Tardis Girl Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 Hi all -- I'm new to posting but have been reading on the forum for a bit. I am desperate for some help/advice in choosing a new math program. I have 2 daughters going into Algebra 2 (for one) and Pre-calculus (for the other one) for 11th grade. The quick version of my question is what would you recommend for these math levels that would be pretty much self-guided for girls who aren't naturally "mathy" (they want good explanations) but who also want something at a more rigorous, college-bound level? I was considering Chalkdust, but now here I've heard of Lial's, too. CD price is certainly cost prohibitive, especially because I need to buy 2 levels at the same time, but I am willing to work at finding less-expensive options for CD if that's the route we take. If you have time to hear a background summary, here it is: They have both been using Glencoe for the past couple of years -- not a typical choice for homeschoolers, but perhaps someone (like Jann??) is familiar with it. It's been pretty solid, I feel, but they really want something with more instruction/explanation (hence, I'm thinking DVDs, but maybe just a better textbook?) as they are largely self-taught in this area... somewhat by their own choice. While they excel more in the English area, they can hold their own in math when they really work at it and mostly need to work on being able to do it faster. They got reasonably high scores on the PLAN test (pre-ACT) this year, but of course would like to be able to do better. We ended up with classroom materials for Glencoe (student and teacher texts, along with quizzes, tests, etc.), which they have been using since pre-algebra. They pretty much stick with the student text and then we pull out the teacher text at times when needed. Dd1 is completing Glencoe Algebra 2 next week, and dd2 is completing Glencoe Geometry later this summer (she could then move right into Glencoe Algebra 2 since we have it, but she wants more instruction so I thought we could make a change for her too). We are full-time homeschoolers, but they did both go to the local high school for the first time this year to take chemistry (overall a challenging yet great experience!), and will be in physics there for 11th grade. We considered Teaching Textbooks after hearing so many people rave about it, and wanted to love it, but we were all quite disappointed by the limited amount of material covered; it just did not seem very challenging at all when comparing the same level of Glencoe. I know I'm asking a lot, especially when I haven't been a visible part of this community, but I am desperate for help from people who don't necessarily feel that Teaching Textbooks is the ultimate math answer for homeschoolers! Given that math is not their strong suit, and they want more instruction and explanation for self-guided study in these final years of higher-level math, what would you recommend?? Oh ya, and dd1 just informed me this week that after reading through a mailing from MIT and reviewing their website, she would really like to consider MIT as on option for college. Aack! lol Apparently they have some very appealing programs besides math, science, and engineering (but require math subject tests for all). Who knew?! ;) Stacey ------- Mom of 5 Homeschooling since 1996... has it been that long?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 I really like Kinetic Books for Algebra I and Algebra II. They now have Pre-algebra as well. Unfortunately, when I called to ask when they would be adding Precalculus, they didn't have an answer for me. From what I understand, they are currently working on expanding their science offerings. Kinetic Books Algebra II is very good for self-starters and independent learners. The immediate feedback they get on all the practice problems keeps them from working a whole lesson incorrectly and then having to unlearn what they did. Many of the practice problems have stepped help, so if you don't see what you did wrong, you can have it step you through to the answer. The end-of-unit problems are to be done with pencil and paper and answers are only provided for the odds (but the odds are more than enough problems). There are any solutions for those problems, just answers, so you may need to post anything you don't understand on these boards to find out how to do them. They do have a trial (and homeschoolers are eligible for it). Just use home school for your title and choose Algebra II as the program you want to do a trial of. http://www.kineticbooks.com/support/algebratrial.php I have been using the cheaper version of Chalkdust PreCalculus for my oldest this year. The videos were a LOT cheaper (about $25), but about half of the video clips my dd has tried to view were damaged. I'm thinking of using Lial's Precalculus for my middle dd next year instead of Larson's, but I'll keep what I have in case I decide that Larson's was better. In case you decide to try doing Chalkdust cheaper, these are the ISBNs for the cheaper versions (that Dana Mosley did for Houghton Mifflin) that I got from Pongo's thread. I used these to get Precalculus for my oldest this year. algebra 2 Algebra 2 DVD-ISBN: 9780618306763 Text ISBN: 9780618218783 Student Solutions ISBN 978-0618218806 precalculus http://www.amazon.com/Precalculus-Limits-Graphing-Approach-dvd/dp/0618394877/ref=sr_11_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1205523042&sr=11-1 Precalculus With Limits: A Graphing Approach (dvd edition) (CD-ROM) # ISBN-10: 0618394877 # ISBN-13: 978-0618394876 http://www.amazon.com/Precalculus-Functions-Graphs-Graphing-Approach/dp/0618394761/ref=pd_sim_b_title_2 Precalculus Functions And Graphs: A Graphing Approach (Paperback) # ISBN-10: 0618394761 # ISBN-13: 978-0618394760 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0618394818/ref=ord_cart_shr?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance Study and Solutions Guide to Precalculus Functions and Graphs: A Graphing Approach / Precalculus With Limits: A Graphing Approach (Paperback) # ISBN-10: 0618394818 # ISBN-13: 978-0618394814 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoriM Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 If you can afford Chalkdust, then I'd go with that. If not, then the Lial textbooks (Intermediate Algebra, PreCalculus) are self-teaching with lots of good strong problems. Maybe buy CD for the PreCalc student (since she is expressing an MIT interest) and use it again next year for the second student. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alyce Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 My son used Alg 2 and Pre Cal by her and had no problems. All I did was grade the test. We had used a DVD program prior and he hated having someone else, even like that, teach him. Jann in TX recommended it and it's been great. All he does is read the text and works the problems. He's always made high grades on the tests. And the beauty is that the price is good. I think I paid about $30 for Alg 2 and that included student TX, solutions manual and DVT's (although never used them). The Pre-Calculus was more, about $90 but the older editions are harder to find. I bought the student TX, solutions manual, and calculator manual. We didn't buy DVT's this time and he's not needed them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stowe6 Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 And if so, where do you buy Lial's and the DVD? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jann in TX Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 The 3rd edition is easy and inexpensive to find. A new student text is around $35 plus shipping. I just received a brand new TE that I paid $12 including shipping for! Here are the ISBNs Student text 032122762x Student solutions manual 0321227700 Graphing calculator manual (optional) 0321227719 TE--nice to have but optional 0321257693 DVTs can be found on Amazon.com ISBN 0321237331 most listings have this as a text instead of DVT--read the descriptions by sellers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisabees Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 The 3rd edition is easy and inexpensive to find. A new student text is around $35 plus shipping. I just received a brand new TE that I paid $12 including shipping for! Here are the ISBNs Student text 032122762x Student solutions manual 0321227700 Graphing calculator manual (optional) 0321227719 TE--nice to have but optional 0321257693 DVTs can be found on Amazon.com ISBN 0321237331 most listings have this as a text instead of DVT--read the descriptions by sellers. Jann, I just emailed you the same question! DS16 is staying home next year! Stacey, thanks for asking the question.:001_smile: I'm happy to know of someone who is on a similar path. DS dreams of Stanford. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardis Girl Posted June 21, 2010 Author Share Posted June 21, 2010 (edited) I've heard people rave about both, and of course others be somewhat disappointed with both. Can anyone explain the differences between CD & Lial's? Again, I'm looking specifically at Algebra 2, Pre-calc, and probably Calculus after that. Are there samples online somewhere? I so appreciate hearing from all who have commented. Thank you so much! :) Stacey Edited June 21, 2010 by StaceyZ clarification Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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