Geometry recommendations

[mom2g2b]

We have struggled through Saxon Alg. 1 this year with the help of the Saxon Teacher cd. I'm not much help to my dd. I think she needs more practice with new concepts instead of the spiral way Saxon is.

 

Teaching Textbooks seems to be liked, but some of the reviews I read say it is behind. Does that mean she wouldn't be prepared for the SAT?

 

Mathusee is another option. I think that would fit learning style and the DVD's would be helpful.

 

Saxon has a new geometry text that a Saxon Teacher CD will be available for in May.

 

DD is interested in going to college and majoring in Pre-Law and going on to law school. She isn't going into a math field.

 

Vickie

[mcconnellboys]

I believe that VideoText has out a geometry program now. I have not used it, but my older son did their algebra and it worked well for him.

[mbeaser]

I'm no help, but I was coming here to ask pretty much the same thing for a friend, so I will be watching for replies as well.

[Brindee]

TT has "creative labeling", is what I call it. They are not "behind", they just label things differently. There is a placement test on their site to see what level the child would place in.

 

From what I've heard, TT's Geometry is their best level of math. There are lots of kids who have used TT maths and done very well on the SAT.

 

There's also Life of Fred. People say that's just a supplement, but others have said they've compared, and LoF is a full curriculum. It's done in story form and has very practical real-life applications. I think the story way of teaching math comes across as "incomplete" to some people, because it's different; not the set way of doing things.

 

My oldest ds did VT Algebra, and did very well with it, but that was before the Geometry was available, so I can't say what the Geometry is like.

[EKS]

 

Teaching Textbooks seems to be liked, but some of the reviews I read say it is behind. Does that mean she wouldn't be prepared for the SAT?

 

 

 

TT Geometry is a self contained course and is not behind. I carefully compared it to Jacobs (both editions) and it covers *all* of the same material. We even did one chapter in Jacobs after doing it in TT and the only difference was that some of the Jacobs problems assumed a higher level of *algebra* to complete. This assumption did not affect the geometry aspect at all and since my son had done Jacobs Algebra, he had no trouble with it.

 

So I have no trouble recommending TT Geometry. It is a solid geometry course, though it is not honors level.

[Susan C.]

One problem with TT though, is that it is spiral like Saxon. We had problems with both programs because of the spiral learning.

 

I started this year with dd's geometry with Chalkdust Traditional, it was too hard, so I got BJU Geometry with the dvd rental. Love it. A real teacher that does ALL of the teaching. All I have to do is grade tests. And they only cover one concept at a time.

[lizziebeth]

I am also looking into geometry for next year. Has anyone used TTC course by James Noggle? If so, what did you think, and what text did you use to supplement the lectures?

[sbaloue]

Has anyone used Mathusee for Geometry? I am considering using this with LOF Geometry.

[EKS]

One problem with TT though, is that it is spiral like Saxon.

 

TT Geometry is *not* spiral or incremental, though it does have continual review.

[Susan C.]

TT Geometry is *not* spiral or incremental, though it does have continual review.

 

OK, that means I don't like spiral, or continual review :)

 

They felt the same to us.... but I see what you mean. TT has an order to it, they introduce concepts in order, with them divided conceptually by chapter. Saxon was more random (doubly bad for us). Both of my kids did/do better with doing one thing at a time, with reviews every few chapters of all learned so far.

[Brindee]

TT Geometry is *not* spiral or incremental, though it does have continual review.

 

OK, that means I don't like spiral, or continual review :)

 

They felt the same to us.... but I see what you mean. TT has an order to it, they introduce concepts in order, with them divided conceptually by chapter. Saxon was more random (doubly bad for us). Both of my kids did/do better with doing one thing at a time, with reviews every few chapters of all learned so far.

I'm glad you ladies talked about this! My dd dislikes Saxon with a passion, but she likes TT. I don't pick up on this stuff well, so was wondering what the difference was. Now I understand better! Thankyou! :001_smile:

[74Heaven]

One problem with TT though, is that it is spiral like Saxon. We had problems with both programs because of the spiral learning.

 

I started this year with dd's geometry with Chalkdust Traditional, it was too hard, so I got BJU Geometry with the dvd rental. Love it. A real teacher that does ALL of the teaching. All I have to do is grade tests. And they only cover one concept at a time.

 

Both my mathy and my not-so-mathy dtrs did it. I added a few proofs in some of the lessons and I thought the teacher covered the proofs sections at a slightly too sparse level - but the book had plenty of proof instruction so we just added those in when I thought the homework wasn't covering proofs enough. It seemed the teacher (Dr. Conn on the 2003 DVDS I think - tho we did it in 2008 I think) for some reason didn't think the students needed to learn proofs as thoroughly as I did. Not a big deal tho. Same critique with the constructions - we did a little more than the homework required.

 

Also I can't remember if the DVD/teacher required the daily review exercises (I think algebra review) so I just had them do the 4-6 review exercises daily.

 

All that said, I was very pleased with the geometry education they got and the teaching. It was the most hands-off math year I have had thus far for my non-mathy dtr.

 

Lisaj

[tex-mex]

TT Geometry is *not* spiral or incremental, though it does have continual review.

 

I would heartily agree with you on this one -- we're using TT: Algebra I this year and personally as a former schoolteacher, I had to teach Saxon Math for 5+ years. Saxon is very much spiral & incremental (which is why in a problem set of 30 problems -- you get everything but the kitchen sink -- they won't let a student forget a past concept. LOL)

 

However, with TT: Algebra I -- I have found it to break down a major concept into smaller chunks for the student who finds math hard to understand. It is more "baby steps" to mastering a concept. One thing I find fault with it is that they DO NOT do enough review (i.e. word problems) for mastery. TT is not truly spiral or incremental as they do eventually leave past concepts behind and chug along with newer concepts in the 20+ problems assigned. We use it. It works. But also definitely not rigorous -- we chose it and are happy with it. Will use TT:Geometry for next year as many on this board say it is a solid good program (not rigorous) for SAT/ACT uses. HTH

[hsbeth]

My dd struggled a bit with Saxon Alg. 1 until I got back the problem sets significantly. We switched over to LOF this past year and have sailed through Geometry. Recently I gave her a final exam from a more traditional text and she scored quite well. We plan to stay with LOF from here on out. It's been so refreshing after Saxon!

[RENEEinVA]

We are currently using Chalkdust Geometry (new version). It is working well for my "mathy" dd. :)

[mom2g2b]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm going to look at the BJU w/ dvd's as well. I was thinking of supplementing with the Key to Algebra and Key to Geometry over the summer to help dd. She is not a math person and doesn't care for science but we are making progress slowly. Her strengths are with history, English, and debating.

 

Vickie

[Aggie]

What about Singapore?

 

I'm planning on using it through high school....any thoughts?

[rockala]

I was thinking of using Videotext for geometry...anyone not like that?

 

dd is in module E of the VT Algebra.

[Brindee]

I was thinking of using Videotext for geometry...anyone not like that?

 

dd is in module E of the VT Algebra.

My oldest ds did VT Algebra all the way through also, and did well with it. That was before they had the Geometry, though, or we probably would've used it. My second ds needed something completely different, so we didn't go back to the VT route.

 

I have heard it's done well, but I have no experience...

[Miss Marple]

What about Singapore?

 

Singapore algebra/geometry is great. You will be fine if you use it through the full sequence. If you decide to move out of Singapore before NEM 4A (I believe) you would need to pick up some geometry to complete the course.

 

I used Singapore with my oldest, but when he was a junior we decided to use our concurrent enrollment option. He could go directly into College Algebra, but he had not completely finished the series. I believe he had finished NEM 3B and had started 4A. We purchased The Teaching Company's high school geometry series and had him work through that over the summer. I called it good at that point for geometry.

 

If you ever run into questions about sequence or comparable courses, the singaporemath.com forum is a great resource.

[Miss Marple]

Has anyone used Mathusee for Geometry?

 

My ds#3 is using it right now. He's having great success and I have no complaints with it. My ds#2 tried LOF Geometry but it wasn't a good fit. He changed to Jacob's Geometry and did better.

[Miss Marple]

We just used the TTC geometry course to prep for the ACT. The two younger boys are currently working through geometry (MUS and Art of Problem Solving) so I wanted them to have a quick overview.

 

It's a good program, but we found several mistakes in the workbook. Luckily my ds#2 had already been through geometry and he was able to catch the problems and relay the information to his brothers.

[Angie in VA]

My dd struggled a bit with Saxon Alg. 1 until I got back the problem sets significantly. We switched over to LOF this past year and have sailed through Geometry. Recently I gave her a final exam from a more traditional text and she scored quite well. We plan to stay with LOF from here on out. It's been so refreshing after Saxon!

 

 

What text did you use for the exam and have you seen this link?

[mollies73]

Where do you get the BJU videos? I see the distance learning where you are "renting" for the year for $400, but not a place to purchase videos to go along with the high school math.

[Alyce]

My dd did MUS and my Ds did TT. If I had it to do over again I would have him to MUS. I like the mastery approach. It teaches one concept completely and makes sure they have it before moving on. If you use most of the worksheets I think it provides excellent review. The one warning is that it doesn't do much proofs and they come at the end of the program. That didn't matter to me since proofs aren't on the SAT and both my kids are not math or science bound. My dd actually did better on the SAT than my son. He admitted that he had trouble retaining what he was being taught. To him there wasn't enough review. I have heard all the positive reviews about TT and don't happen to agree but each student is different. For us the mastery approach worked much better.