Math/textbook question

[k3am]

Does your middle schooler have access to a physical textbook? If not, does school accommodate the request if you ask for one?

DD just started 6th and there’s no text. They apparently don’t use it in class and the only way to access it is on her Chromebook. The text was not designed to be accessed digitally (so the index will say a concept is page 140, but it’s not page 140 of the PDF, because there is an intro, etc)

DD has been struggling with math. My math is VERY rusty, so I have to re-teach myself and then teach her. We spend 1-1.5 hours a night on assignments, pulling it up on the Chromebook is a PITA, she also hates if I search for a keyword in the text because she’s terrified the teacher will think she’s cheating.

I can’t imagine that my kid (and me!) are the only ones that would benefit from an actual textbook.

[karinothing]

Our school doesn't even have text books so there would be no option to provide one. They do not exist

[Jalapeñomel]

No physical math textbooks at my school either.
But they are all available online and some at the library.


Can you print the pdf?

[pierogigirl]

I have never seen a middle or high school math textbook for my kids. If it is a little bit older, you can usually find them for less than $20 on Amazon or a used textbook/book store. You might also be able to find it for free online. I just looked up the one I think my 7th grader uses and I found it free online.

[momin2013]

DS just started 6th and has not had a textbook for any subject to date. They use worksheets and Chromebooks.

[k3am]

I’ve found the TX version online, but not sure it’s the same thing. We have textbooks for social studies, so I know it’s not a ban on texts overall. They had them last year, apparently.

If her Chromebook actually worked properly, it would still be difficult. I’m not cut out for middle school, clearly.

[thebreakfastclub]

My 6th grader doesn't have a textbook but the lessons are on his tablet.

I'd be reaching out to the teacher asap about resources at school. I would not be able to keep that level of work up so soon into the start of the year.

My school district stresses that 6th grade math placement is fluid and can move as needed if it's not a good fit.

[devonpow]

DS1 got his first textbook last year - as a junior in high school for AP history. He has three textbooks this year as a senior. I still find it so odd they don’t do physical textbooks anymore.

I don’t know about accommodations- there are definitely a lot of various handouts/printouts. I would talk to the teacher to see

[cjcouple]

My kids haven't had text books since covid. So from Grade 6 and up online chrome books, white boards/dry erase and paper and pen.

ETA: I agree I'd ask the teacher for resources for extra help. It's not up to parents to re-teach lessons. Plus you truly want the teacher to know if she is struggling.

[abs]

No textbooks until high school level math. But they don’t use them? A book came home in Algebra with the instructions to leave it there. Same with Geometry this year. They aren’t lessons on how to do things though…just math problems. So yeah. All lessons are through Schoology and notes they take on class. If DD needs extra help then she has to go to the tutoring sessions the school offers. I can’t help her at this point and haven’t been able to since 5th grade.

[mcppalmbeach]

No text book until algebra / geometry. It’s all online. And in the upper level math they have an online text book, but there are a few library copies that can be checked out. I’m old, I like a book.

[mcppalmbeach]

Let me also give you this suggestion….my
Library has a subscription to tutor.com. It’s great when I need a little brushing up or an answer check to help my kid. Even if he’s clueless I can get on with a tutor myself

[vamoose]

Online textbooks here, but they all have been fairly easy to navigate to a particular section and are design to be used digitally. Your daughter should definitely reach out to the teacher to check with how she should search for items in the book and better find answers and help.

My kids’ school also has homework club a couple of days after school. Does her school have anything g like that? The teachers are also usually pretty willing to help kids at lunch or after school IME.

Lastly, for math in particular, we often go to khan academy or other online resources to watch a video or read an explanation of something that isn’t clicking.

[waverly]

Textbooks are not given out. However they will give me one if I ask.

[mae0111]

Last year, in 5th grade, DD2 had 2 math books - one was a workbook.

This year, there's no book - it's online. If she struggles, I'll either print it at Staples or buy the book.

Their old school had science text books that were not allowed out of the classroom, and online material for home. I ended up finding the book and buying it myself. It wasn't expensive and it was totally worth it.

[sent]

Fifth starts middle school and real grades for us. So last year, we started paying attention to the actual work DD was doing. No math textbook, no option to ask the school for a textbook. When I asked where the lessons came from for math, the teacher said "Google Classroom, iReady, IXL and you'll find links for more help within Google Classroom" I looked at the resources on Google Classroom. It was like math for scatterbrains. Links going all over the internet but no actual lesson. They did have a workbook they used in class for the lessons which corresponded to the "IXL" but this workbook was not allowed to come home. I bought copies for us to reference at home which helped a lot. She was struggling in school and it was the only way we could see what she had been taught and where the struggle was coming from. 

So far they haven't done much in 6th grade math yet but I've been told to not expect any textbooks ever in middle school.

[katfco]

My 7th grader has a consumable textbook.
I teach 9th-grade math and while there is technically a textbook, it's all online, not easy to navigate and really boring. So many texts are so expensive now, schools are less likely to purchase physical copies.

Kahn Academy is a great resource for math help, as is a website called MathGames.com. Despite the name, it's not just games. You can select a specific skill and grade and they can practice it.

Feel free to PM me for more resources if you need.

[cmeon]

Neither of my kids have had physical math textbooks at all (not even in DS's university taught Calc 3 course). All references are video or digital text.

I do think it's concerning that she's struggling in the first weeks of school- that's usually just a review period in math classes (so elementary topics). Did you have any concerns last year?

[mainelyfoolish]

No textbooks, but in sixth grade my older kid’s math teacher gave out photocopies of class work which sort-of created a textbook for reference. (My younger kid is in sixth grade this year with the same math teacher. I presume the teacher is still doing handouts.)

I bought this book and it was helpful for both me and the older kid: www.amazon.com/Everything-You-Need-Math-Notebook/dp/0761160965/

[erbear]

We have textbooks for math. They can access them online but DD1 asked her teachers for an actual book and they sent her home with one. Online doesn't work for h er.

[bdubs419]

Sorry. We are going through this exact same situation. My 6th grader is currently in advanced math and we are so overwhelmed already. I have been literally using YouTube to teach myself how to do problems and then reteach him. He has no textbook either. Just workbooks and random papers sent home. It’s also so frustrating because I feel like there are different methods to solving problems and I don’t even know if I am showing him the correct way. Ugh. I already want to see if I can get him dropped into the standard math class.

[bdubs419]

Sept 8, 2024 19:00:19 GMT -5 mainelyfoolish said:

No textbooks, but in sixth grade my older kid’s math teacher gave out photocopies of class work which sort-of created a textbook for reference. (My younger kid is in sixth grade this year with the same math teacher. I presume the teacher is still doing handouts.)

I bought this book and it was helpful for both me and the older kid: www.amazon.com/Everything-You-Need-Math-Notebook/dp/0761160965/

Thank you! I just ordered this. Having the same issue as OP.

[sonrisa]

My kid's schools print up grade level workbooks for each kid (a few per year) that have the worksheets and information in them. Each spring they hold an art contest. The winning kid's design (must name the school and be math related) goes on the next year's workbooks. It's cute.

[sdlaura]

My DD is in 7th grade/her first year of middle school and does not have a math textbook. Her teacher does like students to write out their work on paper so has a lot of handouts.

[dcrunnergirl52]

My kids are in 9th, and they've never had a textbook. Some teachers do printouts that get put into a binder, but that's it. I hate it, but they, of course, don't know any different.

[stemmie]

I'd ask the teacher how you can support your child in learning.

If one 6th grader needs 60-90 minutes to be retaught the material and complete the homework, the child may have a learning difference or be placed in the wrong section. If a bunch of them do, the teacher/district needs to reassess the approach/curriculum.

That said, I have a friend who has been a HS math instructor, curriculum coordinator for a so-called high achieving district and assistant principal. He says parents who attempt to "teach" their children material as they understand it or were taught it often confuse kids and undermine the approach the teacher is taking. He's in a high-tech and big-pharma bedroom community with a lot of students whose parents were educated in the UK, China, Korea and India.

The textbook situation is so different these days. DH is taking a couple of classes currently. Neither professor-- chemistry or psychology-- requires a textbook. It makes my old school DH nuts.

[186momx]

No textbooks here.
I will agree that how we learned to do math is 100% not how the kids learn to do math today.

DD has always been ahead and when she was stuck, I would teach her but then when they got to that point in class 6 months later, she would do it how I had learned to do it and taught her, and the teachers would get upset because she wasn't using common core methods. Khan academy does a great job explaining concepts.

[meanie]

Yes, they have physical books, as well as Chromebooks. I do know of some private schools that are 100% digital, but idk about public. 

That sounds frustrating, especially with the added page number issue. Definitely go back to the teacher, they should be able to provide support or an alternative.

[luckystar2]

Ugh we had the same issue in 6th grade. Dd really struggled and they had no text book. There was literally nothing to access at all. I l HATE how math and most things are taught nowadays. I swear everything is just a series of random worksheets with no real instructions to look back on. With math being taught differently we really struggled with how to help dd. In 6th I ended up printing out the curriculum our math teachers use because it was the only way to understand.

We did end up talking with her teacher and letting her know she was struggling.

For whatever reason 6th grade math was such a challenge. But dd is in 11th grade now and was totally fine after 6th grade. So there is hope!

[Roc A Bee]

Get the photomath app. You take pictures of the problems and it works it out for you.

My SS also doesn’t have a math book and struggles. That app got us through geometry.