Chalkdust Algebra

[DawnUK]

I've just finished scheduling it for the year, and it's going to take us 39 weeks to finish it all! Seriously, do you all cover every page? I know that schools usually only covers parts of the book in most subjects, but I don't want any gaps and I'm unqualified to say which parts are less important! Just curious what everyone else does....

 

--Dawn

[plansrme]

Completing curriculum in 36 weeks is one thing over which I obsess (avoiding sentences that end in prepositions is, obviously, another), and we've completed CD pre-algebra through Alg. II, each in 36 weeks. Precalculus comes next, and our plan is still to do it in 36 weeks.

 

One tip is to schedule more sections in fewer days through the first couple of units, which include a lot of review.

 

My schedules always include study days, test days, catch-up days, all of the integrated review, and doing every-other-odd problem.

 

Terri

[LNC]

Completing curriculum in 36 weeks is one thing over which I obsess (avoiding sentences that end in prepositions is, obviously, another), and we've completed CD pre-algebra through Alg. II, each in 36 weeks. Precalculus comes next, and our plan is still to do it in 36 weeks.

 

One tip is to schedule more sections in fewer days through the first couple of units, which include a lot of review.

 

My schedules always include study days, test days, catch-up days, all of the integrated review, and doing every-other-odd problem.

 

Terri

 

I would pay for your schedules through Algebra 2 :tongue_smilie:. Would you share them? This my biggest fear about starting Chalkdust, no schedule.

[plansrme]

I would pay for your schedules through Algebra 2 :tongue_smilie:. Would you share them? This my biggest fear about starting Chalkdust, no schedule.

 

If I had them in a way I could get them to you, I would be glad to share, but I just wrote them out by hand in my daughter's planner. It wasn't really that hard. I divide the number of chapters by 2 and add one, and that is how many chapters we do first semester (e.g., 16 chapters in the book, do 9 first semester, 7 second semester). In the 9 chapters, add up the number of sections (say, 76), add the number of tests (9 chapter tests, 9 mid-chapter tests), for 84. Then take the number of school days you have (90) in that semester, figure out how many sections you have to do per week or per day, and write the schedule accordingly.

 

As a general rule, she will watch one video and do the problems that day, though if the lecture is very long, she will do only half the problems that day. On mid-chapter test days, she does part of a lesson (watches the video, for example, but not the problems, or vice-versa). Sometimes, on full test days, if the next video is very short, she will watch it after the test.

 

Every few weeks, I include a math catch-up day or two, in case she's gotten off-track. She does not usually need these days to actually catch up but will use them to take a break or get ahead for the coming week.

 

I write it out in her planner, a year at at ime, and it just works out, doing slightly more lessons per week in the first month or so, as most of it is review at that point. Last year, she finished the final cumulative Alg. II test at about 8 pm on the last day of school, but she finished on time. Whew.

 

The second semester looks less intimidating on paper, but it ends up being plenty challenging because the work gets harder.

 

I post about Chalkdust schedules all the time, because this is such a common complaint about the program, but really, you can do it!

 

Terri