Dolciani Pre-Algebra?

[TheAttachedMama]

Hi Everyone,

 

Is Dolciani prealgebra still being published?    

Where would one buy this book if so?   Is there any way to see the inside of this book besides buying a copy?   Are answers included?   What exactly would I buy if I wanted to use this?  (Is there a separate student textbook, teacher manual, etc.)

 

I have so many questions!   :)

 

Thanks,

Cathy

Edited June 2, 2017 by TheAttachedMama

[wapiti]

Dolciani's Prealgebra, An Accelerated Course was published between 1985 and 1992 (or 1996?), with the editions being pretty much the same (I know for sure the 1986 and 1988 are identical, but I have not confirmed the later ones).  You can buy on Amazon.  

https://www.amazon.com/Pre-Algebra-Mary-P-Dolciani/dp/0395359872/ref=pd_cp_14_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0395359872&pd_rd_r=CF7EAEK122NQ0F2ZCXAS&pd_rd_w=0fDtN&pd_rd_wg=SSNSL&psc=1&refRID=CF7EAEK122NQ0F2ZCXAS  I am skeptical about whether the used books for sale are actually this 1985 edition because the description mentions CD ROM, etc which is not applicable to these old editions.  It is common on Amazon for the various Dolciani book entries to have mixed up links and confusion between editions.  So, it might be a bit of a gamble.  If you can confirm the ISBN  978-0395359877, then it would be the real deal.

There are a few on ebay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pre-Algebra-An-Accelerated-Course-by-John-A-Graham-Mary-P-Dolciani-and-Robe-/201943606159?hash=item2f04c6e38f:g:d8cAAOSwa~BYO72y
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pre-Algebra-An-Accelerated-Course-Mary-P-Dolciani-Good-Book-/192200107586?hash=item2cc004e642:g:d8cAAOSwa~BYO72y
http://www.ebay.com/itm/McDougal-Littell-Pre-Algebra-Student-Edition-Pre-Algebra-1992-/272413274560?hash=item3f6d18b1c0:g:JTcAAOSwzaJYAM9y

 

The prices of some of those editions on Amazon have gone up to ridiculous amounts.  An interesting find this morning, 1988 Mathematics Structure and Method Course 2, which I believe is 8th grade math:  student text and teacher edition.  I've never seen those before.

Answers to odds are in the back of the student text.  There are plenty of problems, usually enough to only assign odds.

Edited June 2, 2017 by wapiti

[Farrar]

I found having the teacher's edition useful and the price really fluctuates. However, the TE doesn't have much in the way of extra instruction. There are some suggested schedules, some teaching notes, images of the various answers for the tests and other materials you don't have. There are a few extra questions in the margins. But it's not a wealth of pre-algebra teaching wisdom or anything like that. You can easily get by on the student edition by assigning mostly the odds.

[Mrs Twain]

I liked using the TE because it has "core" and "accelerated" schedules, so you can choose which course to give your student. I also liked having all the answers rather than just the odds. It was rather expensive, though. If you want to buy the TE, make sure you find the ISBN for the one that matches the edition of the student text. Someone once listed the ISBN's of various Doliani texts. You can find the post if you search these forums.

[TheAttachedMama]

This is an old thread, but I still have questions...

:)   

 

1)   I just want to clarify, can you have your student work from the TE?   Could I just buy that book for the year?  Or do you then have to find the corresponding student edition too?

For example, I found this:   https://www.amazon.com/Pre-Algebra-Accelerated-Teachers-Mary-Dolciani/dp/0395591244/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

 

2)   Is there anyone with a camera phone who could snap a few pictures of the inside of a Dolciani pre-algebra book?    I can't tell you how grateful I would be if I could just peak at the inside of this book.    I've asked around locally, and no one I know has a copy to look at.   I've also tried to get a copy through inter-library loan...but I can't find it there either.   I am still going back and forth about whether or not to buy this book because of the price.    You see, I already own the electronic copy of Math Mammoth pre-algebra.   Is the Dolciani book really going to be worth the cost?    My original plan has always been to use AOPS pre-algebra.   However, my son has needed a lot of extra drill and practice with Singapore 5a/5b this year.   I am making sure he is strong in all concepts before moving on....but I am thinking that a "gifted" math program like AOPS may not be the best thing for him.   

 

3)  If you have used Dolciani for Pre-Algebra, what did you use for Algebra?    I have Foerster Algebra scratched down in my notes as a back up plan from my original AOPS plan.  ;)  

 

 

[Sneezyone]

 

This is an old thread, but I still have questions...

:)   

 

1)   I just want to clarify, can you have your student work from the TE?   Could I just buy that book for the year?  Or do you then have to find the corresponding student edition too?

For example, I found this:   https://www.amazon.com/Pre-Algebra-Accelerated-Teachers-Mary-Dolciani/dp/0395591244/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

 

2)   Is there anyone with a camera phone who could snap a few pictures of the inside of a Dolciani pre-algebra book?    I can't tell you how grateful I would be if I could just peak at the inside of this book.    I've asked around locally, and no one I know has a copy to look at.   I've also tried to get a copy through inter-library loan...but I can't find it there either.   I am still going back and forth about whether or not to buy this book because of the price.    You see, I already own the electronic copy of Math Mammoth pre-algebra.   Is the Dolciani book really going to be worth the cost?    My original plan has always been to use AOPS pre-algebra.   However, my son has needed a lot of extra drill and practice with Singapore 5a/5b this year.   I am making sure he is strong in all concepts before moving on....but I am thinking that a "gifted" math program like AOPS may not be the best thing for him.   

 

3)  If you have used Dolciani for Pre-Algebra, what did you use for Algebra?    I have Foerster Algebra scratched down in my notes as a back up plan from my original AOPS plan.  ;)  

 

 

 

 

Unless you're willing to copy, cut and enlarge every page/problem set (or have DC copy them all down), I don't think just using the TE would work well. All of the answers and notes are in the margins.

Edited January 6, 2018 by Sneezyone

[Sneezyone]

This is the student version of the same text. I haven't used this one. I plan to with DS.

 

The Algebra text is laid out the same way and I did use that one as a supplement last year. The explanations are so much clearer and more straightforward than DDs school text (or DM7CC) and there are many more problems to work. 

[TheAttachedMama]

Thank you for the picture!!!

[TheAttachedMama]

My dd is using an older Dolciani from the 70s. My dh doesn’t need a TE, which is good, bc I can’t imagine how hard it would be to find. ;). But the student textbook itself was five bucks (although looking at it now, it’s like ten times that, so maybe I lucked out). We’ll probably use Foerster or Jacobs for Algebra, although I’m not really the teacher anymore *fake sniffle*

What do you mean that you are not really the teacher anymore?  Are you outsourcing to a tutor or just saying that your child has gotten to the point where they can self-teach with some oversight/help?   

[mirabillis]

We use Dolciani Pre-A - on our 3rd with it now. No TE. Not necessary. I go over the lesson, work on the 'class exercises' and examples on a whiteboard and send them off to do all the odd # problems, as there are answers in the back.

 

We use Singapore up to 6A before moving into Pre-A.

 

Then eldest moved to Dolciani Algebra (tried Aops and though math-passionate, hated Aops - we sold all those off finally). 2nd in line moved to outsource for Alg I with Jann in TX's myhomeschoolmathclass and my 3rd moves to Alg next year. Not sure if I'll use Dolciani or outsource him.... jury's still out.

 

P.S. We bought it back in 2014 on Amazon for $9.99. 1987 version

P.P.S Wow, it's pricey right now on Amazon. I see 2 copies of Pre-A on homeschoolclassifieds for $30 & $60... FYI

Edited January 7, 2018 by mirabillis

[Farrar]

Well, I'll be honest and say I found the TE a huge time saver. Dolciani is heavy on word problems - the C level, and even some of the B level ones, can be genuinely challenging. For the non word problems, I didn't need it per se, but it sure made it quicker to check work. Sure, some of it could be done on a calculator or in my head, but there were a lot of multi-step problems in there. Not hard, but time consuming enough that it was worth the money for the TE. Plus the TE wasn't *that* hard to find or that expensive. I think I got mine for like $50 or so and it was in pristine condition. I've seen them be much cheaper than that too. Unless you need it right this minute, I think you can find that sort of a deal by looking every couple of weeks for a couple of months. Just be patient. They pop up. Also, my editions didn't match exactly and it wasn't a problem.

 

That said, the teaching notes and other info in there is super minimal. And there are no solutions, just answers, so you do have to be able to understand it to explain the problems. It's mostly just a convenience, not a key teaching resource.

 

I agree with the pp's that you definitely cannot have a student do Dolciani from the TE. The answers are right next to the problems and there's no way to mask them easily.

 

ETA: No super cheap deals at the moment, but I did see this TE for under $70. With the text at about $25, that's still around $100 for pre-algebra for the year, which, honestly, seems like a reasonable amount to spend, especially since the resell value won't drop much on those if you're nice to them.

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=22588278098&searchurl=tn%3Dpre-algebra%26sortby%3D17%26an%3Ddolciani&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp1-_-title7

Edited January 7, 2018 by Farrar