We just took the year end test for Level B. My son is in 2nd grade and I have dragged Level B out for 1 1/2 yrs to practice subtraction. He had difficulty with the part whole circle set word problem on the test that required him to figure out how many cards there were originally. Meaning: he couldn't figure out which part was the whole and which was the parts and what they were wanting him to figure out. Once I talked him through that part, he then had a real hard time trying to figure out what 87-29 was. He eventually turned 29 to 30 and found 57 added to it was 87, then took 1 away from 29 and added it to the 57 to make the answer 58. That was even with some coaching from me because I have no idea how to make him SEE it. Subtraction is not easy for me so I don't know how to make it easier for him.
Also, do I go on to level C or keep practicing subtraction?

Thanks
Marie

Dear Marie,

Thank you for your post. Yes, you can move into Level C, however, I would recommend that you take a few days off and just play some math card games for fun. Corners is a great game to play. Yes, subtraction is a hard concept that's why we recommend that children use the abacus as much as they need too, especially in Level B and even C. Children will stop using it when they no longer need to use it. You will be working on subtraction more in Level C after being introduced to multiplication. The preferred sequence for teaching math is addition, multiplication (because it's an extension of addition), subtraction, division. However, in traditional curriculums this is not the sequence, thus standardized tests reflect traditional curriculums. For this reason only, RightStart introduces subtraction in Level B. My son who is on lesson 125 of Level C is just now feeling more comfortable with subtraction. Even though he can do 4 digit subtraction, there are still times when he gets stumped figuring out single digit subtraction. I still have him pull out the abacus once in a while when this happens.

As far as the part whole circle set, try putting your child's name in the place of the word problem and see what happens then. Also, use the abacus to show the whole and the parts. I think you did well with coaching your son to see the part whole circle question in the frame work of an addition problem. You may also want to talk about all the ways you can partition 10 and talk about what the whole is. Find some problem that he is able to see/recognize the whole. Develop a few more questions like that and then move to a question that resembles the one on the year end test. See how this works.

I was glad to read that you are taking your time working through RightStart. This is good for you and for your son. RightStart moves at an advanced pace so do take your time and move at the pace that works for both of you. Always feel free to email, post or call us with any questions you might have.

I hope this helps. Let me know if I can be of any more service.

Sincerely,
Rosine

Rosine, You are really great! Thanks for answering so thoroughly. I will do as you advise.

Marie