overwhelming, busy work, or frustrating.
