What's a good math that does NOT have DVD instruction?

[Rhonda in TX]

I have a degree in math, so I'm not afraid of the concepts. I have a DD that wants to be self-taught, and I can help out when she needs it. DS wants me to teach him, not somebody else. So, what's a good choice? Foerster's? BJU?

[Karen_OK]

Saxon Algebra has worked well for us. My husband has a degree in Math and he is the one that usually helps when someone gets "stuck". Our oldest son also used Jacobs Geometry independently with help from Dad when needed.

[Sunshine State Sue]

I was able to obtain several different Algebra texts through inter-library loan. I chose Foerster's. It is clear and challenging. There is no Geometry, so I'll use Jacob's. There is Alg 2, Trig, Pre-Calc, and Calc.

 

Other good options are Lial's, Jacob's, and Life of Fred. I think only LoF has everything from Algebra to Calculus.

[Lori D.]

I was able to obtain several different Algebra texts through inter-library loan. I chose Foerster's... Other good options are Lial's, Jacob's, and Life of Fred.

 

 

Sue's idea of looking at various texts to compare/decide is a great one. And if your library doesn't have some of the textbooks you're interested in, you might check your goodwill or used bookstores -- or see if you can ask local homeschoolers what they use and if you could look at their textbooks, or compare at a homeschool convention -- even consider buying several different textbooks used (if they aren't too expensive) from online sources. To have a student self-teach, you really want to look a text over carefully to make sure it's going to be a good match.

 

For self-teaching, Jacobs Algebra 1 and Jacobs Geometry are very gentle, incremental, and I had no problems helping if older DS ran into a difficulty. There is a teacher manual for each, though it doesn't contain very much more instruction than the student textbook; the TM are most useful for the additional examples, but esp. for the answers to the set 1 and set 3 problems (set 2 answers are in the back of the textbook). DS could easily have self-taught with Jacobs, but as a highly auditory learner, he liked having me read the instructional portion of the textbook aloud to him. I hardly ever had to step in for anything else.

 

Currently, older DS is using Foerster Algebra 2, and is doing it completely on his own without any difficulties. Lots of teaching text, pretty gentle / incremental. Quite rigorous, as it covers proofs (having the student show WHY a theorem or mathematical principle is true), plus multiple ways of solving problems. Be forewarned: you will want to circle selected problems in some lessons, as NO WAY a student can do all of the problems -- unless math is ALL they are going to do that day.

 

 

What has your DD been using so far, and has that been a good fit? That also might give you a good feel for her learning style to know what to look for in a text for self-teaching.

 

BEST of luck, whatever you go with! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[Rhonda in TX]

DD loves Life of Fred, but I'm hesitant to rest everything on it for the upper levels. DS tried L of F, but could not see past the story to the math. He does much better with CLE.

 

I will see what the library has. DH also has a degree in math, so I'll get him to look at the different curriculums as well.

[Heather in VA]

I'm a math major and I like Life of Fred the best. I had been using Jacob's Geometry and it was fine, good even, but I just told my daughter we are going to do LOF instead because I just feel like it's better and the student is required to understand the concepts better.

 

Forester's and Jacobs are both good, don't get me wrong - but I just like LOF as not only a complete program but one that forces the student to really think. My dd is not pleased because she's much prefer to put less effort in and just get by. LOL.

 

Heather

[claussenpc]

Rhonda,

 

This past spring I taught BJU math at a Christian High School ( Filled in for a month). I would not recommend their courses for self teaching. Many of the concepts rely on the teacher to present to the students. For example.....in Algebra 1, the slopes of vertical and horizontal lines were not covered directly but only a reference made in a small paragraph in the student manual. The teacher had to present this material. Now a very bright math loving student would pry catch it.......it is something that should be presented ...

 

Geometry only gets worse ( the self- teaching aspect that is)

 

I do have a friend whos daughter self taught with BJU Math but she is exceptional...she is now a straight A college student in chemical engineering.

 

I chose Foerester.....I also have a Math degree. The explanations of concepts in the Foerester student text are wonderful.

[AngieW in Texas]

My girls have enjoyed Kinetic Books. My middle has used it for Algebra I and will be returning to it for Algebra II. My oldest has used it only for Algebra II. It works great as a self-taught program. It has immediate feedback on the practice problems, but the end-of-unit problems are done with pencil&paper. We use Jacobs for Geometry.

[Sharon in MD]

I think these are excellent and challenging texts...especially Foerster's through the pre-calc level.

 

Frankly that is where I threw in the towel...I no longer had the strength of mind to maintain the pace necessary for ds. So for Calculus we switched to Chalkdust and I was extremely grateful for the vid at that point!

 

:blushing:

[asta]

The absolute simplest series I have ever encountered (and dirt cheap, I might add) is the one written by Materials and Technology for Education. The only thing I found frustrating about it was their answer key, but if you are math-y, that wouldn't be a problem for you.

 

I met one of the authors (a retired math professor, Martin Poage), and he was the most delightful man. There is *literally* no fluff in these books. The subjects are very straight forward, and include topics often left out of "popular" books (like logic).

 

 

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[Melissa in Australia]

Saxon is working well here. DS15 has just about finished algebra 2. he does it totally independently. I would recommend getting the solutions book. I find it very helpful.

[Rhonda in TX]

claussenpc - Thanks for the info on BJU. I'll cross that off the list.

 

Lots of things to consider here. Thanks for the all the help!

[Susan C.]

Rhonda,

I DO like BJU with the DVDs from Algebra 1 on. The teachers add what is needed. So, if you ever get time crunched and/or don't want to teach the math, it is a good option. It runs itself, all you have to do is correct quizzes and tests.

[Rhonda in TX]

My DD actively despises video instruction. DS does not have the attention span to sit and listen for that long (sad, but true). It's definitely something I'll keep in mind for the future, though.

[Brenda in MA]

the Dolciani books for Algebra, and the Geometry book by Brown in the same series. Some here like the older versions, but I was gifted a 2000 version of Algebra: Structure & Method Book 1 and used it last year with my 7th grader. We both really enjoyed the book. The TM has 3 lesson plans -- minimum, average, and maximum so you can easily adjust the program to your child's level. The lesson and examples provided in the text are short and to the point. The harder problems towards the end of the problem set are challenging and are nice for a student who wants a deeper study. We are using the Geometry book this year, and it has periodic algebra reviews. A fair number of the medium difficulty problems also require algebra to solve, so it's really helping my son to remember and utilize his algebra skills from last year.

 

This program doesn't have DVD instruction, and the TM just gives the answers, not the complete solutions, which makes it tougher for a teacher who is not comfortable with math to teach. In your case, that wouldn't be a problem. The school teacher who gave me the algebra 1 books when her school was updating raved about them, and now I can see why.

 

HTH,

Brenda

[SusanAR]

IMO, Lial's is very user friendly. I used and liked Foerster's algebra I and II and Jacobs for geometry. We are using CD for pre-cal, but I own a Lial's precal book which I think is probably the easiest to understand without outside help. I have used it several times this year because it spreads concepts over 2-3 sections, whereas CD covers them all in one:tongue_smilie: I tried to match the Lial's text to the CD dvd lectures, but couldn't, so we are using the CD text. If the algebra and geometry are written in the same way, I would think they would be great for self-teaching.