PSA - Curriculum - resources for parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is Singapore math good as a supplement, or is it really more of a home school curriculum?

I used it as a curriculum in the summer to make sure my child was actually learning math. Did not supplement during the school year as I did not want to overwhelm or confuse my kid. Worked well for ds who did very well in middle school and now in high school

Thanks! Would you use the grade he just complet d or the grade he was going into over the summer?

I did the year he had completed mostly because it meant we could more easily finish the entire year over the summer without spending more than 6 hours a week during the summer

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, K parent above and can't thank you enough for the Kids Discover recommendation. I think my child will be really into the titles--and they have some for younger readers that she may be able to read on her own, or do so soon enough. We get a ton of fiction at home, but she seems to get really excited for non-fiction, and this will be a great option.

I wanted to let others know that I found a coupon for 30% off the first order, which can be applied to the whole set. So even with the expensive shipping (10% of the order total), the full set is $345. Use coupon code TRYKD30

Thanks again, OP! I also ordered the Core Knowledge Series you recommended and am going to check out some of the math resources.

Thank you PP for this code!

I was debating about getting the series from Kids Discover and decided to give it a try. Will report back if it’s any good.

Seems like a promising option and we can use them this summer!

[Anonymous]

Anyone checked out https://www.k12.com/ ?

[Anonymous]

I think anyone who's paying attention to their kids' academic progress can see how MCPS continues to fail our kids.

It's insane that I need to stay on top of it to this extent. But, I got a good, solid public school education without much parental involvement. My kid has so many basic gaps, it's crazy.

[Anonymous]

We are so sick of this too, and our kids are at risk for adhd and dyslexia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are so sick of this too, and our kids are at risk for adhd and dyslexia.

Because they may have inherited it? Or is that the district’s fault as well?

[Anonymous]

Did they provide a copy of the presentation of the options they are considering? From some of the discussion it sounds like there were some diagrams of what classrooms would look like. Online there doesn’t seem to be a linked presentation; it says “8.1 Montgomery County Public Schools Recovery of Education Plan (Oral Discussion)”. https://go.boarddocs.com/mabe/mcpsmd/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=BG3L55542A79

[Anonymous]

We have been using the Core Knowledge "What every 2nd grader should know" to review what our kid should have done last year in 2nd grade. There was a lot of content that was not covered, and enough that I don't think it was all missed due to the pandemic/schools closing. Thank you very much for that suggestion, OP. I'm going to keep using these in the years to come.

[Anonymous]

OP here.
This thread was started two years back before COVID and DL because I had found MCPS curriculum severely lacking for years. When the John Hopkins audit found the very same thing I felt no vindication but a profound sense of sadness. Hopefully as more parents have eyes on their children education because of DL, I hope that they will realize that there are severe problems in curriculum and standards across MCPS.

Science curriculum, syllabus and textbook info is severely lacking on the MCPS website and publications. Some examples for MS Science are below -
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/science/ms.aspx
https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/curriculum/computer-science/middle.aspx
MS course bulletin also does not have much details that can help you with DL for your student - https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/curriculum/middleschool/2019-2020MiddleSchoolCourseBulletin.pdf

If your kid is in any kind of special program or magnet - remember that the basic framework of the curriculum remains the same. Since the pace is faster, concepts are reinforced by hands-on projects, assignments, group work, applications, fieldtrips and lab work. This varies from teacher to teacher and school to school. So you are on your own to figure it out.


Since the aim of this thread is to give parents resources to supplement or fill in the gaps in knowledge for their students. Here goes -

- https://lifeinthenerddom.com/free-science-curriculum-all-grades/

This is a homeschooling resource page which can be used for K-8 science supplementation too. Of course, use the MCPS sparse description of grade level units also to get an idea of what you should be covering for school as well. You can certainly cherry pick here and use what will appeal to your child.

- As for textbooks, there are many textbooks available on Amazon. I looked at Sugar Land MS in Texas (the Sugarland parents started the BeeStar.Org), since Sugar Land in Fort Bend County in Texas is recognized among one of the best school districts in the country, and these are the textbooks they are using.

https://www.fortbendisd.com/Page/93918

[Anonymous]

GT education and standards in Texas from K-12, that has been incorporated in Fort Bend County.

https://www.texaspsp.org/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:GT education and standards in Texas from K-12, that has been incorporated in Fort Bend County.

https://www.texaspsp.org/

These have subject and grade level projects. Pretty amazing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are so sick of this too, and our kids are at risk for adhd and dyslexia.

Honestly, this made me laugh. No school has ever caused these. They are brain differences that kids are born with.

[Anonymous]

OP, do you have thoughts on the new curricula MCPS has adopted? This is our first year with either of the ES ones (Eureka and Benchmark) and they both seem better than 2.0. But I still find myself supplementing with the Core Knowledge series you recommended ever since I first read this thread a couple of years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, do you have thoughts on the new curricula MCPS has adopted? This is our first year with either of the ES ones (Eureka and Benchmark) and they both seem better than 2.0. But I still find myself supplementing with the Core Knowledge series you recommended ever since I first read this thread a couple of years ago.

2.0 curriculum on paper was not problematic. MCPS agenda, incompetent central office and school administrators, poor implementation, untrained teachers, undifferentiated classrooms, no textbooks, no standards, smoke and mirror grading and eventually no final exams. All standards, measurements and reporting were obfuscated to such an extent that people had no idea what their children were learning and where the knowledge gaps were. These problems have not gone away, instead they have become endemic.

Eureka Maths is better than not having any textbooks during DL. I do not know how individual teachers are using it. If my student was in ES today, I would certainly get my hands on a second hand grade level Houghton Mifflin Math Textbook (pre-2.0 years) and continue using core knowledge series. Buy the textbooks that were printed before 2.0. (For example - I found this one for 2nd grade that was printed in 2007 - https://www.amazon.com/Houghton-Mifflin-Math-Student-Grade/dp/0618590935)

I am glad you are using Core Knowledge Series for your little one. It made my day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, do you have thoughts on the new curricula MCPS has adopted? This is our first year with either of the ES ones (Eureka and Benchmark) and they both seem better than 2.0. But I still find myself supplementing with the Core Knowledge series you recommended ever since I first read this thread a couple of years ago.

2.0 curriculum on paper was not problematic. MCPS agenda, incompetent central office and school administrators, poor implementation, untrained teachers, undifferentiated classrooms, no textbooks, no standards, smoke and mirror grading and eventually no final exams. All standards, measurements and reporting were obfuscated to such an extent that people had no idea what their children were learning and where the knowledge gaps were. These problems have not gone away, instead they have become endemic.

Eureka Maths is better than not having any textbooks during DL. I do not know how individual teachers are using it. If my student was in ES today, I would certainly get my hands on a second hand grade level Houghton Mifflin Math Textbook (pre-2.0 years) and continue using core knowledge series. Buy the textbooks that were printed before 2.0. (For example - I found this one for 2nd grade that was printed in 2007 - https://www.amazon.com/Houghton-Mifflin-Math-Student-Grade/dp/0618590935)

I am glad you are using Core Knowledge Series for your little one. It made my day.

PP here. Thanks, OP! I started using the Core Knowledge series when you recommended it a few years ago. I think that was the summer after she completed K. She's now in third, and it has been so helpful. She really looks forward to reading it together.

Re Eureka math, we are lucky that this year we have an excellent teacher, and Eureka from what I can see is much more systematic than 2.0. I can see the logic behind the progression. It also emphasizes word problems a lot more, which I think is helpful--more like how they will apply math in real life. We do supplement in terms of learning math facts (flashcards and worksheets to learn multiplication and division facts by rote memory, which I am not sure would happen otherwise). She also does Khan academy and Prodigy and thus is doing math that probably at the 4th grade level now. I like the idea of adding the Houghton Mifflin book into the rotation and will order it. Given that she's in 3rd grade, does it make sense to order back, or if she's working ahead on Khan should we order 4th grade? Thanks for your advice.

Thanks so much for coming back and updating this thread. It has been so helpful to me over the years.