LOF Beginning and Advanced Algebra

[Brindee]

I am confused on how solid this is, compared to, say, Lial's or Foerster's, or something like that. I thought they were like Algebra 1 and Algebra 2. However, my ds (now 16) did the Beginning Algebra fairly easily over a summer and a month or so into the school year. Then he did the Advanced Algebra, and finished it before the end of the school year (9th grade). He is doing Geometry this year at a Christian school (and would have done it at home as well if we had homeschooled), and wants to do Algebra 2 next year, cuz he doesn't feel like he got enough to know it well! :confused:

 

My dd is coming up on this soon. She will finish up CLE 8, then go into LOF Beginning Algebra. I was thinking, based on what my son experienced, of doing the same with her then: LOF Beg & Advanced Alg., then Geometry, then a different Algebra 2 program.

 

She's doing 7th & 8th this year (by her request), and will do 9th next year, so I'm trying to set up a time table of how her math should go. It is POSSIBLE that she could go into a science (Chemistry)-related field.

 

Can anyone help me with ideas on how to set this all up? :001_huh: Thankyou for any help you may be able to offer!

 

 

ETA: I should mention that she wants to do Apologia Chemistry next year, but hasn't had Algebra yet. If she is doing Algebra concurrently with the Apologia, will that work?

Edited February 24, 2010 by Brindee

[Kareni]

The two Life of Fred books that you mention are indeed considered fairly typical Algebra I and II courses. Perhaps Algebra just comes easily to your son; your daughter might have a different experience.

 

If you are not convinced that your son has mastered Algebra II, I do have one suggestion. Locate some final exams from a different Algebra II curriculum and see how he fares. (Do be aware that many Algebra II curricula assume that the student has already taken Geometry and therefore discount any problems that would assume that knowledge.)

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Brindee]

The two Life of Fred books that you mention are indeed considered fairly typical Algebra I and II courses. Perhaps Algebra just comes easily to your son; your daughter might have a different experience.

 

If you are not convinced that your son has mastered Algebra II, I do have one suggestion. Locate some final exams from a different Algebra II curriculum and see how he fares. (Do be aware that many Algebra II curricula assume that the student has already taken Geometry and therefore discount any problems that would assume that knowledge.)

 

Regards,

Kareni

He's the one that said he thought he needed more Algebra. My dh was helping him. He's taking Geometry at his school this year.

 

Thankyou for your answer! I feel better about it now. I'll let her work her way through with the Home Companion then, and see how it goes. We already have the LOF Geometry, so I guess DD's set for math for awhile, as long as LOF keeps working for her.

 

Thanks again!

[LanaTron]

But, my ds already hit one topic in Beg. Alg. for which there was not enough practice for him. Well, two really. He came into LoF from Singapore, and had not had negative numbers yet, so learning that alongside learning how to solve basic equations was a little hard for him, and I had to go over it with him mulitple times.

 

But we really hit stumbling block with the D=rt problems. They were really tough for him (and me) for some reason, and I had him repeat some exercises until he could at least figure out how to set up the equation. Now, he's moving forward in the lessons, but I'm having him go back and work one D=rt problem a day, until he can do them easily.

 

That said, I can see why your ds might feel like he needs more Alg. II to be truly comfortable with the topics. Perhaps a little review from another source, instead of completely re-taking Alg II, would make him more comfortable.

[Joan in GE]

I do not have Lial's but I have started comparing Foerster Algebra II (and others) to Life of Fred Advanced Algebra + companion guide.

 

I think there is a big difference.

 

I haven't compared all topics by any means, but eg matrices...

 

there are 4 pages of matrices in the main LoF and 2 pages in the companion guide. In Foerster's, you jump in at augmented matrices which are not even covered in LoF. If you need help in understanding the augmented matrices in Foerster you have to go back to the appendix to read up on adding and multiplying them etc. Since I don't have Foerster's Algebra I, I don't know if it was presented there already?

 

The topic of matrices is covered more thoroughly in Dolciani (various copyrights) and Prentice Hall Alg II (c2004) than in LoF. In Prentice Hall, there are 70 pages about them (including geometry of matrices). There it seems to be overkill and for people who need minute increments and lots of practice (and it adds in the geometry of matrices). But these are vast differences.

 

Some say LoF covers all topics well, just with a different slant. But from just one topic being cross examined, I do not think that it is just a question of a different slant on the topic. These other books cover more aspects of a topic (eg. inverses, scalars and some have more than that), normally with a much greater number of more difficult problems.

 

You could say that they will get this subject in Pre-Calc but I would think it would make the job of learning that much harder if you haven't gotten it in Alg II...and it depends on whether the Pre-Calc class/book is going to expect you to have been introduced to these aspects of a topic already.

 

I find LoF helpful for understanding concepts that are just too formalized or abstracted already in other books and so keep him on the shelf for that. Some of his presentations are novel. I would definitely not use it as the base/main text though.

 

It depends what the student wants to do when finished with Advanced Algebra.

Edited February 26, 2010 by Joan in Geneva
add info

[TravelingChris]

I currently have Chalkdust Algebra 2 and LOF ALgebra 2. They look to cover the same material and not matrices. As I remember, I never had matrices in high school and I went through pre-calculus. I used to have Foerster's and in my estimation, the book covered parts of Alg 2 and parts of pre-calc.

[kpupg]

I currently have Chalkdust Algebra 2 and LOF ALgebra 2. They look to cover the same material and not matrices.

 

Uh .... LOF Alg 2 DOES include matrices. Chapter 9.

 

General comment: It has been hashed and re-hashed on this board: LOF is a fine program that covers all topic areas well and is light on practice. Many families combine LOF with another curriculum to provide more problem sets and/or another slant on the subject.

[Brindee]

General comment: It has been hashed and re-hashed on this board: LOF is a fine program that covers all topic areas well and is light on practice.

We've enjoyed the LOF we've done so far, and I feel it's a great program. It helped my ds "get it" better than other programs he'd done. I've just been curious as to how it's worked with others---wasn't sure if what ds did was typical or just him.

 

Many families combine LOF with another curriculum to provide more problem sets and/or another slant on the subject.

I agree. DD did the Fractions and Dec. & % books with Singapore, which worked out well to make a fuller math year. Maybe that's the difference--ds just did LOF at his own pace, and HE really wanted to get through them. My dh is the one that helps them with math now, and he works with them at their pace, and is a good encourager! :)

 

 

I appreciate everyone's comments and responses! Thankyou so much!

[In The Great White North]

If you are not convinced that your son has mastered Algebra II, I do have one suggestion. Locate some final exams from a different Algebra II curriculum and see how he fares.

 

:iagree: He may know more than he realizes, or he may just want to know it as well as he knows the times tables (which is not a bad thing.)

 

We used an older Foerster Alg II (with matrices) after an older Foerster Alg I (no matrices), and LoF. We switched back and forth, depending on which made more sense for a given topic. I compared the list topics and found them to be very similar. However, sometimes Fred approached things from a totally different direction than Foerster. (For example, one taught parabolas starting with the graph, the other started with the equation.)

[Brindee]

:iagree: He may know more than he realizes, or he may just want to know it as well as he knows the times tables (which is not a bad thing.)

 

We used an older Foerster Alg II (with matrices) after an older Foerster Alg I (no matrices), and LoF. We switched back and forth, depending on which made more sense for a given topic. I compared the list topics and found them to be very similar. However, sometimes Fred approached things from a totally different direction than Foerster. (For example, one taught parabolas starting with the graph, the other started with the equation.)

That sounds like fun, almost! :D If he was home, I think I'd do that with him! I'll see how dd does, and will probably do something like this with her as well. Thanks for the idea of what else could be used!