Houghton Mifflin [CD] PreCalc; Questions on pace; Homework; video use; time, tutor

[74Heaven]

Hi, my 10th grade dtr is a very good math student and has completed Videotext Alg. 1 and 2, [all modules] and BJU Geometry.

 

I am fairly certain I will be finding a tutor for her for this precalculus. Money is the main roadblock...

 

We are having trouble right in [same as Chalkdust; Houghtin Mifflin] Chapter 1 of the Larson textbook. Most chapters have 80-100 problems and I have no idea what to assign. Then when we sit down to correct, I can't help her find her errors and it takes us an hour or even two hours to correct the odds [that is all my solutions key has answers to so those are the ones we do].

 

There is no way I can stay with her in precalculus [time and energy-wise; I'm homeschooling 5 kids] and I don't have time to learn precalculus.

 

We are trying to do a 1.5 yr pace; but at this pace, we are taking 4 weeks for the prerequisite chapter and now 2 weeks on lesson 1 IN chapter 1 [ch 1 has 5 lessons, then a chapter review], ...

 

--So, my biggest question is, how should I assign the homework..

--how often, in what sized ''chunks'' should we view the videos...

--How should we/she correct the HW.... [her general thought is to rush right thru it so if she corrects her own, I need some safeguard that she understands before moving on.]

--How do I test...

--Minimum and maximum time she should spend....

 

Btw, we bought the Houghton Mifflin set because of the huge price difference so I don't have the assignment/teacher help of Chalkdust. I don't even know what homework to assign. With 100 problems to choose from, I don't know how to mix the ''basics'' in with the story problems in a reasonable mix.

 

I have a good Study and Solutions Key as well as the videos.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

Lisa

[mathmom]

I tried to do Google search of your textbook and "syllabus". So far, this has been the best breakdown of assignments.

http://faculty.philau.edu/knappe/Syllabus.htm

I am not sure that the professor is using the same edition you are, but I hope that link helps.

 

If it doesn't help, is there any way to afford a tutor even just to get her started?

 

You could maximize your time with the tutor by having your dd work problems before she sees the tutor. Spend that valuable tutoring time reviewing errors and asking the tutor to look over the problems for the next few sections to make suggestions for how to break it down.

 

Ideally, you need someone to give you two (or three) sets of assignments. The first set would cover what you would need to do to make sure you understand the concepts and can apply them. The second set of problems would give you and idea of what problems to work if you need more practice with a particular part of the concept. The third (optional) set would be suggestions for the best challenge problems from the topic.

[74Heaven]

I tried to do Google search of your textbook and "syllabus". So far, this has been the best breakdown of assignments.

http://faculty.philau.edu/knappe/Syllabus.htm

I am not sure that the professor is using the same edition you are, but I hope that link helps.

.....Ideally, you need someone to give you two (or three) sets of assignments. The first set would cover what you would need to do to make sure you understand the concepts and can apply them. The second set of problems would give you and idea of what problems to work if you need more practice with a particular part of the concept. The third (optional) set would be suggestions for the best challenge problems from the topic.

 

That really is the HW help I need - how to assign a reasonable amount that keeps her focused on the important part of the lesson, enables her to use what she is learning/be challenged without being too overwhelming/time-consuming..

 

thanks - hope I get more input

Lisaj, I'll try the link at the library when I can get there, dial up - grr

[Brigid in NC]

We are having trouble right in [same as Chalkdust; Houghtin Mifflin] Chapter 1 of the Larson textbook. Most chapters have 80-100 problems and I have no idea what to assign.

 

Lisa, my ds and I are in the exact same boat. We started CD Precalc today! I have worked out a preliminary schedule, but I will have noooo idea if it is workable until we get into the book.

 

The CD instructions say to assign about 25 problems per section. So if there are 100 exercises, just assign every fourth problem. I have no idea if that is workable, but it sounds much more reasonable for a strong math student than doing 100 problems for each exercise. You may already know about this CD recommendation, but just in case, I thought I'd pass that on.

 

One other thing that my ds discovered today (first video lesson) was that he could fast forward the dvd one click and still understand Dana Mosely very clearly. He did that on the material that he was familiar with, and then played the DVD at regular speed in other parts where he needed to pay closer attention. Just an idea -- I have read some people say that CD videos can be really long and drag on. Might be a way to help with that. :001_smile:

 

~Brigid

[momofgals]

You probably read my own thread regarding the text and know that I can relate to your struggles!

 

As Brigid has said, CD suggests every fourth problem or so. We use that as a bit of a guideline, but we also look at each set of problems under a specific direction. If dd is familiar with what to do, then she does only one of that set. If she needs more practice with the task/concept, then she will do 2 or more of those problems. Because the text is so heavy on word problems, she tries to select a few of those which seem to most directly apply the concepts learned.

 

Also, it is very much worth it to purchase the study and solutions guide. Sometimes dd will take a peek at how they began to solve a problem, then finish it on her own. Also, it includes the even numbered solutions.

[AngieW in Texas]

I look through the chapter section and write down the problem that it tells you to work after each example. For instance, in ch1sect1 the problems it tells you to work are: 9,25,43,45,49,55,61. I go to the exercises and put a box around those numbers. My dd has to read the chapter section and then work those problems the first day. She also has to watch the video if she doesn't understand. Then I start at #1 and draw a circle around every other odd number, with some skips when there are boxed problems. I mark all the odd review problems. The other problems I assigned from section 1 were: 1,3,5,7,11,15,19,23,29,31,35,51,59,65,67,69,71,75,79,81,83,85,91,95,99,101,103,105,107. My dd is supposed to work those the 2nd day. I was giving her two days to work the rest of the problems, but my dd just finished ch3 even though we're halfway through the schoolyear, so I need her to pick up the pace.

 

The solutions guide momofgals linked is the one I have, but it only gives solutions for odd-numbered problems, so that's all I assign.

[74Heaven]

I look through the chapter section and write down the problem that it tells you to work after each example. For instance, in ch1sect1 the problems it tells you to work are: 9,25,43,45,49,55,61. I go to the exercises and put a box around those numbers. My dd has to read the chapter section and then work those problems the first day. She also has to watch the video if she doesn't understand. Then I start at #1 and draw a circle around every other odd number, with some skips when there are boxed problems. I mark all the odd review problems. The other problems I assigned from section 1 were: 1,3,5,7,11,15,19,23,29,31,35,51,59,65,67,69,71,75,79,81,83,85,91,95,99,101,103,105,107. My dd is supposed to work those the 2nd day. I was giving her two days to work the rest of the problems, but my dd just finished ch3 even though we're halfway through the schoolyear, so I need her to pick up the pace.

 

The solutions guide momofgals linked is the one I have, but it only gives solutions for odd-numbered problems, so that's all I assign.

 

This will be incredibly helpful. Thank you so much. I have the same study guide with tjust the odd numbered answers - and odd/even answers for the tests.

 

Lisaj, tomorrow is a new start...

[AngieW in Texas]

Just watch out when you're assigning problems based on the examples in the book. Sometimes it tells you to do an even-numbered exercise. If there's an odd one like it, I assign that one instead. Otherwise I just skip the exercise for that example.