The best geometry course? Your Experiences with them?

[LuvingLife]

I have been searching and searching for a new geometry course, but can't seem to choose one that is best for me. I have been looking at Teaching Textbooks, Harold Jacobs, Saxon Geometry, and Life of Fred.

 

Which do you guys think is better, and what experience have you had with them?

 

I was thinking of doing Harold Jacobs with TT, or Saxon with TT, is that good?:confused:

Edited May 27, 2010 by LuvingLife
Please, I really need help!

[Susan C.]

Experiences at our house, with creative, language based kids:

 

Saxon: didn't work, too scattered, didn't work on one thing long enough to master

TT: ds did the precalc. and I looked at the other programs, the constant review rather than just working on the concept taught was not good (I do know other people that do like TT Geometry).

Chalkdust: ds did ok with Chalkdust Traditional Geometry, it was a little rough for him, he said he had to look at the solutions and go backwards to figure out how to do the problems. Dd this past year literally rolled over and died with the same program.... we were doing it all afternoon, tears, screaming, etc. SO....

BJU: Our geometry hero!!! Your kid watches one dvd a day, does what the teacher says to (and she is wonderful), the assignments are very reasonable, everything is explained well, concepts are reviewed, quizzes are given, test prep. as well. The course is about middle in dificulty. I noticed the teacher skips a lot of the harder problems, and although they do proofs, she makes every statement and reason multiple choice, AND the proof on the test is like what they did in class. (CD assigned proofs on the tests that had never been seen before and expected the kids to know what to do, yeah, right....).

 

I'm not sure about combining two programs, I think that would be awful, but see what others say.

[LuvingLife]

I have heard Chalkdust is more for those that excel in math. I can, and sometimes I just fall flat!:glare:

 

BJU sounds good, looks good, but I have read alot of negative reviews for geometry.

 

:iagree: on the instructions and how they are taught are good, I'm just not sure, I will look into it though!

 

Thanks!

[momof8]

LOVE Teaching Textbooks Geometry!! It has worked really well for my three high schoolers. I am also intrigued with LofF and every review I've seen has good things to say about them.

[RENEEinVA]

Okay, my dd is just finishing up with Chalkdust Geometry using the new version. In her opinion it was good (she never jumps up and down for joy about any curriculum). She thought the lessons on dvd were fairly easy to follow, the number of problems per lesson were doable, and the solutions manual more than adequate. On the occasions she did get stuck, we found the step-by-step answers in the solutions manual were great.

[Susan C.]

The BJU negative reviews may be the older edition and teacher. There is a new edition with a new teacher, and we loved her! There are samples online.

[Jugglin'5]

I was planning on BJU DVDs, but I didn't realize that it was that light on the proofs. :glare: Maybe I need to look at Jacobs' again. Sigh.

[Lori D.]

We used Jacobs Geometry (2nd ed.) with math-minded older DS and Math-U-See Geometry with math struggler DS. Each choice worked great for each student. My conclusion: the best geometry program for ME is the one that works for each individual STUDENT. ;)

 

 

To determine what geometry program is going to work best for your family, perhaps answer some questions first:

- What type of learning style does the student have who will be using the program?

- Does the student do better with a mastery or a spiral approach?

- Do you need the student to be able to do the program "solo"?

- Is cost a factor?

- How much help will the student need?

- How much help are you able to give in math?

- How much teacher support will YOU need?

 

I suggest looking over the table of contents and the sample pages -- and have your student do so, too -- to see which program "clicks" for you and for your student. BEST of luck in deciding! Warmest regards, Lori D.

 

 

Teaching Textbooks

table of contents

sample pages

Incremental, mastery approach. Can be done solo by the student. Detailed video component for every lesson. I believe they have pretty good support if you, the parent/teacher need help. I have heard people comment about TT Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 that they are gentle -- but it is because they do not really cover all the topics that typical Algebra 1 & 2 programs cover -- that you need to also do the first half of Pre-Calc. to get all of the Algebra topics typically covered. I do not know if this also holds true for the Geometry; from the table of contents it looks like it covers all the topics. From the sample lessons it looks very simple and broken down into easy steps.

 

 

Harold Jacobs

table of contents (3rd ed.)

sample pages (3rd ed.)

online support

Ask Dr. Callahan DVD support for Jacobs Geometry

Incremental, mastery approach. I understand the 3rd edition is fairly different from the 2nd edition we used, but the 2nd ed. is very incremental, pretty heavy on proofs, covers all the topics, has a real life example for every single lesson, and is now supported with DVD lessons from Ask Dr. Callahan. The 2nd ed. can be done solo by a "mathy" student; a student less confident with geometry will want help.

 

 

Saxon Geometry

table of contents and sample pages

Spiral approach. DIVE CDs with visual support component. Saxon Geometry, as with all Saxon levels of math, tends to be more abstract in presentation and explanations.

 

 

Life of Fred

table of contents

sample pages

[LuvingLife]

Cost is a big factor in my case, and chalkdust is too expensive to buy for us right now. I think I am going to use TT geometry along with Saxon algebra 1 or HJ algebra 1. The course I had for algebra 1 stunk! So I need to retake algebra 1 just to make sure I am on track.

 

The links that were given are amazing! I really enjoyed them and it has made my decision easier. Thanks for all the posts that were given, I appreciate it!:smilielol5:

[Storm Bay]

Cost is a big factor in my case, and chalkdust is too expensive to buy for us right now. I think I am going to use TT geometry along with Saxon algebra 1 or HJ algebra 1. The course I had for algebra 1 stunk! So I need to retake algebra 1 just to make sure I am on track.

 

The links that were given are amazing! I really enjoyed them and it has made my decision easier. Thanks for all the posts that were given, I appreciate it!:smilielol5:

 

 

Wait :D:D:D -- you haven't heard from Life of Fred fans yet. I'd do Life of Fred along with another one. LOF is very affordable and has many wonderful things about how it applies it to real life and makes dc think, whereas TT costs a lot more. You could get a used HG or Saxon & add a new LOF for less than TT.

Edited June 4, 2010 by Karin

[Susan C.]

I was planning on BJU DVDs' date=' but I didn't realize that it was that light on the proofs. :glare: Maybe I need to look at Jacobs' again. Sigh.[/quote']

 

There were plenty of proofs! And you can always do more than assigned, there are plenty in the book.

[TravelingChris]

My dd who thinks she didn't learn geometry well did LOF and Aleks. Then she did the ACT. Even though her overall math score wasn't stellar, her geometry and trig portion was at a 95% level. I have gone back and decided to review ALg 1 LOF with her and then we will continue reviewing ALg 2 LOF with her. Obviously, that was something that worked for her and ALEKS probably helped some too but not as much I think. IF she can do equally well on all the portions, she will end up with a 30 score in math instead of a 25.

[DianeW88]

We've loved VideoText for Algebra and we will most likely purchase their Geometry for my dd. My favorite part? Every. single. problem. shows the entire solution in the answer key...not just the answer. I could hug the man who developed the program for that alone!! :lol:

 

Diane W.

married for 22 years

homeschooling 3 kiddos for 16 years

[LuvingLife]

Wait :D:D:D -- you haven't heard from Life of Fred fans yet. I'd do Life of Fred along with another one. LOF is very affordable and has many wonderful things about how it applies it to real life and makes dc think, whereas TT costs a lot more. You could get a used HG or Saxon & add a new LOF for less than TT.

 

LOF sounds interesting, and I love to read so the stories will probably help me with geometry. I have been looking at HG and Saxon on ebay to help supplement with LOF, and :iagree: that the cost is a lot less than TT. All I will need now is a algebra 1 course to go along with it, and I am golden for math!!

 

Any suggestions??:lurk5:

[Storm Bay]

LOF sounds interesting, and I love to read so the stories will probably help me with geometry. I have been looking at HG and Saxon on ebay to help supplement with LOF, and :iagree: that the cost is a lot less than TT. All I will need now is a algebra 1 course to go along with it, and I am golden for math!!

 

Any suggestions??:lurk5:

 

 

Saxon & TT are not good math fits at our house, although my second one finds TT fun because it's easy--this is partly because TT has a different scope and sequence.

 

At our house, good fits have been Lial's & the old Dolciani Structure & Method as well as Life of Fred. But of your choices, I'd go with Harold Jacob's over Saxon & TT based on our experience. We used HJ, and it was fine, but too gentle for my eldest. This doesn't mean it would be too gentle for my other dc, but sadly I didn't keep that one because of how much I paid for it used (I resold it on eBay when I used to do eBay, but since then have simply kept any Algebra books we've bought as a mini library for my three dc.)

[LuvingLife]

Saxon & TT are not good math fits at our house, although my second one finds TT fun because it's easy--this is partly because TT has a different scope and sequence.

 

At our house, good fits have been Lial's & the old Dolciani Structure & Method as well as Life of Fred. But of your choices, I'd go with Harold Jacob's over Saxon & TT based on our experience. We used HJ, and it was fine, but too gentle for my eldest. This doesn't mean it would be too gentle for my other dc, but sadly I didn't keep that one because of how much I paid for it used (I resold it on eBay when I used to do eBay, but since then have simply kept any Algebra books we've bought as a mini library for my three dc.)

 

THAT'S IT!! Lial's was the name of the math book that everyone has been talking about!:party: I kept hearing about it and when you said it, that's the one! I am probably going to use that or forester's for algebra 2. But thanks for the extra info which is exactly what I needed. Maybe Saxon will help, maybe not. But my mom and I have some serious work to do! THANK YOU!!!!!:lol:

[mamananci]

I was going to do TT's but I think now my dd will take an online course from Jann in Tx....

 

I know she posted a link the other day....anyhow, I think my dd will learn if she is accountable to somebody besides me....

Edited June 8, 2010 by mamananci

[LuvingLife]

I might use geometry from Jann in TX as well, she has a great program and I am looking into it now. Thanks so much for all of the suggestions everyone has given!!!:D:001_smile:

[Gratia271]

My dd is going to be taking Geometry with Jann this fall. I ordered the book several months ago, and it looks great!

[Storm Bay]

THAT'S IT!! Lial's was the name of the math book that everyone has been talking about!:party: I kept hearing about it and when you said it, that's the one! I am probably going to use that or forester's for algebra 2. But thanks for the extra info which is exactly what I needed. Maybe Saxon will help, maybe not. But my mom and I have some serious work to do! THANK YOU!!!!!:lol:

 

 

Glad I could help & that I brought up more than you said ;) . Get the one Jann in TX recommends, because even though it worked for dd, I bought the wrong one.