Math program Envision thoughts?

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Permalink Reply by Jane Plessl on August 31, 2011 at 7:31pm

We just bought envision this year and I started using it in kindergarten. So far it is okay. The kids love the interactive learning which is like a lesson given digitally and it pauses so you can expand where needed. I can't say that I love the pages for the students. They are on weekly reader type paper so tear and rip easy and they make erasing impossible. We have not received any manipulatives yet but I think those will help with kinder since they are so hands on. So far it is better than our old math series but time will tell.

Permalink Reply by Lisa Hazen on September 1, 2011 at 8:25pm

My district also just bought Envision and have started implementing it. I agree with Jane. The digital part of the lesson is great. The kids love it and it is easy to expand because of the pauses. This makes for a great class discussion which I feel is very beneficial for my kids. I have added my students' names to the roster but haven't sent home their usernames or passwords.

I am not a fan of the activity pages. I feel they are cheaply made. Like Jane said, they tear easily which is not good for younger students who like their papers to be perfect! I think some of them can be confusing as well. The directions are written at the bottom which also throws me off sometimes because I'm so used to directions being at the top!

We do have our manipulatives and I like them. Each kit comes with their own set of all the manipulatives the student will need. The kids really like having their own set. It makes it easy on me too because I just hand them a kit and ask them to get out what they need! I'm not a big fan of the order of topics. For my students, starting out with writing numbers and then moving into "1 or 2 more or fewer" doesn't make a lot of sense. Maybe in the long run it will be for the best.

Curious to hear other thoughts on this program.