singapore math ?s (iso used primary 1B books)

[moma justice]

i am a newbie, this is the first big purchase like this i have ever made. money is an issue for us. i think that singapore math is a good fit and that my dd will be a good fit for the 1-b level. now for my ?s: do i have to buy the text book, work book, and home instructor's guide book for it to really make sense to her. she is a super fast learner....
does anyone have a used instructor's home guide i could buy? is the text book consumable?

thanks so much!

[MaterBum]

I think the answer depends on how confident you feel about approaching different math topics without someone giving you different ways to show her if you need to do so.

We used the textbook along with the workbook. You can use the textbook as a consumable or not. It gives a couple of samples with explanations. I didn't have my dd1 fill in anything in the textbook because I wanted it to use for the other two in the future. I don't know that it was really helpful.

I definitely did not need the instructor's book or any answer key. When I felt my dd needed more explanation or a different approach to a set of problems I couldn't come up with, I Googled it and found more than I ever needed.

Hope that helps.

[theretohere]

I personally really like the HIG- there is a lot of extra suggestions.
You can get them used on homeschoolclassifieds.com

[moma justice]

thank you for your thoughts!

[velveeta]

Did you know that Barnes and Noble now carries the textbooks and you can buy them individually? We are starting them soon (waiting on some Montessori Materials), and I am planning to xerox the pages so that DS doesn't write in the book.

edited to add that the book I got is supplemental word problems (who knew?). It looks like you can get the regular books from singaporemath.com, which you probably already know!

[moma justice]

so it sounds like you could very well learn it all just fine with only the work book? am i right?

[kittywitty]

They are cheaper through Rainbow Resource.

Honestly, I don't feel like you really even need the textbook. Ds has the text and workbook and we never need to use the textbook. I don't have the guides or extra stuff, either. In 3 years, we've never needed them.

[moma justice]

thanks for pointing me to rainbow reasources and homeschool classifieds
very helpful
nak

[jessicaSAR]

HIG and workbook!

The idea behind the Singapore method is for the child to move from a concrete example to a pictorial representation and then to abstract symbols. So, in order to get the most out of Singapore you need to know how to show the concrete example. I found the HIG very helpful for this. There are plenty of pictorial representations in the workbooks, so you can bypass the textbook and still not miss any steps. So, my advice would be to get the HIG (which also has lots of other suggestions for games and enrichment) and the workbook.

Also, there are a ton of great mental arithmetic methods demonstrated in these early years, esp in 2A and 2B. The HIGs are great for really explaining what you are doing in the exercises. And, they contain all the mental math practice in the back.

[craft_media_hero]

We're doing 1A/1B this year as well.

IMO, you don't need either the textbook or the HIG for this first level. The concepts are not that difficult, and the back of the workbook does have enrichment activities suggested. We have the textbook and really don't use it much at all. The workbook is very clear in the directions, and there's a lot of practice with each concept so that if they don't get it at first they probably will by the time the book hits a review section.

I would take the $ and invest in in manipulatives instead. A base ten set is kinda pricey, but I have found that we're using it a lot as we get into 1B and more into place value concepts, etc. We also have a cheap abacus that dd uses 1-100 only (she doesn't yet "get" how you can flip it sideways and each row represents a decimal place). Before that math got into numbers over 20, we just used twenty beads on a string, alternating colors every five beads (so it was easier for her to "see" combos of numbers). We get our math manips at www.enasco.com; it can add up fast, but enasco seems pretty reasonable on prices.

I imagine Singapore Math will get more challenging and we'll need the HIGs and textbooks more in later levels. But for 1B, I think you can get by without it.

[moma justice]

thanks!

[pigpokey]

I have 1A and 1B for this year. I use them to help me decide what scope to do.

I mostly use this day to day: http://www.math-drills.com/ I also pick a different sequence. I believe in solid mastery and I think in the 1st grade level and my children's own development, Singapore is a little too conceptual and jumping-around for my taste.

E.g., what we did today was this:

One line (about 8 problems) 2-digit addition with regrouping. This reinforces addition facts, as well as cementing the regrouping algorithm in her head. She's been doing two lines for a while so it's time to add another skill and back off the quantity.

A set of subtraction problems using a number line from -15 to +15. I generally just write out the problems myself. You can draw a number line or print them out. Generally I will give 8 to say, 12 subtraction problems sometimes with addition mixed in.

Two lines (about 16 problems) of < > = comparisons using the symbols. Today was the first day we introduced those symbols. DD had no trouble with the concept or remembering them, but we will drill perhaps a fast line of them every day for a while so that she does not need refreshing later.

I don't find this kind of drill takes very long. I would rather have a very tight scope with a logical sequence than jumping around.

[theretohere]

About whether the workbook is enough- you'll find really strong opinions. Some of Singapore is the method and thought process, and some people think that you really miss that if you aren't familiar with it and just do the workbooks.

[mykdsmomy]

I thought you could just use the workbooks...sort of like "Explode the Code". Darn, I was really considering this for my youngest (kinder). It seemed so simple with little prep. Hmmm...

[theretohere]

Originally Posted by mykdsmomy

I thought you could just use the workbooks...sort of like "Explode the Code". Darn, I was really considering this for my youngest (kinder). It seemed so simple with little prep. Hmmm...

It's still simple with the textbook- it's just that without it you will be solving problems the traditional way, not the Singapore way. You can do that at the lower levels, but you are missing skills that make the program work in the later levels- like the bar diagrams for word problems.