Marie in Oh Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 OK, oldest ds is going to finish TT Pre-Alg this year. He says TT is way too easy and wants to change for next year. Sooooo, math seems to be clicking, finally, so I want to challenge him, but I don't want to kill him. So, 8th grade Algebra and beyond-- what are my choices? Could someone rank highschoo math curricula in terms of rigor? He is not naturally mathy, but has worked really hard and all the fractions, decimals, and percents have started click. I am considering Chalkdust with Dana Mosley CD's, but it is incredibly pricey. Would that be a good choice? Thanks for helping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 My son enjoyed Jacobs Algebra and I loved it too. I am also extremely impressed with the Lial books (we are using Intermediate Algebra this year). As for geometry, after much mucking about we ended up using TT. Not my first choice, but it got the job done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIch elle Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Has he used CLE math 7 or 8? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin in DFW Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 My dd18 has been completely self-taught using Lial's (or a comparable type cc book)... Great explanations, solutions, digital video tutors... She did use TT Algebra 1 and Geometry and then moved into Tobey and Slater's Intermediate Algebra (which is almost identical to Lial's...we had this in the house, so used it) and now she's doing Lial's Precalculus. She prefers these books over others for the wonderful teaching in them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 Could someone rank highschoo math curricula in terms of rigor? Don't know all the others, but Art of Problem Solving would probably rank among the, or even as THE, most rigorous... from what you write this would probably NOT be your best choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie in Oh Posted February 4, 2011 Author Share Posted February 4, 2011 I don't want something really rigorous as I don't want to kill his confidence. I just want a good solid math series that will really teach him. TT has been good for him as he gained confidence. Does anyone have an opinion of Chalkdust? I really like the Dana Mosley CD's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie in Oh Posted February 4, 2011 Author Share Posted February 4, 2011 Has he used CLE math 7 or 8? CLE seemed to hard to place because they don't have a true Pre-Algebra so we didn't know where to put him. Their Algebra will not be the Sunrise Edition in time. It should be ready for when my oldest dd will be ready. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wy_kid_wrangler04 Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 We are doing chalkdust with dd this year (pre-algebra). She is doing such a good job with it! She has never done so well in math as she is this year. I fully believe its Dana Mosely (her annoying math teacher as she calls him :D) I highly recommend Chalkdust. I found mine used. You can get amazing deals if you are willing to buy used! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie in Oh Posted February 4, 2011 Author Share Posted February 4, 2011 We are doing chalkdust with dd this year (pre-algebra). She is doing such a good job with it! She has never done so well in math as she is this year. I fully believe its Dana Mosely (her annoying math teacher as she calls him :D) I highly recommend Chalkdust. I found mine used. You can get amazing deals if you are willing to buy used! There are a couple on Homeschool Classifieds. One is $200 I think. Thanks for sharing your experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wy_kid_wrangler04 Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 There are a couple on Homeschool Classifieds. One is $200 I think. Thanks for sharing your experience. I bought pre-algebra for $100 but the book was not in good condition at all. (Still very usable though) and I knew the condition of the book. If you find it for $100-150 I would JUMP if you find it for $150-200 that is a very good deal. If you find it from $250-300 still a good deal but you will be able to find it cheaper. I am planning and saving to spend about $200 on Algebra 1. You also have to keep in mind, these have a great resale value after you are done (depending on condition) because they are very popular! Now Im off to homeschool classifieds to look for Algebra 1 :D :thumbup1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awstgs Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 We used Lial's BCM this year and will continue to use Lial for next year. The books are so easy to understand and are really working for my "math hater". I'm not sure what Geometry we will use though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 (edited) My favorite is Kinetic Books. They now have Pre-algebra, Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II. I have only used their Algebra I and Algebra II. I love that it's rigorous and computer-based. There is immediate feedback on most of the problems. Many of the immediate-feedback problems have stepped help available. The stepped help shows you the next step with one or more blanks that you need to fill in and then click for the next step. At any point you can go ahead and type in the final answer. When my dd needs to resort to the stepped help, she usually sees her mistake pretty quickly. The hs version is offered only as a one-year online subscription, but it isn't horribly expensive at $50. The regular version (the only version I've used) can be bought as a one-year online subscription for $40, a cd-rom that times out after one year for $40, or a cd-rom that times out after 6 years for $60. The only cons I have for the program are that there isn't a solutions manual available. The end-of-unit problems (only problems that don't have immediate feedback) have an answer key for the odd problems, but no solutions. I tried the cheaper version of Chalkdust for my oldest for precalculus last year. She hated the videos and we had lots of problems getting the video clips to play properly (bought used). I'm switching my middle dd over to Lial's for precalculus instead. I would have my youngest working in Kinetic Books Prealgebra, but she refuses to have anything to do with math that's on the computer. Edited February 5, 2011 by AngieW in Texas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 We use Saxon with the DIVE or Saxon-Teacher CDs here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbaloue Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 We are using Math Relief. It is a DVD based program that is excellent. You can check it out at http://www.Mathrelief.com:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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