Embassy Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 If my child did LOF Pre-Algebra with Biology the year before he did AOPS Pre-Algebra would the problem solving approach to AOPS be ineffective? :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 :lurk5: I want to know too-my DD wants to do algebra, loves Fred, and I'd kind of like her to stay on SM through 6B even if AOPS does say you can go to AOPS after 5B. Fred + SM 6 seems like a compromise she might accept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embassy Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 Anyone?:bigear::lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NittanyJen Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 DS 5 did Fred Fractions, then Decimals and Percents straight out of public school (no fractions etc there); then he started both LoF Pre-Algebra with Bio as his main math and AoPS PreAlgebra as a light supplement. AoPS takes a different tack than Fred, but not completely. Much is made of the 'discovery' aspect of AoPS, but the student really is led pretty stepwise to the lesson target via the initial problems in each section; they start very basic and move incrementally toward the main idea. So, although it is a different teaching strategy than typical, it really isn't outrageously different, either. If you complete both LoF preA books, you will probably still find some challenge in AoPS just because the presentation is different (and that is not a bad thing when developing a problem-solving mind). AoPS PreA will pound home concepts like factoring and beat them nearly to death, a strategy Schmidt tries to avoid, but arguably factoring is a fairly important concept throughout the rest of higher mathematics... it is the ability to begin recognizing common patterns, so I can see an argument for it. Many (not all; different students have different strengths and retention needs) or most kids who have completed LoF fractions, Dec & Percents, and both preA books will be able to skim or skip the fractions and a few other chapters, as there is nothing new, but will probably also find a couple of other chapters that are new (simply different sequence than Fred). I think that if you wish to do so, you can do AoPS after the pair of LoF books with no harm done to AoPS or Fred. The presentation of AoPS will still be quite nice, and if you are thinking your kids need preA twice consecutively, then this might be a good way to present the material, and AoPS is not a bad supplement to Fred. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 :lurk5:I want to know too-my DD wants to do algebra, loves Fred, and I'd kind of like her to stay on SM through 6B even if AOPS does say you can go to AOPS after 5B. Fred + SM 6 seems like a compromise she might accept. I am considering a similar approach. We use mus as our spine mostly because it's easy to accelerate and straight forward which dd likes. We also use LOF as a supplement. Dd loves to read and wanted to start from the beginning of th story so we started with the elementary books but she'll probably finish all 16 in a month or two. We also use Singapore cwp. I planned to move away from mus after Zeta because their higher level courses aren't as advanced but someone suggested the other day using their algebra with a young student so I might do that. Whichever way we go we'll continue with the Fred books because she loves them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Embassy Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 DS 5 did Fred Fractions, then Decimals and Percents straight out of public school (no fractions etc there); then he started both LoF Pre-Algebra with Bio as his main math and AoPS PreAlgebra as a light supplement. AoPS takes a different tack than Fred, but not completely. Much is made of the 'discovery' aspect of AoPS, but the student really is led pretty stepwise to the lesson target via the initial problems in each section; they start very basic and move incrementally toward the main idea. So, although it is a different teaching strategy than typical, it really isn't outrageously different, either. If you complete both LoF preA books, you will probably still find some challenge in AoPS just because the presentation is different (and that is not a bad thing when developing a problem-solving mind). AoPS PreA will pound home concepts like factoring and beat them nearly to death, a strategy Schmidt tries to avoid, but arguably factoring is a fairly important concept throughout the rest of higher mathematics... it is the ability to begin recognizing common patterns, so I can see an argument for it. Many (not all; different students have different strengths and retention needs) or most kids who have completed LoF fractions, Dec & Percents, and both preA books will be able to skim or skip the fractions and a few other chapters, as there is nothing new, but will probably also find a couple of other chapters that are new (simply different sequence than Fred). I think that if you wish to do so, you can do AoPS after the pair of LoF books with no harm done to AoPS or Fred. The presentation of AoPS will still be quite nice, and if you are thinking your kids need preA twice consecutively, then this might be a good way to present the material, and AoPS is not a bad supplement to Fred. Thanks! Your explanation was very helpful. My son loves LOF and will likely continue to do it along with Singapore 5A/B next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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