bnbacademy Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 We are currently solidifying math operations with Lial's Basic College Math for 6th grade. We also own the LOF books (Fractions, Pre-Algebra 1 w/ Biology, and Pre-Algebra 2 w/ Economics), but cannot seem to get to them. BCM is taking a long time, it is just so many pages. We are starting to do 2 units per week and I still don't envision completion at year end. What would you suggest as a math sequence for us for the next 2 years, since we plan to have ds enter a private HS at 9th grade? or: 3 LOF books = 7th grade Algebra 1 = 8th grade or summer school = LOF books Algebra 1 = 7th grade Geometry = 8th grade Which looks good to you? or, other suggestions? I know LOF gets good reviews so I want to use them somewhere... I would love your suggestions on specific texts, if you don't mind ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 I would probably do some backwards planning. What maths do the high school offer? If you do Geometry in 8th will he still have the appropriate number of math credits needed when applying to colleges. I know some of these are unknowns, but I'd start planning with the end in mind. I would not rush through the LOF books either. You could do the three books you listed in one year, you could also throw in the decimals & Percents book, which I would recommend. Not every child is ready for algebra in 7th, some aren't ready in 8th either. In our school district only the advanced students take algebra in 8th, the normal route it 9th grade. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bnbacademy Posted January 9, 2011 Author Share Posted January 9, 2011 Thank you, Paula. Oops, I do also have the LOF Decimals & Percents. So, you would suggest a year of LOF and waiting for Algebra? I was styling our math according to MUS which I believe has Pre-Algebra for 6th grade, I chose BCM instead. MUS then has Algebra for 7th grade. I assumed that was the norm. I have not looked at current HS Math schedules at all. I will go do that now... good idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bnbacademy Posted January 9, 2011 Author Share Posted January 9, 2011 I am not finding much solid info on the local HS math courses of study. This is a distant memory, but I think the courses I had in HS were: Algebra, Geometry, Calculus and Trigonometry. Some sites have an Algebra 2 and Consumer Math thrown in. Makes me think, we need to do Algebra 1 before 9th grade, unless I can call the intended HS to get a course listing. Then I need to consider how to avoid repeating math courses, argh... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 Traditional high school sequence is alg 1, geo, alg 2, trig, precal, cal (trig is typically included in pre-cal books and taught as a single course) I would procede based on the strength of your student. I have never used the programs you are discussing, so I can't comment. It is my understanding that BCM is complete review of basic math, so I would think that LOF is going to be redundant. I have fairly strong avg students that have completed their first simple alg course in 7th (MUS) followed by a more difficult oneh (Foerster) in 8th. I have had my strongest math student follow the same pattern in 5th and now have one currently in 6th that is using the MUS. It really depends on the abilities of your student. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 (edited) I was styling our math according to MUS which I believe has Pre-Algebra for 6th grade, I chose BCM instead. MUS then has Algebra for 7th grade. I assumed that was the norm. Alpha - 1st Beta - 2nd Gamma - 3rd Delta - 4th Epsilon - 5th Zeta - 6th Pre-Algebra - 7th Algebra I - 8th We also hit Pre-Algebra in 6th. BTW, I wish we'd used BCM instead. We then used MUS + LoF Algebra in 7th. 7th grade was a challenge with foggy puberty brain and LoF didn't fit well for ds. We repeated Algebra with Foerster's in 8th. FWIW, I would vote for your 1st choice: LOF books = 7th grade Algebra 1 = 8th grade Love Foerster's for Algebra. Lial's gets positive reviews as well. Edited January 9, 2011 by Sue in St Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abbeyej Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 I am not finding much solid info on the local HS math courses of study... Then give them a call tomorrow and ask. Really, if you're sure he's going to the school in 9th, you want to be as close to their ideal schedule when he walks in as possible. ... They'll likely have two (or more) math tracks depending on student aptitude and interest. So find out what those are. Do they expect all honors/college-bound students to come in with geometry under their belts and ready for algebra 2 in 9th grade? Or do they only begin offering geometry in 9th, and only offer algebra 2, pre-calc/trig, and calculus after that (leaving you in a bind credits-wise and possibly schedule-wise if you come in with geometry already). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Cheryl in SoCal Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 Thank you, Paula. Oops, I do also have the LOF Decimals & Percents. So, you would suggest a year of LOF and waiting for Algebra?I was styling our math according to MUS which I believe has Pre-Algebra for 6th grade, I chose BCM instead. MUS then has Algebra for 7th grade. I assumed that was the norm. I have not looked at current HS Math schedules at all. I will go do that now... good idea! MUS doesn't assign grade levels to their math books, it's simply the sequence in which they should be completed. If a student does one level of MUS starting with Alpha in 1st grade they would be doing Pre-Algebra in 7th grade but since students work at their own pace that's just an estimate. I am not finding much solid info on the local HS math courses of study. This is a distant memory, but I think the courses I had in HS were: Algebra, Geometry, Calculus and Trigonometry. Some sites have an Algebra 2 and Consumer Math thrown in. Makes me think, we need to do Algebra 1 before 9th grade, unless I can call the intended HS to get a course listing. Then I need to consider how to avoid repeating math courses, argh... The 2 most common sequences are: Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, Trig or Pre-Calculus, Calculus Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Geometry, Trig or Pre-Calculus, Calculus The first sequence is the one that is most commonly used by public schools. I am using the 2nd sequence because that is what the author of LoF and the author of AoPS recommend (they say it allows the student to mature and better grasp the more abstract concepts of Geometry). Geometry can also be taken concurrently with Algebra (I think usually Algebra 2 but I believe Steve Demme said it could be taken with either Algebra 1 or Algebra 2). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bnbacademy Posted January 9, 2011 Author Share Posted January 9, 2011 Ds steadily progressed thru MUS up to completing Zeta in 5th grade. Sounds like Algebra should not be tackled yet...8th grade at the youngest? 2 years review was not my intention, so it's disappointing. I may be counting on LOF to maintain his interest in math next year! I'll know my options better after the phone calls to the high schools. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siloam Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 My plan for my oldest dd: 7th & 8th: Right Start Geometry and Lial BCM 9th: Algebra I 10th: Geometry 11th: Algebra II 12th: Pre-Calculus If Lial's continues to work for her I will continue with the series. Philosophically I like the looks of Discovery Math by Key Press, because it has a lot of physical stuff you do, but it is a discover based method like Miquon. Dd wants to know ahead of time what is expected of her. I might see if I can have her first review the concept then do the hands on stuff. Foerster is what I would like her to do, but I suspect she needs the explanations, incremental steps and practice sets in Lial. Foerster is written to mathy people. LOF was never a big temptation because I knew dd would need more explanation and more practice problems than it provides. Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 If you're looking to move ahead but not get to Algebra before 8th, Lial's does also have a Pre-Algebra book. I know BCM is supposed to also be Pre-Algebra, but it was 90-95% review for my dd. The contents of the Pre-Algebra book have almost no overlap with BCM. Negative numbers and algebraic type problems, for example, aren't even introduced till the second-to-last chapter and then are pretty much dropped, and the Pre-Algebra introduces them in the first and second chapters and works with them the whole year. I've heard you can do one or the other for Pre-Algebra, but I really don't see why you can't do both - there's way less repetition from one book to the next than there was for my dd going into BCM from Singapore 6b. I posted the TOCs of both books on this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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