Speaking of starting Algebra too early....

[Rhondabee]

Not sure if this is just normal, or something that says we need more "math" practice before starting Algebra next year:

 

This year we're using BJU Pre-Algebra. Basically, the first part of the book is dealing with variables and co-efficients, percents, decimals and fractions. Now, we're into the second part of the book, which is geometry (and later, will cover probability).

 

I have been giving my ds a few equations to solve each day from the first part of the book. And, sometimes he has just forgets. For example, one day last week he needed to divide 8 by 2/3; he knew that's what needed to be done, but couldn't for the life of him remember how to do it.

 

So, I asked him, "OK, if you divided 2 by 1/2, what would your answer be?" And he knew that was 4, so I wrote that out as an equation, and then he realized what he needed to do. (And, I reminded him to call "multiplying by the reciprocal" instead of "oh, yeah, flip that thing and then multiply it" - which, I'm not telling him, is in fact what *I* called it for years - LOL!)

 

Part of me is worried that he shouldn't need to be reminded before moving on to Algebra (I'm planning on Jacob's for next year). But, the other half remembers that *I* often needed reminding, too, on things that weren't the current lesson; and that, as he uses it, it will become better ingrained.

 

So----What would you do?

 

Thanks!

Rhonda

[Claire]

I'd probably put him through Lial's BCM before starting algebra. BCM goes enough in-depth on the basic skills that it makes good prep for algebra. IMO, algebra is hard enough even if you remember how to do basic manipulations. If you don't have those basics down to a level of automaticity, the brain is going to be diverted from "making sense" of the problem and lose track of where it's going. JMO.....

[Myrtle]

(And, I reminded him to call "multiplying by the reciprocal" instead of "oh, yeah, flip that thing and then multiply it" - which, I'm not telling him, is in fact what *I* called it for years - LOL!)

 

 

 

My son certainly did not have a super memory either; he's never been one of those kids that performs 100% on tests or answers 50 addition problems in 30seconds or whatever the current standards are for that sort of thing. Our algebra program doesn't assume that the student has anything other than basic knowledge they bring with them from arithmetic, and in fact, teaching correct terminology is part and parcel of the algebra program. (It implicitly assumes the kid was taught via a traditional arithmetic program with standard algorithms but without understanding the concepts behind what they had been doing in arithmetic) It not only has the kids use "reciprocal" but also "multiplicative inverse", "additive inverse", "axioms of equailty" etc. The word "FOIL" never appears. Foerster's is pretty good about this and so are the old (60's early 70s Dolcianis).

 

When it came time for division of fractions, the book begins with a proof that dividing by a number is the same thing as multiplying by its multiplicative inverse.

 

At any rate, it's appropriate that algebra goes back and re-explains everything that the kid was learning in arithmetic, teaches vocabulary and justification. My son had a spotty memory as well but that got fixed once he was exposed to why the algorithms worked, memorized proofs, was required to learn algebra out of a text that consistently used correct terminology for explanations rather than relying on pictures, stories, and analogies. I guess it's easier to 'get the concept' when it's explained in everyday language, but in the long run being forced to deal day in and day out with correct language has helped him be able to be comfortable with mathematical expository prose, and now it all seems very natural to him.

 

That and swimming in fractions all day long every day and deriving everything from first principles when he can't remember has "fixed" that spotty memory.

 

Now walking into algebra as an innumerate student might be a problem, but assuming we aren't talking about some sort of an extreme situation it seems to be the case that you don't really learn your arithmetic until you take algebra and you don't really learn your algebra until you take trig, and you don't really learn trig until...:tongue_smilie:

[Rhondabee]

I went with BJU this year after getting BCM and just knowing it would be too different for my ds.

 

I had thought about just dropping where we are in BJU and using BCM to review what we've covered so far, because I'm not really sure all this geometry is really needed for pre-algebra. So, would you finish the BJU first?

[Rhondabee]

So, do you use Foerster's? (Do you have an ISBN?)

 

Sounds like our sons (and me) are very similar. I'd love to at least look through whatever you're using!

 

Thanks for the reply!

Rhonda

[Myrtle]

We don't use Foerster's.

 

It's on my shelf because, somebody, cough cough, said there weren't enough proofs in it to his liking.

 

However, Foester's explicitly lists out the properties of a real number field, axioms of equality, etc.

[Rhondabee]

I was frankly more than a bit intimidated, and thinking it would only work with the whiz-kids. (I mean, if I can't possibly comprehend someone's posts :confused:, how can I possibly comprehend what he recommends?)

 

Well, that's interesting. More possibilities to consider....

 

Do you add anything to Gelfand's, or just use it as is?

 

Sorry to keep asking you so many questions :D

 

Rhonda

[Myrtle]

We use Gelfand as a supplement and it's my impression that it was designed to be used that way although H Wu has an article up about what the shortcomings might be when using it as a primary program.

 

Our primary math program is something that is out of print.

[Claire]

I went with BJU this year after getting BCM and just knowing it would be too different for my ds.

 

I had thought about just dropping where we are in BJU and using BCM to review what we've covered so far, because I'm not really sure all this geometry is really needed for pre-algebra. So, would you finish the BJU first?

 

I'm not familiar with BJU, so I'm not sure what I would do in this situation -- probably finish BJU and do BCM. Geometry is not at all necessary for prealgebra, so I would be tempted to skip over that and save it for later, as an introduction to geometry short course (perhaps alongside Key To Geometry, which also serves as an introduction to geometry).

[Ruth in Canada]

I'd let him brush up on his skills using Aleks. The free month-long trial might be enough. It will target anything he's uncertain about and won't bore him with stuff he already knows.

 

We did this between geometry and algebra II and we may do it again between algebra II and pre-calc.

[Michelle in MO]

our girls do BCM in 6th grade (they did it in 7th) and then Lial's Pre-algebra, even though the two books are somewhat redundant, or perhaps some other series like the Key-To series, before starting Algebra in 8th grade. It seems like they weren't quite ready for Algebra, for whatever reason, and doing Algebra in 8th grade was a bit of an uphill climb for both older girls.

[Rhondabee]

Thanks!

[Rhondabee]

Oh - good idea! thanks!