Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Math curriculum

I visited a school and they had a math workbook that I thought was MK, though having a hard time finding it. Since DD did CTY, I am familiar with what they had for grade 3 accelerated math and this MK series went into decimals and long division which CTY did not.

Anyone know what I am talking about?

Ren

Doesn't ring any bells, but sounds advanced.

I am not sure to which textbook you are referring. However, decimals and possibly long division are part of the regular third grade curriculum. My oldest ds covered both topics in second grade while in an acceleratd program doing 3rd grade math in public school. My younger DS covered both as a second grader while accerlated to 3rd GT math (compacting 3rd and 4th grade). My DD covered decimals in the fall of 3rd grade GT Math (compacting 3rd/4th grade) and is covering long division in the 4th quarter. I am sure that decimal is a third grade math topic although it actually was introduced as money in second grade math. I think long division is still also a third grade topic but it is possible that it may be consider a fourth grade topic now.

Quantum, do you know which math curriculum was used for your children's accelerated math? My only experience is with CTY, and I have no idea what curriculum that is.

Ren

In our school district both are considered fourth grade. Although, as quantum points out they do do money in 1st grade.

I believe that they have changed the textbook in the intervening years. The textbook they now used is Scott Foresman, which is rather basic the few times that I actually looked at it. However, I think they also have some kind of extension/application workbook/handouts and probably only half of the math curriculum comes from the Scott Foresman books as the District provides the actual materials for most of the classwork and homework.

I found out that it was MCP Mathematics by Pearson. And it is centered around the core curriculum that is being adopted by many states, including ours.

On aside, we just got back from Cancun. There was a girl, 9, in third grade that DD7 befriended. The mother was a 4th grade teacher. She had bought the Kumon grade 3 math state test practice (which all 3rd graders take, and then another state test in grade 4). This girl was trying to do the multiplication and DD apparently was trying to explain multiplication tables to her. I was not there. When I walked up, a conversation started with the mom about math curriculum. My comments that they needed to increase the difficulty, the mom was stating that it was too hard already for most kids. And mentioned DD was an exception. I have to say, that I thought this was shortsighted or are ND kids really that incompetent that they cannot compete with millions of Chinese and Indian kids doing multiplication in grade 2?

I think that we should push the envelope. Maybe I am wrong.

Ren

I think addition and multiplication can be learned together easily- they are pretty similar, if you think about it. This can be done in first and second grade. Subtraction is harder, and division (although you wouldn't think so), is harder too. Maybe third grade, maybe fourth. Lots of repetition helps.
I agree with you! I think the USA in general doesn't do a good job pushing math forward for kids. They water it down and ask little, at least where we are. (And our public school is in the top 5% of California for STAR math testing too!).
I explained to my third grader over several days how to divide 2 digit numbers into 5 digit numbers. It took several tries but he got it! It's a fifth grade math book. He's gifted but honestly, I think you could get other kids to understand that too before fifth grade with a little elbow grease.

There's no reason that the four basic operations cannot be learned by any normal child by the end of second grade. Multiplication is repeated addition, and division can be taught in a number of easy to learn ways, including as repeated subtraction. Singapore Math seems to be at least a year ahead of the scope and sequence of most U.S. curriculums when compared by grade level, but it doesn't have to be that way.

Yep - both are in the syllabus for the first term of the third year in DS's unselective school. Children start school at between 4.5 and 5.5 here, so this is marginally "earlier" than the first term of 2nd grade, I think. Specifically:

Recognise multiplication as repeated addition
Recognise division as repeated subtraction
The relationship between multiplication and division
The x2 multiplication table and facts
Division by 2 as grouping in twos
Recognise division as the reverse of multiplication
Recognise doubling as twice a number, halving as
reverse of doubling
Recognise unit fractions, find 1/2,1/3,1/4 of amounts
Add and subtract multiples of 5 and 10