Jump to content

Menu

Which calculator for Chalkdust Prealgebra?


Recommended Posts

I recommend the TI 30 or TI 34 series. We have the TI-30XIIS (solar) and the TI 34X. Both have multi-line displays that actually SHOW the steps that the student types in.

 

These are the only calculators I recommend through Algebra 2.

 

Cost is about $15 and if you look around they come in neat neon colors too! (makes them easier to find).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

DD is just about through with Saxon 87, and it has come up once or twice, but I have not allowed her to use them except for one really long iterative calculation (annually compounding interest over a lot of years.) She's not that strong in math, and I have thought that the calculator would lull her into thinking that she's finished when she really has gone off on a tangent.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I let my students use a calculator at the Pre-Algebra level for solving problems that are more than one step--meaning complex calculations. The students have to know what to do with the numbers in order to solve the problem--and if that is what I am testing then they can use a calculator.

 

If I am testing how well they can manually work a computation (long division, multiplication of multi-digits or decimals...) then they must do that work by hand.

 

 

At the Algebra 1 level I allow my students to use a calculator for percents and complex decimals and some radicals/roots. Most of the time they will NOT be using a calculator. I don't like them to use it for basic work--but again if it is a multi-step problem then I don't mind as much--the calculator will only help if they plug in the correct numbers and the correct opperation!

 

Again I like the multi-line display calculators--Wal-Mart has the ones I like for $12 this week...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I got one of the TI 30 series from Target. I will not have her use it for day to day use but the book I have does have some sections where it is starting to show her how to do things on the scientific calculators. I do want her to know how to use one but she has to do all her lessons by hand.

 

The one I bought was $13.00 and it was pink..:001_smile: so she is happy.

 

Thank you all for the advice

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a gifted daughter in math. I let her use a calculator. My problem is that while she is gifted in math, she doesn't like it. I know the reason is arithmetic so I am not stressing that and encouraging her to focus on higher level math ideas. SHe does have her arithmetic down and that is why I no longer feel a need to stop calculators.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...