MommyThrice Posted May 26, 2010 Share Posted May 26, 2010 Another math question... sorry to be such a pain. We have established the fact that Saxon isn't working for ds. He hasn't retained much of Alg. I, so we're planning to review this summer. I'm considering MUS & Lial. Can I use these together? I love the way MUS really explains the concepts, but I keep reading that it isn't "up to" the same standards as Lials. Does Lial explain the concepts like MUS? If possible, I would like to have ds take Lial tests (assuming there are tests?) to see what needs work, then watch the MUS lesson, read Lial lesson and work Lial problems. Of course I'm just thinking this through - I don't have either curriculum in front of me right now. This child will not be a math major - he is very strong in language (and social skills) and wants to be an attorney. Still, I hate to cut him short on math now. He's only 14 and may change his mind. Also, I just did a learning style assessment, and he is very auditory - loves to have someone explain the lesson to him. So he might like the videos. Could I use MUS and Lial together? At least they seem to both cover one concept at a time. I am so fed-up with the Saxon little-bit-of-this, little-bit-of-that approach. :willy_nilly: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MommyThrice Posted May 26, 2010 Author Share Posted May 26, 2010 Several people have suggested Lof, especially since ds is strong in language. I've looked at it and am sure it would drive us both nuts. Too chatty. Ds wants just math in his math book. He has enough trouble finding the heart of word problems. I think Lof would be like one giant word problem to him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted May 26, 2010 Share Posted May 26, 2010 Saxon didn't work for us either. Why don't you order a set of used Lial's to try first? Both should be under $20. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MommyThrice Posted May 26, 2010 Author Share Posted May 26, 2010 Saxon didn't work for us either. Why don't you order a set of used Lial's to try first? Both should be under $20. I'm looking online right now. I need the text (Introductory Algebra) and the Student Solutions Manual, right? Is that all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted May 26, 2010 Share Posted May 26, 2010 Get the ISBN's from Jann in TX. You can get older additions (I'm looking into Algebra 2). Just make sure the editions and texts match. On Amazon, where it says "used" click it, that is where the cheap ones are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted May 26, 2010 Share Posted May 26, 2010 There is a thread right now that has a link to the 6th ed. of what you want. Let me see if I can find it.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MommyThrice Posted May 26, 2010 Author Share Posted May 26, 2010 I'm having better luck at AbeBooks.com. I'm looking at the 8th edition, it is the paperback/Introductory Algebra that Jann recommends. I'm just not sure if I'm missing a test booklet or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted May 26, 2010 Share Posted May 26, 2010 OK, found it, no solutions for that one (6th edition). The one with the windmill is 7th, let's see if Amazon has both book and solutions for that.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted May 26, 2010 Share Posted May 26, 2010 Abe's had a lot, just looked today. Tests are in the book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MommyThrice Posted May 26, 2010 Author Share Posted May 26, 2010 Tests are in the book. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted May 26, 2010 Share Posted May 26, 2010 no solutions on Amazon for the 7th edition Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted May 26, 2010 Share Posted May 26, 2010 Just make sure its the paperback ones, that is the developmental series that Jann likes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyce Posted May 27, 2010 Share Posted May 27, 2010 We have used both. MUS at the upper levels are lighter than Lial's. My c/o is that there are problems presented that has not been discussed on DVD or TM. That threw my non mathy student off. We switched to Lial's for Alg 2 and Ds has improved tremendously. All the explanations are in the book so it is very self teaching but there are DVT's available if you need them. I found the explanations to be just as good if not better than MUS. The only thing about Lial's is that it encourages the use of a calculator. MUS does not introduce a calculator until you get to Pre-Caculus. My mathy Dd did great with MUS. As to using them together I think you would find that very difficult. MUS is set up differently than the traditional Alg books. I think if you go with Lials' you won't need to supplement. If you go with MUS I think LOF would probably be a better supplement. For Lial's you need a student text and a student solutions manual. The student text has the test but the solution manual has all the odd problems, all the review problems and all the test answers worked out for you. I liked that but MUS also has the answered worked out. The DVT's are harder to find. When I was looking for intermediate Jann said it would be okay to use the 8th edition DVT's even though I had 7th edition books. When I looked at the DVT's there wasn't much difference although I must say we never needed them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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