Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Recommended Resources What's next after EPGY fifth grade?

I apologize if this repeats a question that has been asked before. I need some guidance. We homeschool, and I need to know what math should come next. My DYS DD 11 finished EPGY 5th grade math this year through CTY. It wasn't particularly challenging for her, except she hated long division.

She next took the Cryptography class through CTY that is billed as being a class for 6th through 9th graders. This class seems pretty hard to me. It is a lot of modular arithmetic, exponents, factoring, and prime numbers. DD has enjoyed it and felt challenged by it. She is doing very well in the class, but it is taking effort and TIME.

She has been working her way through the Operational Systems course through EMF, and again has been doing well. She participates in Math Circles, and enjoys those.

She is NOT a mathy kid. For the record, her VCI was more than a SD above the DYS cut, but her PRI was about half a SD below the DYS cut. Her processing speed was dead average. (I mention these WISC scores only because they do correlate with how I see her performing.) She performs like a kid who is moderately gifted in math.

She doesn't like math. (She has decided she wants to go to Brown University for college because she won't have to take math there!) She has most enjoyed Math Circle and Cryptography, I think because those two tend to be much more conceptual. Because she is strong conceptually, I have a feeling she will enjoy basic algebra and geometry. (And so far she is a lot like me. I hated long division. And I loved word problems, algebra, and geometry.) Cryptography has also been GREAT because the real world application is right there. And there is the coolness factor. I love that she has been able to take some math that is outside the regular scope and sequence.

So here are my questions.

Question one: Will 6th grade EPGY be redundant? Should I move her on to pre-algebra? For a kid like this, what course would be best? It doesn't necessarily have to follow the usual scope and sequence of "regular" school math since we don't have to get anywhere by any particular time, although it would be nice if it nudged her math knowledge along.

Question two: Thinkwell? AoPS? Live Online Math? ALEKS? What would be best for a kid like this? I would like something that focuses on concepts, that is challenging but not overwhelming, that doesn't demand too much in terms of volume or speed.

Suggestions? Advice? Thanks in advance!

This might be fun

http://www.naclo.cs.cmu.edu/

My son's finishing 5th grade in mathematics and I'm also curious about the topic of what's supposed to be learned in standard 6th and 7th grade mathematics. When I look here

http://www.k12.com/courses/k-8-courses/downloadable-k-8-course-information/
http://www.k12.com/courses/scope-sequence/calms139 (6th grade)
http://www.k12.com/courses/scope-sequence/calms61 (7th grade)

there seems to be a lot of repetition of earler material (though maybe that could be said of all grades). Is 6th grade (what do you call it, pre-pre-algebra?) a grade that people routinely skip? Does that risk leaving gaps?

My son may have the option of skipping 6th grade mathematics, but I'm thinking it may be better to just go through 6th and 7th in one year (homeschooling), rather than skipping anything.

Any thoughts on that?

DS skipped 6th grade math and did pre-algebra this school year. Because I wasn't certain whether he should be accelerated again, I actually had him run through ALEKS pre-algebra last summer. It took him about a month to complete it with very occassional input from me and it gave me the confidence to request the acceleration to pre-algebra at school.

I think ALEKS is a good starting point for you to verify that she should skip 6th grade math. You can have her take the assessment for free to see if she has enough of the pie. The ALEKS pre-algebra was reasonably broad and it provided an analysis based on each state's standards. However, I caution that you want more for a gifted student. Even though DS completed the ALEKS pre-algebra last summer, he actually gained a deeper and broader knowledge/understanding from doing pre-algebra again in school because that program is geared toward gifted students.

I haven't tried it, but the AOPS program looks more robust.

Thanks for the suggestions! I think I will try the Aleks assessment and I'm leaning towards AoPS.

I've noticed you had EPGY through CTY. EPGY Open Enrollment has much lower cost ($135 for 10 months + $25 fee) and includes math K-7 and Algebra 8 - so math 6 and up may be worthwhile to try with little obligation.

You can move your child by .5 grade up and down easily, and your child can take Math and Algebra concurrently - e. g., Math for automaticity/timed drills.

To decrease problem repetition, the administrator can specify 'gifted' setting.

NOTE: EPGY OE does NOT provide class transcript and there is no teacher.

(EPGY OE also includes English Language Arts 2-6.)

Somebody on this forum has recently posted about an open group (or try melmichigan, here or on 'well trained mind').

Does anyone have any insight into my above question about the degree of overlap/redundancy between the 6th and 7th grade mathematics courses (USA)?

In US, it would vary greatly by school district. The question would be about major programs: Common Core, Everyday Math, Singapore Math, etc. (Some programs are very cyclicals AND also have odd-even grade peculiarities.)

Arlen1, my son is actually using EPGY OE. We used CTY with my daughter because I wanted the transcript. It sure is true, though, that CTY adds very little to the EPGY experience.

I had not realized there was a gifted setting! My son was frustrated with the amount of repetition so I bumped him up .5 a few times, but I don't love that as a solution since he missed the introduction of key concepts. So I would just contact my administrator and she could change that setting? That is really good to know! Thanks for sharing that info.