5th Grader accepted at Basis - advise on summer preparation

[Anonymous]

Dear All:

My DS was accepted and will start next school year at Basis - 5th grade.

I believe his level of preparation may not be the best, as his present school was not demanding. I would like to have him studying (a bit, not all summer).

Can you please advise, based on your experience, which subjects shall he focus on? And any online websites or resources that are worth using?

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Congrats. Don't worry about prep, they will take care of it. If he is not opposed to it, have him learn his times tables by rote (I find counting-by to be the easiest and most fun way.) Also, maybe a creative writing course because he won't get much of that at Basis. But let him have a fun summer, he'll do fine without prep as they will give him extra help if needed during the second half of lunch.

[Anonymous]

Basis has summer programs, STARS and BOSS, to better prepare your child for school. I would second the times tables thing though, and start him off right by buying him proper suppokies for the year and setting up a study area for him in your house.

[Anonymous]

Times tables? I had those down in third grade...expecting more from BASIS at fifth.

[Anonymous]

Not accepted. Your kid got a spot in the lottery. Seriously...

[Anonymous]

Why are people being so nasty?

OP - I agree with PP that no special prep is necessary. If your child doesn't already know their math facts backwards and forwards that would be good thing to practice over the summer.

And of course summer reading - no special topics or books . Just do the things you would probably do anyway.

[Anonymous]

Congrats! Summer BOSS program (BASIS Organizational Skills for Success) program was really the key. It helps with the organization which is pretty challenging for a 5th grader. It really helped our daughter (rising 7th grader) and our rising 5th grader is already signed up for BOSS. Good chance to meet fellow students and teachers. No need to study over the summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Times tables? I had those down in third grade...expecting more from BASIS at fifth.

Many kids in DC are not proficient in the times tables let alone addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, decimals, and percents. BASIS math does not allow use of calculators until a few select problems in Algebra 2. Therefore, it is really a good idea to be proficient in the basics.

[Anonymous]

My advice would be to get on Khan Online and have your son review the fourth grade math standards. 45 minutes or an hour a day would go a long way to making sure he was at least on grade level when he starts Basis math, which will help speed him up in doing the nightly math problem sets. That is the most time-consuming part of the homework and the hardest thing for the kids to master, in my experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Times tables? I had those down in third grade...expecting more from BASIS at fifth.

You needed to learn to read better -- BASIS won't teach the times tables in 5th, they expect them to already by learned. This does not happen in many DCPS.

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much for your help and kind advise.

(Yes not accepted. Lottery. Seriously.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Times tables? I had those down in third grade...expecting more from BASIS at fifth.

You needed to learn to read better -- BASIS won't teach the times tables in 5th, they expect them to already by learned. This does not happen in many DCPS.

Can't speak for all of DCPS, but the better schools avoid rote memorization of "times table" in favor of teaching cardinality and better numerical literacy. Knowing multiplication tables is a convenience when you've mastered more foundational concepts, but it in no way represents any mathematical knowledge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Times tables? I had those down in third grade...expecting more from BASIS at fifth.

You needed to learn to read better -- BASIS won't teach the times tables in 5th, they expect them to already by learned. This does not happen in many DCPS.

Can't speak for all of DCPS, but the better schools avoid rote memorization of "times table" in favor of teaching cardinality and better numerical literacy. Knowing multiplication tables is a convenience when you've mastered more foundational concepts, but it in no way represents any mathematical knowledge.

PP^^again -- and yes, Kahn Academy is a good place to start

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Times tables? I had those down in third grade...expecting more from BASIS at fifth.

You needed to learn to read better -- BASIS won't teach the times tables in 5th, they expect them to already by learned. This does not happen in many DCPS.

Can't speak for all of DCPS, but the better schools avoid rote memorization of "times table" in favor of teaching cardinality and better numerical literacy. Knowing multiplication tables is a convenience when you've mastered more foundational concepts, but it in no way represents any mathematical knowledge.

Good luck doing 30 problems a night and weekly tests without a calculator and not knowing your math facts.

Knowing the math facts does not preclude understanding of mathematics at all

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Times tables? I had those down in third grade...expecting more from BASIS at fifth.

You needed to learn to read better -- BASIS won't teach the times tables in 5th, they expect them to already by learned. This does not happen in many DCPS.

Can't speak for all of DCPS, but the better schools avoid rote memorization of "times table" in favor of teaching cardinality and better numerical literacy. Knowing multiplication tables is a convenience when you've mastered more foundational concepts, but it in no way represents any mathematical knowledge.

Good luck doing 30 problems a night and weekly tests without a calculator and not knowing your math facts.

Knowing the math facts does not preclude understanding of mathematics at all

yeah . . . totally unrelated. don't choke on the kool aid. Math is ALL facts. My kid never memorized multiplication tables because she could do the math just as quickly. That's because of an early focus on cardinality, not memorizing a multiplication table.