WHY is Lial's BCM recommended so much for Pre-alg when there IS a Pre-alg by Lial?

[Momma H]

Pretty much that! It really seems there is a lot of repetition in the BCM and if there is a pre-algebra by Lial why use BCM? Does anyone know?:bigear:

[HappyGrace]

:lurk5:

 

:bigear:

 

I am wondering this too!

[melmichigan]

If I remember correctly a lot has to do with cost. BCM is very inexpensive. I have it on the shelf, but also use a Prealgebra as my main program.

[Matryoshka]

If I remember correctly a lot has to do with cost. BCM is very inexpensive. I have it on the shelf, but also use a Prealgebra as my main program.

 

I don't think that's it - I was able to get the Pre-Algebra very inexpensively. If you do a search, I know Jann has explained her preference for BCM - I think she likes the extra review.

 

Aha - here's a post where Jann explains her preference.

[HappyGrace]

LOL-I was just reading that exact post you linked! My curiosity was aroused so I went over to the hs board to see what I could find. I am still reading. I put in "Lial's Pre-algebra" and I'm finding a few things.

 

I did just order a copy of Lial's Pre-Algebra to compare with my BCM. I'm thinking BCM will be quite a bit of review once we finish our CLE/MM combo.

[HappyGrace]

Still poking around-noticed that Maria from Math Mammoth, whose opinion I respect, also recommends BCM as a pre-algebra course:

 

http://www.mathmammoth.com/complete/prealgebra.php

 

I still can't figure it out-the Lial's Pre-Algebra goes so much more in depth! But I will probably defer to the more mathematically minded people like Jann and Maria that the BCM is better.

[Momma H]

Well, I defer to thier knowlege too. Plus, we are behind in math so we can go faster through BCM. ;) Why make it harder than it has to be!

[siloam]

Pretty much that! It really seems there is a lot of repetition in the BCM and if there is a pre-algebra by Lial why use BCM? Does anyone know?:bigear:

 

My initial guess would be because Lial's is usually recommended for struggling students who often need to go back and do the additional review of basic math.

 

I have also seen people ask what is the difference between the who and receive no responses, so then they defer to BCM because it is better known.

 

Heather

[Matryoshka]

I still can't figure it out-the Lial's Pre-Algebra goes so much more in depth! But I will probably defer to the more mathematically minded people like Jann and Maria that the BCM is better.

 

And this is exactly why I ended up going with the BCM at first, and didn't even look closely to see the TOC differences until my dd started making comments under her breath that I must obvioulsy think she was really stupid at math since I was giving her this book almost entirely full of review. :glare: Yes, she is still making lots of careless errors, but she really has this stuff to death - not only Singapore through 6b, but also all the LOF books through Pre-Alg/Bio and Hands-on Equations. I'm wondering if the careless errors might actually be exacerbated by the sheer volume of review - I could well see her thinking "I know this already so I'm not going to pay close attention." I don't want to make her hate math (at least not any more than she does :tongue_smilie:) or make her feel punished by spinning her wheels in place!

 

Well, the Pre-Algebra will be here soon and we'll give it a go - I'll let everyone know what my dd thinks.

Edited December 18, 2010 by matroyshka

[HappyGrace]

Wow, Matroyshka, it does sound like your dd is probably ready for more! That may be a concern for us but we are a few years out. If dd seems ready for more after finishing our CLE/MM combo and then our LOF/HOE combo, I will consider the Lial's Pre-Algebra instead of the BCM.

 

It's on the way in the mail for me to look at anyway ;)

 

Please keep us posted on how it's going! You may be the guinea pig for all of us behind you. :)

[Matryoshka]

Wow, Matroyshka, it does sound like your dd is probably ready for more!

 

It's not helping that her twin sister is doing Singapore's Discovering Math and doing all sorts of early Algebra-type stuff already while she's been repeating how to add fractions (when up to last spring they were doing the same math). The whole reason I put them in different programs to begin with was that she kept comparing herself unfavorably to her sister and getting herself in a knot - my thinking was that with the Lial's I could say that the books covered the same material, just maybe in a different order. But with the BCM, she can see that it's not even close to the same topics - I can see how she feels like I've held her back. With the Pre-Algebra book, I think I can honestly make the claim that it's covering roughly the same material - maybe not quite as in-depth or with quite the level of word problems as the DM, but the topics are much more similar.

 

Every situation's different!