Do we need to finish the algebra book?

[ondreeuh]

DD is taking for-ev-er to get through Chalkdust Algebra. She is a slow worker with math (pokey and careful) and we are now at the point that it will take her ALL summer to finish if she keeps going at the rate of 3 days per lesson (she spends at least 2 hours per day). She checks her work as she goes and does extra problems when she determines that she needs more practice, and she does really well on her tests. Math is a lot less stressful and overwhelming at this pace and she feels in control.

 

In the interest of salvaging our summer, since she has several camps to go to plus a family vacation (and just family TIME since my husband has been deployed all year!) we decided to try again to do a lesson in just two days but she is now spending about 4 hours a day on math which is ridiculous and she is back to being overwhelmed.

 

I just compared the table of contents of her book to the Algebra 1 book the PS uses. The PS book actually covers more than her book, but I know that in PS the class often doesn't finish the whole book. If she skips the last chapter in her book, she will be missing the content in chapters 9 and 11 from the PS book (but covering ch. 10 and 12).

 

She is going back to PS next year and will take Geometry as a freshman. No one is going to test her Algebra 1 knowledge, but I want her to know what she needs to know to do well in Geometry and be prepared for Alg. 2. How do you decide what is essential? What would you do?

 

(I have tried all sorts of things to get her speedier in math, but she is just a slow moving kiddo overall and nothing seems to get her moving faster).

[MomsintheGarden]

I've got to be quick - I need to plant onions before the t-storms hit today, but just a couple of thoughts:

 

1. Your daughter is moving at an average pace. It took my 2 dc 3 days/lesson for CD Alg. I.

2. Could you help her speed up a little by by checking her work for her? That's what I've been doing, and it saves a lot of time. I then either hand back the work and have the student self-correct, or go over the problems missed with the student, depending on what the difficulties are, etc.

3. Our CD Alg. I book is 4 years old, and the last chapter is Chapter 10: Quadratic Functions. It could definitely be skipped. Quadratic Functions are covered again in Algebra II - but not until Chapter 6. Chapters 1-5 in Algebra II are mostly review of Algebra I. So she should see the material again.

 

HTH,

GardenMom

[Pam in MA]

I also wonder why it's necessary for her to do Geometry as a freshman. There is more and more evidence that the current trend to push kids through algebra in eighth grade is not the best choice for everyone. In fact, if you look at Harvard and MIT's websites, they both mention they would rather a student come through with solid algebra skills when they hit college than have completed calculus in high school. Algebra is the foundation of everything that happens in higher math, so I would not feel the need to rush through any of it. It's often a developmental issue with kids as well. My daughter ended up doing algebra for two years (eighth and ninth) because I didn't feel she was mature enough to move away from it after eighth grade. JMHO!

[Pam L in Mid Tenn]

I don't think we need to "finish" every book. Most classrooms don't finish the book. Sometimes we all need a break. If you've done 80% then I'd call it done and enjoy your summer. You could always do some lessons over the summer and even on the weekends next fall if you feel it absolutely essential.

 

Spoken by one that desperately needs a long break. LOL

[ondreeuh]

I totally see what you are saying. At this point though, she's in chapter 8 out of 10, so I don't want her to start over next year. She also needs to take Geometry as a freshman to do the IB program. If we were homeschooling next year and she wasn't doing IB we would have more flexibility, but it's either start Alg.1 over from the beginning next year and forego IB, or just keep going and do Geometry.

[Susan C.]

Andrea,

I would be tempted to talk to next year's math teacher and ask where they want you to be at.

 

Susan

[MomsintheGarden]

If she's in chapter 8 of 10, she's doing well! CD takes a lot of It took my ds 11 school months to get through CD Algebra I, and he did a few sections over the summer to not forget. He did all of the chapters, including the integrated review. I agree that students need very strong algebra skills for trig and calculus, but algebra concepts are usually reviewed in Geometry (it is in CD), again in Algebra II, and again in Precalculus. If she is an average+ student, she will be just fine.

 

I think when what math is done depends on the student. Only you as a parent can tell whether or not she understands the concepts, and whether she should move on. If she were my child, I would feel that she was ready to go into Geometry after this year. She still has the rest of April and all of May in the "official" school year to get done with Chapters 8 & 9.

 

And finally, I have a student who was a slower worker. She just slogged along, and I patiently waited for her to cement all that she had learned into her brain (and also get past the tough part of puberty, when many children's brains seem to be on hold). She was very, very pokey until she hit the second half of Precalculus. Then it all clicked. She has gone through Calc I and II at a brisk speed, and really gets it! There is hope for the pokey students.

 

GardenMom

[ondreeuh]

Good idea! I will email the HS geometry teacher and see what s/he says.

[ondreeuh]

That is very reassuring.

 

I am going to talk to the PS Geometry teacher, and with his/her blessing I will skip Ch. 10. Doing 8 & 9 will take her to about the beginning of June, and there is a cumulative test for chapters 7-9 and I can call that her final. I am keeping the CD book and DVDs so if she gets to something in Geometry that she's forgotten she can review.

[Heather in VA]

I am not familiar with Chalkdust but just remember that Algebra 2 is comprised of review of Algebra and then new material. So she will see a lot of the end of the Algebra 1 book again. There are no hard and fast rules about how much is reviewed in Alg2. A lot of that has to do with whether its' Alg 2 or Alg2/Trig, but either way, there will be review. You may find they do all of Chalkdust Chapter 10 again when she hits Alg2.

 

Heather

[MomsintheGarden]

Doing 8 & 9 will take her to about the beginning of June, and there is a cumulative test for chapters 7-9 and I can call that her final.

 

There is a reason the cumulative test is after ch. 9, and not after chapter 10. The CD book publishers probably don't expect most classes to do the last chapter in their books. For instance, the precalc book's last chapter is about limits, the first topic covered in a calculus course.

 

I think your idea will work well.

 

GardenMom

[eumyang]

There is a reason the cumulative test is after ch. 9, and not after chapter 10. The CD book publishers probably don't expect most classes to do the last chapter in their books. For instance, the precalc book's last chapter is about limits, the first topic covered in a calculus course.

I'm not sure about that. Larson has another book from the same publisher titled "Precalculus with Limits," which has twelve chapters. There is a cumulative test for Chapters 10-12 and Chapter 12 is on limits. Also, the newer Larson book that CD uses, "Precalculus Functions and Graphs: A Graphing Approach," has eleven chapters, with a cumulative test for Chapters 10-11 (Chapter 11 is on limits).

 

As it is, I (mostly) agree with your earlier suggestion to skip Chapter 10. I would suggest, though, that at the very least the OP's daughter see go through 10.1, "Solution by the Square Root Property."

 

 

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[Caroline]

As high school geometry teacher, I expect my students to be able to solve quadratic equations. Because we need to keep up the algebra skills along with teaching geometry, we give numerous area and volume problems throughout the year that require quadratics. Does that chapter also include factoring quadratics? That is a fundamental Algebra I skill. Seeing it for the first time in Algebra II if everyone in the class has seen it before will make things tough.

 

I really doubt that MIT takes many students who have not had calculus in high school. They say that they want strong algebra students, and I have no doubt that they mean it. However, there are more than enough strong algebra students who have also completed at least one if not two years of hs calculus.

[ondreeuh]

That is good to know! The chapter on quadratic equations has these lessons:

 

10.1: Solving quadratic equations: factoring and special forms

10.2: Completing the square

10.3: The quadratic formula

10.4: Graphs of quadratic functions

10.5: Application of quadratic equations

10.6: Quadratic and rational inequalities

 

Maybe she could just do part of it?

[eumyang]

I think there is a little confusion here. Certainly students going into Geometry should be able to solve quadratic equations, as Caroline said. But the bulk of Chapter 10 is on solving quadratics using different methods, as ondreeuh posted. At the very least, I think students should be able to solve quadratic equations by factoring and by taking square roots (equations in the form ax^2 = d). I don't think average students need to be able to solve by completing the square or by using the quadratic formula. (I'm actually not a homeschooling parent, but a high school math teacher. In my honors Algebra 1 class, I do cover material that is in most of chapter 10.)

 

ondreeuh, you must be using an older version of CD's Algebra 1 book, because the contents don't match up the book I'm thinking of (Larson, Elementary Algebra 5th ed is the book that CD uses now). Looking at your list of topics from chapter 10, you definitely need to cover section 10.1. I don't know where they would cover solving quadratic equations by taking square roots -- maybe it's also in 10.1? If not, maybe it's in the chapter on radicals?

 

 

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[Dee in MI]

(I'm actually not a homeschooling parent, but a high school math teacher. In my honors Algebra 1 class, I do cover material that is in most of chapter 10.)

 

Thanks for weighing in on this. It's great information.

[Hunter's Moon]

In Algebra I when it came to Quadratic equations all we covered was the basic factoring and solving. We didn't go over completing the square until Algebra II and even then, she expected people not to know it and I am in an honors class. We worked a little bit on graphing them but not really because by the time she is done with Geometry she might have already forgotten the bulk of this stuff anyways and they will review in Algebra II.

[ondreeuh]

Thank you! I am using the Combined Course book, 4th Ed. 10.1 includes: Solving QE by factoring, square root property, QE with complex solutions, and equations of quadratic form.

 

It sounds like as long as she really understands 10.1, we would be safe taking a summer break. She will be very relieved!

[ondreeuh]

Isn't that the funny part - unless she uses it she will forget most of it anyway. The most I can hope for is that it will be easier to learn the second time around ;)

[Robin in DFW]

I think students should complete every lesson in a math book. Other subjects, say...history, not as important. But to me, math lessons build on each other until the end of the book.

 

Don't try to convince yourself that since PS never finishes a math book it's okay.

 

My oldest only attended ps, never homeschooled. She never finished a math book, that is, if she had one. Some years, the students didn't even get a book until halfway through the class. The teachers would skip around from chapter to chapter, lesson to lesson, never doing anything in a logical order, but always trying to cover a district "objective" at a certain point in the year so the kids could pass the state testing. No wonder my dd never understood...and she was in AP classes! She had to take remedial math in college...beginning algebra...and she had completed through Pre-Calculus in ps!

 

I think math is one area where students need to do the book cover to cover and try, try, try to complete the whole thing. Then you have no concerns about not having covered something.

 

jmho,

Robin

[MamaBookworm]

I also wonder why it's necessary for her to do Geometry as a freshman. There is more and more evidence that the current trend to push kids through algebra in eighth grade is not the best choice for everyone. In fact, if you look at Harvard and MIT's websites, they both mention they would rather a student come through with solid algebra skills when they hit college than have completed calculus in high school. Algebra is the foundation of everything that happens in higher math, so I would not feel the need to rush through any of it. It's often a developmental issue with kids as well. My daughter ended up doing algebra for two years (eighth and ninth) because I didn't feel she was mature enough to move away from it after eighth grade. JMHO!

 

 

My daughter is math pokey also. She is good at it but just SLOW. We began her in 8th grade Algebra becausse we planned for her to take 2 years to complete it. She has nearly reached the halfway mark now with 8 weeks left in our school year so when she finishes I'll find some online/dvd resources to review and supplement and she'll start part B in the fall. If your absolutely committed to her taking Geometry in the fall Then I'd start condensing, fewer problems per page eliminate all the review sections and pretty much skip the last few chapters which are normally reintroduced in Alg2. I'm not familiar with Chalkdust curriculum but most curriuclums have more material that is really needed. Also, something to consider, my oldest son went straight from Alg 1 to Alg 2 and saved a TON of time not having to review so many items. Gave him a chance to get a head start on Geometry which has been very challenging for him since he over thinks his proofs.