Math decisions.....

[Chris in PA]

Hi all,

I am trying to decide what path to take for math with my ds. He will be starting 8th grade in the fall. He has been doing Saxon math for the last 2 years. He completed 76 and 87. Prior to that he had used Abeka and BJU. He did fine with Saxon 76 but last year was rough. He really began to dislike math. I am not sure if it was the Saxon method or that math started to be come harder. I have all the Saxon textbooks on my shelf through Advanced Math. We had used Saxon Algebra 1 and 2 with my oldest and it was a bomb. We actually repeated Algebra 2 using Lial Intermediate Algebra. I did not even try Saxon with my middle dd. She has been using Lial's and is doing well. I really want to like Saxon and use it the entire way through. However we have Lial's here and I love it. It also worked very well for my dds. I just received the prealgebra text in the mail today and love the looks of it. I know that he will receive solid math instruction no matter what road we choose. My biggest concern is what we will do for precalculus (he will definately get there as he wants to be be a computer science major in college). My oldest did Lial's precalculus last year and it was extrememly difficult for both of us. We never finished the text and called it College Algebra on her transcript. There were days where I thought I would pull my hair out trying to understand it so I could explain it to her. I don't want to wind up in the same place again. There is so much support for Saxon and I that is my main reasoning for sticking with it. Plus I have also heard from several people that Saxon doesn't prepare students well for the SAT. Is that true? I guess I want someone to say: "Take this road and stick with it". I have tried asking my ds what he wants to do and he really has no opinion.

 

Help!!! :confused:

[AngieW in Texas]

You already know that Saxon isn't working. I wouldn't keep going with it when you already know it's a problem.

 

There are lot of options for precalculus. I didn't like Larson's Precalculus (what Chalkdust uses). I'm using Lial's this year. I think it will work a lot better. I have a different kid from you though.

 

Have you looked at Thinkwell at all? I've heard good things about their Precalculus.

 

I was hoping that Kinetic Books would have Precalculus ready by the time my dd got there, but they don't. I really like their Algebra I and Algebra II (haven't used their other products).

 

You don't have to use the same program all the way through. Use what will work for now and search for what will work for later. My oldest did Jacobs Algebra I, Jacobs Geometry, Kinetic Books Algebra II, and Larson's Precalculus. The only one I don't plan to ever use again is Larson's. My middle used Kinetic Books Algebra I, Jacobs Geometry, Kinetic Books Algebra II, and will use Lial's Precalculus next year.

 

My youngest will use completely different programs from my other two. She learns in a completely different way and it has been a long, hard, and continual search to find what works for her. We're trying Uncle Dan's Algebra I right now.

[Teachin'Mine]

Was he finding the math difficult throughout the 8/7 book or only towards the end? We found that the last 30 or so chapters packed in a lot of new concepts and presented them at a fast pace. Fortunately, we found that the topics in the back of 8/7 were repeated in their algebra 1 text and dd did fine. YMMV, but this was our experience.

Edited July 15, 2011 by Teachin'Mine

[Chris in PA]

Well I finally got my son to sit down and look at both math programs. He liked the Lial's. He told me he finds Saxon frustrating because it only teaches a small part of something and then jumps to something else in the lesson. He would rather learn one concept and move on to the next. So it looks like we need Lial's.

 

Angie: I will take another look at Thinkwell. I actually remember seeing it this spring when we were almost to the end of our school year and was wondering why I hadn't heard about it sooner for my dd.

 

I also know he did struggle with some of the equation manipulation. That is why I have decided to do pre-algebra this school year. I learned with the oldest that math is not a race. I need to build a solid foundation or it will be an uphill battle.

 

Thanks!

[Brenda in MA]

Chris,

 

Sounds to me that Lials is a better fit for your family. I'd continue using that. My oldest used Saxon through part of Advanced Math and was very frustrated. He just couldn't apply what he'd learned to science problems (physics). I did some looking around, and bought Larson's PreCalc from Chalkdust. Ds loved that and especially liked the DVD instruction. I found the Larson book a tiny bit frustrating because I thought the explanations weren't always clear, but he did well with the course, went on to CD Calc and did well there, too. He's now taken 4 semesters of college math (Calc & Diff Eq) and gotten As.

 

My next child used Singapore PM and then I had him use Saxon 87 for one year. He was extremely frustrated with it due to the choppy lessons. We moved to a more standard program (Dolciani), and he likes that much better. He would not be one that would like CD and the DVD instruction, though. He'd rather read the lesson in the textbook.

 

I guess I say this because I've definitely found that the best book for a particular dc is not always the best book for another dc. If your son likes Lials and does well with it, when he gets to PreCalc, you might find that you do better with it the second time around. You could also look into a CC math course at this point, or try something online (like Derek Owens) so he has some outside support. IMHO, if he likes Lials and gets a good foundation, that is the most important thing.

 

Brenda

[Chris in PA]

Thanks for the encouragement Brenda! I am excited to start Lials with him. Math used to be his favorite subject and I hope we can regain that in the future. :001_smile:

[Julie in MN]

Chris,

I also think there can be an element of 8th grade transition going on. It seems to me that 8th grade is when most kids brains morph over to the abstract, and that's a big, huge jump. Even if they were doing the abstract at an earlier age, I think they start really *getting it* around 8th. It's like a whole new section of their thinking has to begin, whether they like it or not :tongue_smilie:

 

Couple that with many more problems in most algebra programs compared to the earlier years, and you can have a mini implosion happen out of the blue. But this too will pass.

 

Julie

[Chris in PA]

Julie,

I know what you mean. I saw this my my middle dd. We tried Algebra 1 in 8th grade and for awhile she was ok. But it got to a point where the thinking was too abstract and her brain wasn't ready. She imploded! We took a break and restarted Algebra 1 in 9th grade and it was like a light bulb went on in her head. It was so much easier. That is the big reason we are just doing pre-algebra this year with ds. I don't want a repeat of that again. :tongue_smilie:

 

Thanks for the encouragement!