My 15yo DS can't stand math. He says that he just doesn't get it. I have used placement test for ACE and CLE and he scored at a 5th grade level in both.:shock: We have tried MUS Pre-Alg., ACE starting at the 5 th grade level, and Teaching Text books. It's like pulling teeth to get him to do any of it. He starts off great and we think, "OK, this is the one" and then he hits the wall and stops completely. What do I do? What do we use? TIA
Personally, I find math to be a topic where you really need to understand one topic before starting on another. If you miss or fail to grasp one step, it affects everything you do from that point onwards. Unfortunately, most math textbooks and courses skip from one thing to another, often throwing in irrelevant stuff - most likely to try to make the subject more interesting - which just adds to the problem. With what particular topic within pre-algebra does your DS struggle - because it sounds like the brick wall may be the same each time? Maybe, if he can master that and build some confidence, then you could move to the next stepping stone.
have you tried working through Khan academy's tutorials? Also, at what point is he getting stuck? (I mean work wise, Long division? Long Multiplication?) Is it the same place every time? Or is he just getting tired of the work that it takes to master the program? One is a character issue, the other is just knowledge. Of the two, the character is the harder one to repair.
I was thinking the same thing. Do you struggle with the same concepts yourself? I have a friend who cannot get her mind wrapped around certain concepts. I've found that if I explain it to her in a way her brain understands it, then she has an "ah ha" moment and the problem is solved. Wish we lived close so I could offer some help to him. I found that I have to teach concepts to my Ds several ways until one clicks and then he has no trouble at all, too.
If you can narrow it down to what topic is bothering him, you can maybe find some insight here or with a close friend on another way to present it. I sometimes think of other ways to explain things to my son. Sometimes it doesn't help at all, but sometimes it works wonders (and then I grin). We have recently been having a hard time with chemistry. Then I read ahead in the book and found that there was a concept coming up that looked difficult but actually once you broke it down it wasn't. I went ahead and broke it down for him and he actually said it was fun (won't hear that for a while again). On the other hand, math can be such a struggle for some people that it really doesn't matter what particular topic it is- it is just a plain anxiety producing struggle. The struggle to understand concept after concept can simply wear a person down.
Sigh.... Carl lhas taken over teaching Phillilp math. And even so, today I dumped on him because Phillip was a pain about his literature. (It said to give the "dictionary definition", and he just wrote one word, plus there was some other stuff.) So Carl picked him up from piano and had a "talk" with him. Phillip "promises" to try to do his language with a good attitudee.... Well, we'll see how long THAT lasts!!! No advice, but I sure feel your pain!!!
maybe you need to get a private tutor. Do you belong to a homeschool group? Sometimes they have classes through there maybe he would understand it then. My dh did all the math for my girls.
Thinks for the ideas and thoughts, helping me think it all through. He doesn't get stuck in the same place all the time. He just doesn't seem to retain it. I mean, he still struggles with math facts. But just for example, he will get fractions and have them down, but when they come up again later in the year or even the next school year and he acts like he has never seen them and struggles greatly to pick them up. Then he gets fed up and stops. Brooke, I wish you lived closer too!:wink: Now, do you have any ideas?
Has he ever been evaluated for learning disabilities? A 15-year-old who struggles with math facts would be a huge red flag for me. You might want to try using two separate math curricula - one mastery and one spiral, along with fact practice. Something like Lial's Basic College Math or Math Mammoth 5, Teaching Textbooks 6 and Xtramath.com. Another benefit of using two separate curricula is that there really is no wall. If he gets stuck in one, he can leave it for a few weeks and just work on the other, then try again. No excuses. No skipping math because it's too hard. No switching curricula because he's bored with one. I would be working on math for at least two hours per day at this point.
Thanks for the ideas. I was just wondering how you came up with Math Mammoth 5. Why 5? We have done TT 6 and are "doing" 7 now.
The Math-U-See website has drills to practice all kinds of facts. You can customize it for just the ones you need to work on. It times you so they can keep trying to beat their personal best. I'd have him practice those on a daily basis until he has them down. You might also consider doing math year-round so he doesn't lose the ground he has worked so hard to gain.....and I wish you lived closer for more than just tutoring help.
I've found that Math Mammoth runs at least a year "ahead" of Teaching Textbooks (MM 6 contains some pre-algebra, while TT 7 comes before TT Pre-algebra). MM 5 might be a good place to start because it begins with a thorough review of the four basic operations and systematically covers the four operations of fractions and decimals. If he's solid on these topics, he could start with 6. Either way, a placement test is your best bet. MM 5 and 6 combined are about equal to Lial's BCM, and either (IMO and experience with one child) would prepare a student for a lighter Algebra I course.
I have two young ladies who are struggling with math some and I have gained some great ideas from this thread- thank you!
I have supplemented with Math Mammoth in the past. My oldest also struggles with math but she's pushing thru it. I have Math U See and Teaching Textbooks. She sits at the table with me while she does her math so I am there to help her. Since doing multiple math courses isn't an option for me, after TT7 she will go back to MUS Epsilon/Zeta over summer.
hey, when my oldest found he didnt get it we went back to third grade level sholastics books and completed as far as we could utill we found the block, or hole he needed to fill. This took us a month of grade ripping ( ya good name for it cause some of it will seem silly but I made him do it all) and we fixed it! He graduated with high B low As in Advanced Algebra. so he finally got it.
