'Key To' Series or LOF?

[shukriyya]

Which one of these do you prefer? I'm interested in either LOF for fractions and decimals or the 'Key To' series for the same. Is one more thorough than the other?

[AimeeM]

Key To series. Hands down.

 

We tried LOF and it was a bust.

[RootAnn]

:iagree: Key To is thorough. Not especially fun, but good at teaching the basic concepts through the more complicated ones.

[NittanyJen]

It depends on your child and how he or she thinks best; there is no "correct" answer to this question for every child.

 

My son used LoF Fractions and Decimals and Percents, and was completely prepared for Pre-Algebra; he is rock-solid in both concepts as well as getting great reinforcement in his multiplication and long-division. The books introduced the concepts behind what he was doing and were very solid on the "why" and the what's going on here-- in other words, why do these steps happen, and how do they work together, and why does it not work if you . . . . kind of knowledge; it is the opposite of "Just do it this way and memorize the steps" kind of learning.

 

However, to get that out of the books, your child does need to be motivated to really read the text and work the problems completely before looking over the solutions, and then to really read the solutions (Where more teaching takes place).

 

If more handholding than that is required, then Fred may not be right for your child. My son absolutely thrives on it, and is soaking up the Pre-Algebra now (I quizzed him from a copy of Dolciani accelerated pre-algebra, and he aced it, both doing the problems and explaining why he had to do what he was doing, and explaining it all using mathematical notation -- and that was just from using Fred; we were not coaching him on the side).

 

He has worked a couple of sections of AoPS, but I didn't ask him anything he's covered there. He's done Khan Academy too, but mostly Geometry there because that's what he's interested in :). So it was all Fred that he demo'd for me.

 

You need to figure out what matches your child-- Fred definitely has the content to match any program out there, but it may or may not suit a particular child.

[edelweiss]

I think that Key to Fractions is probably more thorough. We use both. We work LOF:Fractions into our normal math work. I assign a couple pages of Key to Fractions each night for homework. Between our regular math program, LOF, and Key to Fractions, my DD is very solid with her fractions now!

[mommymilkies]

LoF is fun work/reading. Key To is thorough and excellent for skill mastery. My kids don't find it drudgery, either.

[SilverMoon]

Well, that depends on what you're after. If you just want more practice, Keys To is probably what you want. If you want an extra supplement that helps fill in some whys, Life of Fred is probably what you want.

[EKS]

I vote for neither. They are both algorithm driven. Now if your child just needs some extra practice with fractions, I'd probably recommend the Key to series, but if you're looking for a resource to provide conceptual instruction as well as practice, and you just want your child to study fractions, I'd probably suggest something like MUS Epsilon.

 

Life of Fred Fractions is a fun supplement, but offers very little in the way of conceptual instruction and practice. It's a good story though.

[shukriyya]

Thanks, ladies. I should add that dc loves fractions and gets them intuitively. This would be a supplement to our spine, MM and from your responses it seems that LOF would be the way to go.

 

I'm not so much interested in more worksheets but rather ways of bringing fractions off the page. I've looked at both programs and I think LOF will fit the bill.

[Momling]

Sounds like Fred is the right choice!