Homeschool World Forum

[mom2tbcnm]

I have to put my kiddos into ps for a stint next year, so I gave them an ITBS to see how they are doing compared to national ps kids. It showed we need some work on problem solving.
We do MUS, and it really doesn't do a good job with story problems with multiple steps.
Does anyone have any ideas for books or something that will give them extra practice?
Thanks
KT

BTW my kids are 3 and 5th grade

[Geometric]

What math topic you have in mind. If it is geometry I recommend the book by
Aboughantous "A high school first course in Euclidean plane geometry". Get the book from the publisher and get a free copy of the solutions manual. The book contains a large number of solved problems showing how to. Read the introduction and the preface for mastery of the topic.

[Theodore]

From http://www.riverpub.com/products/itbs/details.html :
The second test ... includes word problems that require one or more steps to solve. In many cases, students select an appropriate method or approach, rather than compute an answer. At Levels 9 through 14, several real-world "stories" form the basis for sets of three to four problems, each requiring somewhat different skills to solve. Levels 7 through 14 also include data displays such as tables and graphs. Students use them to obtain information, compare quantities, and determine trends or relationships.

To learn how to solve a variety of problems better, you just need to practice those sorts of problems. My advice would be to acquire some practice tests and go over every problem of this type. Maybe supplement with math textbooks if the problem is as much not knowing the math as having trouble using it on the fly. I like Saxon for up through Algebra II, it's a good mix of concept explanation and proper amounts of repetition.
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