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AoPS Prealgebra book


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is now listed for sale on the AoPS site. So whoever buys it soon, please let us know what you think :)

 

off to look at the samples... :auto:

 

Thank you! I signed up to be notified when it came out, but you are faster!

 

ETA Just ordered book via priority mail. The sample pages are incredible -- it is so wonderful that the samples are multi-page, so that you can get a better idea of what the books cover & how they approach it. I wish more publishers did that.

Edited by Alessandra
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Thank you! I signed up to be notified when it came out, but you are faster!

 

This! :lol:

 

And, please, let it become availabe through Amazon or Christianbooks, I can't afford the $$$ shipping costs and custom taxes when ordering at AoPS. And yes, yes, I know it is better to buy at the publisher, but 47$ shipping costs :001_huh:, not to mention a similar amount at customs....:svengo:, that's going to *triple* the cost of the books.

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This! :lol:

 

And, please, let it become availabe through Amazon or Christianbooks, I can't afford the $$$ shipping costs and custom taxes when ordering at AoPS. And yes, yes, I know it is better to buy at the publisher, but 47$ shipping costs :001_huh:, not to mention a similar amount at customs....:svengo:, that's going to *triple* the cost of the books.

 

Ugh! Does Rainbow R work for you? The other AoPS are in their catalogue.

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Rainbow is only slightly better, they ask 'only' 65% percent shipping costs...and again there will be customs taxes :001_huh:. With Amazon and CB I never have to pay customs tax. I have no idea why, btw.

 

Oh well, I have time to save as my eldest is in 3th grade :lol:.

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Is anyone here switching from Saxon or doing a 2nd year od pre-algebra? I'm curious how it goes as I have a 5th grader doing Saxon pre-algebra this year and thought perhaps we would double up and do AOPS pre-algebra next year. But looking at the pre-test and post-test, I'm not sure it would be worthwhile. How challenging is AOPS? Brownie

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Is anyone here switching from Saxon or doing a 2nd year od pre-algebra? I'm curious how it goes as I have a 5th grader doing Saxon pre-algebra this year and thought perhaps we would double up and do AOPS pre-algebra next year. But looking at the pre-test and post-test, I'm not sure it would be worthwhile. How challenging is AOPS? Brownie

 

By reputation, AoPS is perhaps as challenging as it gets. Did you look at samples 2 and 3? Maybe your student would fit better into AoPS algebra if he or she can already pass the prealgebra post-test. My understanding is that AoPS may be an excellent choice for some math-accelerated kids.

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Brownie, my DD did Saxon Algebra 1/2 last year. She got 25 out of 26 on the AoPS pre-test, and completely failed the post-test. The AoPS Pre-algebra DEFINITELY looks more challenging than Saxon and I expect we'll get a lot out of it. Now, since we've already covered much of the basic material, I suspect the big difference may be that we'll be able to go through the material faster, I'm suspecting it'll be a one semester course instead of all year. But that's fine by me.

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It just arrived. I will have to remove it from ds before I can look. In any case, I don't feel like writing one of those reviews by people who have unwrapped a book, but not used it....

 

My ds did all the pre and post tests for the AoPS online algebra and prealgebra last week and placed in prealgebra. He also tried the TT placement tests and aced prealgebra... just saying.

 

But I will try to post something (an impression, not a review) later.

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Don't tempt me. My boys IHIP (individualized instruction plan) is due in the district office on Monday so I have to make some headway on that before I'll let myself open these books. I did un-box it to make sure it was ok. :D

 

Capt Uhura, did your dc finish MM 6A/B first? are you starting the prealgebra book now (this fall)? I think we're still a year off from starting prealgebra; I've got to hold my horses, so to speak.

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That's why I needed it to arrive today....to make that decision. He hasn't finished MM6a/6b. Based on the TOC from AoPS and MM, it seems they cover the same material. I think 8filltheheart commented that doing a math program that totally overlaps w/ AoPS, negates the beauty of the discovery aspect of AoPS. I need this weekend to read through AoPS pre-alg and MM6A/6B. It's also like pulling teeth to get my son to do MM so I'm hoping he likes the narrative style and living book feel of AoPS.

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That's why I needed it to arrive today....to make that decision. He hasn't finished MM6a/6b. Based on the TOC from AoPS and MM, it seems they cover the same material. I think 8filltheheart commented that doing a math program that totally overlaps w/ AoPS, negates the beauty of the discovery aspect of AoPS. I need this weekend to read through AoPS pre-alg and MM6A/6B. It's also like pulling teeth to get my son to do MM so I'm hoping he likes the narrative style and living book feel of AoPS.

 

Thanks.  If and when you get it figured out, I'd love to hear how you plan to proceed, what parts of MM6, if any, you feel were worth doing first, etc.

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That's why I needed it to arrive today....to make that decision. He hasn't finished MM6a/6b. Based on the TOC from AoPS and MM, it seems they cover the same material. I think 8filltheheart commented that doing a math program that totally overlaps w/ AoPS, negates the beauty of the discovery aspect of AoPS. I need this weekend to read through AoPS pre-alg and MM6A/6B. It's also like pulling teeth to get my son to do MM so I'm hoping he likes the narrative style and living book feel of AoPS.

 

My son finished MM6, and messed around with assorted other prealgebra programs, and I'm planning to have him do AoPS Prealgebra this fall. Someone just posted on another thread that a child who had completed Saxon Alg 1/2 tested into AoPS Prealgebra, so I'm not worried that it will duplicate MM6. TOCs can be deceiving. I'm also not worried about ruining the "discovery aspect" of AoPS; on the contrary, I specifically wanted to introduce him to AoPS using material he's familiar with, rather than throwing him into the deep end with Algebra. This is a kid who thinks he hates math, although I'm convinced he really just hates arithmetic, because he seems to get math concepts quite easily. I think the AoPS approach will appeal to him. I'm hoping we can get through it at a slightly faster pace, and start Algebra sometime in the spring.

 

Unfortunately my AoPS text won't be here until Monday afternoon and I'm going out of town Monday morning and won't be back until Friday. :(

 

Jackie

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OH no Jackie, that stinks!

 

My son hates MM w/ a passion. It ruins our whole day. If he's able to do AoPS pre-alg and enjoys it more, I'm fine w/ skipping most of MM6A/6B. Math is just such a pain in my *(&*(^(*^& with this kid. I think he only missed 1-2 on the pre-test and I didn't read where you're supposed to give them a second chance. If AoPS proves too difficult, I'm fine w/ moving back to MM6A/6B and saving it for next year. Unless of course my reading through both of them this weekend puts me on a different path.

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OH I JUST CHECKED MY MAIL - IT"S HEREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

 

ok, what does this say about us? :lol:

 

Well, as for me... really impatient. Since I am not a curriculum switcher, I usually know what will be using. This is new for us, so I wanted to see it ASAP.

 

Ds is swimming at the moment, so no kid review for now (sorry). But I have been totally absorbed in it. Even the arithmetic review (1st chapter) is on a higher level than I am used to from Singapore Primary.

 

It is so convenient having just two books (as opposed to Singapore's book collections). The answer book is great, with the problems completely worked out. Also, AoPS ends up being a very economical program compared to many others -- especially since, as the math gets more challenging, solutions might be more necessary than in the younger grades.

 

I love the AoPS pattern of a theoretical explanation, with proofs, of why various math concepts are true, followed by problems, then detailed explanations & answers, followed by review problems (answers in the solution manual) for each section. Another plus, IMO, is that the type is large, plus the book is visually well designed -- consistent colored boxes, symbols, etc.

 

ETA It really does live up to the AoPS statement that this is for mathematically talented children, IMO. Explanations tend towards the theoretical, and there are not enough problems to do repetitive "drill."

Edited by Alessandra
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Thanks for the review Alessandra! I'm going to try to get my DS to read some of it this weekend. W/ AoPS Intro to Alg1, I felt like the author was talking to me. It had a living book feel to me whereas others I have are definitely textbooks. My DS very much likes to discover things on his own, often makes huge conceptual leaps, hates incremental instruction, etc. I'm hoping this reignites his passion for math b/c he is good at it. RS math worked well for him. I hope this will be the same.

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I wouldn't want to call what I wrote a review, just an observation or two. There are people here at WTM who have used other AoPS books for a while and have made great comments about them. The Prealgebra seems to fit right in with what they all have said about the other books.

 

BTW -- AoPS only charged $9 for priority mail, while the postage on the box read $10.50. Either they are giving us a gift, or they didn't do the math, lol.

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Thank you for posting your comments, Jackie - very helpful!

 

It is so convenient having just two books (as opposed to Singapore's book collections).

 

It seems so silly, but that is one of the aspects of SM that has kept me from using it. I much prefer the one-book MM way

 

Another plus, IMO, is that the type is large, plus the book is visually well designed -- consistent colored boxes, symbols, etc.

 

I noticed that too from the samples - I really like the design as compared to, say, the Dolciani prealgebras that I have. My progressive lenses are not working with those old books :lol:. Dd wears bifocals herself, so I do pay attention to font size. What I love about Russian Math is all the white space.

 

W/ AoPS Intro to Alg1, I felt like the author was talking to me. It had a living book feel to me whereas others I have are definitely textbooks.

 

Reading through the samples of the Prealgebra book, I feel the same way. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like the language is more modern (less formal? not sure) than some of the older textbooks. It doesn't give me that feeling that I'd have to "translate" for dd.

 

 

I'd be interested to hear anyone's plans for pace. I wonder what an appropriate pace would be, and whether there is some minimum necessary speed. From the TOC, it looks like it's quite long at 400+ pages, and yet, the samples appear to be long on explanation with not a lot of drill (which I like).

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I wouldn't want to call what I wrote a review, just an observation or two. There are people here at WTM who have used other AoPS books for a while and have made great comments about them. The Prealgebra seems to fit right in with what they all have said about the other books.

 

BTW -- AoPS only charged $9 for priority mail, while the postage on the box read $10.50. Either they are giving us a gift, or they didn't do the math, lol.

 

Ok, thanks for your comments. :lol: BIL has volunteered to cook dinner so I'm snuggling up to DH on the couch while he watches TV, he's not feeling well, and I'll read through AoPS pre-alg. Now isn't that romantic! :lol:

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Ok, thanks for your comments. :lol: BIL has volunteered to cook dinner so I'm snuggling up to DH on the couch while he watches TV, he's not feeling well, and I'll read through AoPS pre-alg. Now isn't that romantic! :lol:

 

I thought I'd do that (i.e. "read through"), but I had the pencil out for the 24 game, than went on to do all the exercises.... I'm part way through subtraction, but have to take a break for 'real life' (sigh).

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Alessandra, would love to know how long it takes you to get through a chapter please! DD & I have been working on AoPS Intro to Number Theory while we waited for the pre-algebra, it took me about three hours to get through the first chapter & took her one hour, so I'm kinda figuring however long it takes me, it'll take her about a third of that.

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Ok, thanks for your comments. :lol: BIL has volunteered to cook dinner so I'm snuggling up to DH on the couch while he watches TV, he's not feeling well, and I'll read through AoPS pre-alg. Now isn't that romantic! :lol:

 

Alessandra, would love to know how long it takes you to get through a chapter please! DD & I have been working on AoPS Intro to Number Theory while we waited for the pre-algebra, it took me about three hours to get through the first chapter & took her one hour, so I'm kinda figuring however long it takes me, it'll take her about a third of that.

 

In the Prealgebra Introduction, it says that the chapters are different lengths and that the time to go through them will vary. I've spent more than an hour on the first part of chapter one -- writing the answers and checking in the solutiion book. They suggest that you look at how AoPS does the solutios, even if you get the answer right -- there will often be several ways to solve a problem, and some ways may be more elegant than others. Also, at least in the chapter I'm in, they want a solution that reflects the the mathematical principles they are offernig proofs for. I'm thinking ds will be slower. There is a lot to absorb, and I am not sure that speed would be a benefit, at least for prealgebra, but of course YMMV.

 

ETA I think I will have to hover a bit to make sure that a) ds understands the explanations and can articulate the principles and b) he works out the example problems on his own, without looking ahead in the book. I'll also watch out for ds's tendency to get something wrong and then say, "I knew that." So I am thinking that our speed will be much slower than yours.

Edited by Alessandra
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