DIMENSIONS MATH VS PRIMARY MATH || PART 2: LESSON COMPARISON ||SINGAPORE MATH HOMESCHOOL COMPARISON
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- Опубліковано 5 лют 2025
- Welcome to Knowledge By Nature!
In today’s video I am comparing two math programs from Singapore Math, Dimensions Math 1B versus Primary Mathematics 1B. It’s a showdown between these two programs to find out which is the best one for your homeschool teaching style!
This is video #2, if you missed video #1 you can find it here:
• DIMENSIONS MATH 1B VS ...
This video will compare the same lessons in 1B for both Dimensions Math & Primary Mathematics. I will show a comparison of the workbooks and textbooks as well as close out the video out with the initial thoughts from my student.
I hope this is video is a huge help to someone, and I hope that at the end of this I also can decide which program I will be using going forward.
If you are interested in seeing more of my content please check out a few of these videos below:
Do a lesson with us: Math part 1: • DO A LESSON WITH US! \...
Do a lesson with us: Math part 2: • DO A LESSON WITH US! \...
Do a lesson Updated Dimensions 1a • DIMENSIONS MATH 1A || ...
1st grade curriculum choices: • 1st Grade HOMESCHOOL C...
Homeschool Kindergarten Math Curriculum Singapore Dimensions Math - • Homeschool Kindergarte...
Kindergarten Math Manipulatives - • Homeschool Kindergarte...
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*This Video is not intended for children*
In our homeschool we love books, reading aloud, and finding a curriculum that works for us.
We homeschool year-round while taking breaks when needed or wanted. We take a small summer break but summer homeschool is filled with gameschool, nature school, outdoor schooling, unschooling and lots of fun!
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Excellent comparison! A few things to note:
1) no color in the workbooks is for less distraction and for kids to color in pages after completing the work (busy work while you work with another child).
2)Primary Mathematics is a more expensive series to purchase, especially if you will buy the Challenging Word Problems, Intensive Practice (has harder problem sets), and Student workbook, Textbook along with the Home Instructor's Guide EVERY SINGLE SEMESTER. California "Standards" edition is more challenging as it introduces concepts earlier than the Common Core and US Editions, but it is difficult to find the whole set "used"/for resale online.
3) Dimensions Math is really a "refresh"/repackaging of the Primary series with updated graphics aimed at expanding into the public and private school curriculum markets. The monetary intent of the company is that the students will be more naturally transitioned into their Middle School Program which used the "integrated model" (combines Pre-Alg, Algebra and Geometry into one ongoing study over a three or four year period, which is how upper level maths are usually taught in Asian countries). The problem American parents may have with this is it may be difficult to return the child to public schooling where math courses are divided by topic areas (preA as a separate course from Algebra 1, and Alg1 as a separate course from Geometry). This is why Primary Mathematics is much more appealing to the Well Trained Mind community, unless you plan to see Dimensions Middle School math through to 9th grade. Also important to mention that Dimensions only runs from PKA through 5B. Theoretically, you could use Dimensions through 5B and then switch over to Primary for 6A/6B and move on to different preAlg or Alg1 courses. However, you would have to be certain that the content in Primary 6A lines up exactly with where Dimensions 5B scope and sequence left off (otherwise you risk creating "gaps" in the child's math education). You should also be aware that Primary 6A (I am told) is largely a review of Primary 5A & 5B (a common complaint of American parents). And 6B does NOT include all of the prealgebra topics, but can be completed in less than a semester, so you'd likely have time to add those "missing" pre-Alg topics into your child's study if you wanted to move him straight from Primary 6B into Algebra 1.
4) If you are going to use Dimensions, you can simply have the child do even or odd numbered problems to cut down on unneccessary workload. Use the problems your child did not do as 1) built in spiral review at end of unit 2) for remediation or 3) as a math test. Prior to using Dimensions, it is also wise to go through the Teachers book and circle only the "Activities" you plan to do. Don't do all of them and exasperate your child. Yes, it def does requires more prep and modification than Primary does!
HTH 🙂
Fantastic information! Thank you so much for commenting and providing this additional detail. Very helpful and informative ❤
@@knowledgebynature8480 you're welcome! Love the content you're producing. Keep up the great work, mama!
Thank you for the kind words. You are obviously extremely knowledgeable on Singapore math, have you or do you use either of these programs, and which do you personally favor?
@@knowledgebynature8480 Primary, but it will send you to the poor house!!!. Lol! Looking for used curriculum is smartest choice. I like getting through lessons swiftly and prefer a more open and go approach without any fluff (though it's wise for parents to at least read the lesson and the HIG prior to instructing). We've got enough work to get through as it is without having to eliminate problems and activities.
CWP and IP are key supplements IMO used by parents of gifted students so I wouldn't skip those unless your kiddo is struggling with the textbook and workbook problems. I would also incorporate a bit of Beast Academy (just for the problem-solving approaches) which you won't find in Primary Mathematics. PM lays an excellent, excellent foundation for mental math strategies, but BA takes problem solving to the next level by pushing the child to THINK and GET CREATIVE. The combination of both will help ease your child through upper level maths without all the stress and struggling most kids experience (I am told).
If cost were too big an issue, then I would have to "fight" with Dimensions until the HIG comes out, or make the switch to Math Mammoth (which also uses the Singapore Math approach albeit to a lesser extent, throughout the series. Maria also uses interesting problem sets and approaches but her curriculum is all-in-one and very affordable).
Keep up the great work 👍. I'll be watching all of your content.
Good to know! I did notice it was more expensive but since I have a single kiddo I have the extra funds to be able to put a little more money into our single curriculm since I don't have to budget for multiple levels each year. (I did find my HIG used!) I was already thinking I at least wanted to add the CWP because I love the concept of word problems and the extra thinking that occurs, will definitely check out the IP also.
I agree I have needed to do a slight amount of pre reading and preparing before the lesson on Primary, but then we can just take off and go, no extra modifications to make afterwards. So far we both seem to be enjoying Primary more, but we are only a week in at this point.
Again thanks for your excellent insight into these curriculums!
These two videos were amazing and answered my lingering questions when I was researching. Thank you!!🙂
Awesome so glad you found it helpful, thank you for watching and commenting ❤
You have lots of helpful videos! Thank you for sharing!
My pleasure, thank you the kind comment ❤️
Very very helpful! Thank you! I was deadset on dimensions but this helped me decide primary would work better for us. It's so crazy how fast curriculum can change when you discover something new. For social studies we are going to use studies weekly and an Evan Moore workbook for geography, with other supplementation, which is great. Then I learn about History Quest and read the sample and am now in love. This is for second grade. Now I have to figure what I will and won't do. Anyhow, thank you for you opinion. It made my decision easier.
That is great to hear, I am so glad that you found this helpful and I hope that you love Primary. We are really really enjoying our first week with it so far! I had debated getting an Evan Moore workbook for geography, but ended up buying another workbook that had geography included so for 2nd grade I may just stick with that. We have 2 other curriculums that sprinkle geography too so I almost think that enough...maybe. It's so hard to not just buy EVERYTHING ha-ha! Thank you for watching and commenting!
Let me know how History Quest works out for you. I'm leaning toward Mystery of History (Christian) but like the approach HQ takes.
Thank you SO much for these videos, this is EXACTLY what I’ve even looking for. I see from the comments you went with Primary, then back to Dimensions- I’m going to look for a video on how you make that work. We’ve been using Primary since the beginning (just finishing up 1B now), and we even have to skip some problems with it as my rising 2nd grader has ADHD and gets “bored” easily with the Mental Math and repetition, so I think we’d have to skip WAY too much to make Dimensions work for us. Time to look for Primary 2A…
Thank you, glad to hear its helpful!!
Thank you so much. This was so helpful to see the same things side by side.
You are welcome! They are both awesome programs, and can really be interchangeable quiet easily❤
Thank you for such a detailed comparison! This is our first year of homeschool and I am struggling finding and sticking with a math program for my first grader who struggles with math. I am considering one of these for next year and it was nice to see the differences between them.
You are very welcome! Good luck in finding something that works for you.
This was SO helpful. Thank you!
You are very welcome, glad it helped!
I'm watching this video again after watching it several times over the past 6 months as we navigate our math journey! Our experience is somewhat similar- we loved and enjoyed Dimensions KA/KB, but having some stumbling blocks with 1A. We also use and love Math With Confidence, so Dimensions has been more of a supplement for us. With 1A though, I'm finding the program is so robust it's much more difficult to use as a supplement than it was for KA/KB. I have Singapore Primary on hand and pulled it out this week to see if it may be a better fit for the remainder of 1st grade then reevaluate for 2nd (and I'm leaning in that direction), but having a hard time of letting go of Dimensions for now. I really like Dimensions Teacher Guide, but I also asked my daughter which textbook she preferred and she chose Primary. I think as a spine I would definitely choose Dimensions, but it's become really stressful trying to pick and choose and scale back the lessons. Thank you in advace for any help/advice you can offer!
There is no doubt that Dimensions is a very robust program. For 3rd grade, we have gone back to Dimensions again (primarily due to scoring a fantastic deal on a used set). Since this video, I have done more reading and research and found that Dimensions is the most difficult of the three Singapore methods, where the original Primary is 2nd, and the new Primary 2022 is the easiest of the three. We did not care for the Primary 2022 at all (but that is a personal preference). This year for Dimensions, I am using it totally different than in the past. I am using the teacher's guide and the textbook only. We work on the initial teaching together and some of the initial questions, then she does the "Do Section" independently. We are not using the workbook at all because it is too much for us. I did get the test books as part of my group purchase, but I have only used them sporadically. I foresee myself going back and forth between Dimensions and Primary (original version). I think either is a fantastic program it's just finding how the program works best for you during your season of homeschooling; each year is different, in my opinion. Best of luck and I hope that helps.
@@knowledgebynature8480 Thank you, this is very helpful and encouraging to hear we can successfully bounce back and forth between Primary and Dimensions. I also feel like we could enjoy going back and forth between the two. I've watched your journey with 2022 (we also tried it for a few weeks and it was a no-go!) and back to Dimensions this year and your videos have been SO helpful. Thanks again!
@@amies8203 My pleasure, happy to help. I know its a struggle to find the perfect fit for math (not sure there is a perfect fit) but striving to get as close as possible. In my experience its a very easy transition from Dimensions to Primary!
Which did you end up using and preferring? We currently have both full sets of KA/KB dimensions and primary 2022, and I just don’t know where to go for 1! Dimensions feels like a lot of wordiness without a lot of direction on how to teach. But primary 2022 feels gimmicky to me. Considering going to US Edition!
After a long process of trying all the Singapore Maths we settled on Dimensions. We are actually about to start year 5!
I eventually found a way to use that worked for both of us. Mostly I just needed to realize I didn't have to it all for every lesson.
@@knowledgebynature8480 awesome! Do you use the teacher or home instructor guides? Do you feel like it has taught you the concepts well and how to teach them too?
I am just so indecisive as it is - and partly have fomo with trying new curriculums! I really want something that is also going to teach me how to teach too. The kindergarten levels are hard to gauge how well it will do that because they really aren’t teaching anything challenging 😅 thank you for replying!
Here is a comparison of the 2, ultimately I prefer the TG and my video explains why. But there are also some great parts to the HIG. ua-cam.com/video/ar5D4JyIu38/v-deo.html
FOMO is 100 real lol. I have since learned if what I'm using is working I do my best to not pay attention to anything else. I set in with what I've got and keep going until it doesn't work anymore. Because no curriculum is perfect so we just have to do the best with what we have.
We went with Dimensions for 1A and are enjoying it, but we are skipping a lot of the duplicate problems as it’s just too much of the same stuff repeated. I think it’s great for classes of children with differing strengths, where more advanced students who work quicker can get more practice in while the teacher works with students who need more directed help on fewer problems… not so much for one kid at home. While the Dimensions HIG does a better job of guiding parents through what their students need to get out of the lesson than the Teacher’s Guide, it still looks like the Primary HIG does a better job at this than Dimensions.
I was most attracted to Dimensions because there were so many activity options, but with how much we have to modify and skip in Dimensions to make sure the lesson isn’t too much, picking and choosing between those activities is a lot more time consuming than I expected it to be. And while having lots of options for your kid depending on how they take to the material seems like a positive thing, I’m realizing more and more the value of more of an out-of-the-box experience that I can tweak based on his needs; at this point in the semester, we’ve got a feel for the activities that help him understand the lessons better, and they don’t change much from lesson to lesson.
I’m beginning to wonder if I should start looking at Primary for 1B and am wondering if there’s anything we would miss by skipping from one program to another mid-year. Any insight on whether switching programs like this is doable would be much appreciated!
Hello! Yes there is alot of modifications with Dimensions. I loved Primary and we are now trying Primary Math 2022 (the one released this year)for our 2A semester. We just finished up our first complete chapter. The regular Primary is simplistic and open and go, which I LOVE. The new Primary has more project and STEAM activities built in, which I think we will really enjoy. For us we will definitely be sticking with one of the Primarys for 2nd grade. We actually switched from Dimensions mid year. 1A with Dimensions and started 1B with Primary, I believe the only difference was length was covered in one and not the other. I am not sure how they would transfer with the new Primary however.
This website is a wonderful resource for comparing all Singapore curriculums
singaporemathlearningcenter.com/singapore-math-curriculum/math-in-focus-vs-primary-mathematics-vs-dimensions-math
Hope this helps!
@@knowledgebynature8480 Thank you so much for the quick response! I found your other video where you went through the scopes line by line, which I knew I had seen before but struggled to find it this time (here’s a link to that video for anyone else who might be looking for it: ua-cam.com/video/V9f5h2mSBf0/v-deo.html).
Knowing we’d be missing out in length, I’m going to see if I can find that lesson elsewhere before I make the decision to switch (or maybe I can find a video where someone gives the rundown of what’s in that section). I’m thinking either way, there’s going to have to be something we’ll have to modify with switching, since they introduce the multiplication symbols in Primary in 1B, I’ll have to find a way to introduce it to my child in level 2 since Primary will assume he’s already seen it before. I’m guessing the earlier we make the switch, the fewer problems we’ll have, but I have a bit of time before we need to make a decision on which program to go with for next semester.
You’ve given me a lot to think about. Thank you so much for making it easy to get the information I need to make this decision!
You are very welcome! From what I remember it was very basic introduction to length. You might could easily find a replacement for that lesson as it was working only up to 12 inches and only exact inches.
@@knowledgebynature8480 Very good to know. Was it just one lesson then, and not a whole chapter?
@@mussers.homeschool I do belive it was an entire chapter and it might have been weight instead of length, now I can't remember, sorry!