Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Recommended Resources math curriculum (textbooks) recs?

By chance I was reading an article relating to this just last night:
http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/Resources/articles.php?page=mistakes
I think best practice when using a textbook is not to write out the question, but just to write a reference to the question (e.g. page number, question number) and then set about answering it. I've heard it argued that writing out the question helps to fix it in the student's head, and perhaps for some it does, but it doesn't seem like a sensible thing to insist on everyone doing, to me.

I think it's important to be able to show your work, if asked - in "real life" mathematics often what matters most is not being able to get an answer, but being able to convince someone else that your answer is correct. However, I also think it's useful to be able to organise one's thoughts in one's head - sometimes people (this was me at one point) get so caught up on needing to show their working that they can't do anything beyond simple arithmetic without pen and paper, and that's limiting, too. Variety is the spice of life.

[quote=ColinsMumI think best practice when using a textbook is not to write out the question, but just to write a reference to the question (e.g. page number, question number) and then set about answering it. I've heard it argued that writing out the question helps to fix it in the student's head, and perhaps for some it does, but it doesn't seem like a sensible thing to insist on everyone doing, to me.
[/quote]

I second this. Asking them to reread the question to make sure they are doing what is asked is a good idea. Asking them to copy the whole question down is not. I remember really, really hating having to write out the whole question as instructed by some teachers in school. It was hard enough to write out the work because it was much faster to do it in my head. I ended up thinking that I must have been a very lazy student compared to most my friends in class. I still remember loving math but hating the math class and the math teacher because of having to write out the question and every single step. So please, don't make your kids hate math by making them write everything out!

I absolutely love Rightstart, but it probably wouldn't be the best program to start at a mid-elementary level because it is so different from other programs. It is a manipulative based program that really focuses on mental math and teaching the foundational elements/logic behind math, instead of just how to solve a problem like many curriculums. We started HSing in January, and my DS5 did Righstart B/half of C along with CalMath 2, which our public schools use. I thought RS was SO much better, and he has so much more fun with it. It's great for PG kids, because she intermixes really neat geometry activities, math games, things like Roman Numerals and drawing, etc. It is very mom-intensive because it is not workbook-based, so we usually tackle it while our toddler is napping, but it's such a nice change from the usual paper routine.

My son hated math when I tried to supplement his 1st semester of kindergarten out of Singapore. By May, Math was his favorite subject (even though his strongest gifts are reading/creative writing), and he just aced every 2nd grade standard on a standardized placement test. I guess that means something is working!