Afterschooling Singapore

[jenaelisabeth]

I want to start afterschooling my 4th grader with singapore math but am totally lost trying to figure out which level. We homeschooled last year but more of second grade level work. So now that he's in 4th grade he bascially skipped 3rd grade level math if that makes sense. He gets the concept of mulitiplication and could do well with large number multiplication if he just knew his facts. He knows some facts but not all. He does not get division at all. He struggles with subtracting and borrowing large numbers. They are working on place value to the millions and he does okay with that. So what level should I start with that would cover these weak areas?

thanks!
Jennifer

[amsunshine]

Singaporemath.com has free placement tests you can use to figure out which level to use.

[Ali in OR]

I think I would start with 2A. Multiplication begins there, if I recall correctly. The easier numbers are done in 2 (1,2,3,4,5,10) and the harder ones are done in 3 (6,7,8,9). I don't have my books in front of me, but I think that is what I recall. Long division is in 3A and that was a hard one. We definitely had to slow down and take some extra time there. I think it could be a little frustrating for your son. 2A would probably have some stuff he could fly through and that would build confidence, but it would also have some good foundational stuff on addition and multiplication that would be good to review. It seems to me that the A books have the harder material. If you tried to start in a B book, I think you would be missing some of the most important topics. Taking the placement test is probably a good idea.

[PenKase]

I agree with the previous posters that you should have your son take the placement test. As a general rule, a score of 80% allows the child to move to the next level. My dd9 who is also in 4th grade this year is working through 2B even though she get the necessary score to move onto 3A I still decided to have her quickly move through 2b due to the fact that she could use the extra practice in mental math skills and fractions. Once you decide which level to go with, I suggest you get the textbook, workbook and HIG. The HIG has been a big help to me in tailoring the program for my dd. Jenny at the Singapore boards is very knowledgeable and the forum has a lot of advice from other users as well.

HTH