brownie Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Is there an algebra and pre-algebra course that is more mastery with a bit of built in review? Saxon is so spiral, you can't pull out a page on say the distributive property and just do it for review. And while I appreciate the review, I wish the 1st ten problems would be straight from the lesson. Then again ds is struggling through AOPS pre-alg. He loves everything about it (for the first time in math) but there's just not enough problems to create confidence before moving on. Brownie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Many of the public school textbooks are that way. I have Dolciani Prealgebra (1985), and you have about 50 problems on the topic at hand, then there are about 10 review problems. I also have Jacobs Algebra here, and it has Set 1 as review, Set 2 and Set 3 are similar to each other and deal with the new topic. Then Set 4 is a very short challenge/puzzle problem or two. You can see a hefty sample on Google books. Some of the other prealgebra public school textbooks I've looked at have been laid out much like Dolciani is, with mostly problems on the topic and then a bit of review. That's how I remember my public school textbooks being years ago also. Saxon is definitely laid out differently. My brain couldn't function like that. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebunny Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Is there an algebra and pre-algebra course that is more mastery with a bit of built in review? Saxon is so spiral, you can't pull out a page on say the distributive property and just do it for review. And while I appreciate the review, I wish the 1st ten problems would be straight from the lesson. Then again ds is struggling through AOPS pre-alg. He loves everything about it (for the first time in math) but there's just not enough problems to create confidence before moving on.Brownie I use the free worksheet generator on Mathusee dot com. It doesn't cover AOPS pre-Algebra completely..but I've found it very helpful for getting DD to practice exponents and operations with integers. HTH http://www.mathusee.com/e-sources/worksheet-generator/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom22ns Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Lial's is mastery based. It has more problems than anyone could ever want to do :). It doesn't have enough review for us, but you could get an inexpensive copy and use it for extra problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 BJU would fit the bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 I'd supplement with problems from Dolciani, though there aren't problems for every single concept covered in AoPS. Don't forget about Alcumus. We haven't been taking the time for Alcumus lately, and dd needs it. I do wish there were a few more straightforward exercises before the more "interesting" ones ;). Even so, it's hard not to love AoPS Prealgebra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 I found that even with my "gifted" kid, that I preferred spending more than a year using multiple curricula to cover Algebra 1. My favorite texts were Saxon, Aufmann, and integrated math textbooks published for New York, along with free materials available online. Aufmann is like Lials. It's the junior college publisher used in my state, so copies were cheap and plentiful at yard sales. Sometimes you can even get "computer tutor" cds for the books that create an unlimited number of word problems of each type. There used to be some free "Computer Tutor" downloads. Maybe they are still available through wayback machine. As old as they are, they work on XP and Vista, but I've never tested them on Windows 7. The New York regents websites used to have manipulatives. Maybe they still do. Because the New York and Saxon text were integrated and taught more than Algebra, I had no problem spending more than a year on these texts. Sometimes I even wrote "integrated maths" on my paperwork to the school board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna A. Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 BJU would fit the bill. We found Saxon difficult for review and trying to master a particular concept, too. We liked the looks of BJU and tried that, but it was a complete bust without the DVD teacher. :glare: We're switching to Math-U-See. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amtmcm Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 As already posted - BJU is mastery (stays on one topic). We like it, but as also mentioned, the text doesn't include much instruction and it needs to be taught (before Algebra). BJU's Algebra text has good instructions to the student and each lesson includes a few review problems at the end. I like math so I don't mind teaching it, but I've read where a number of users have been more successful with the DVDs. We haven't used it, but Rod & Staff math is mastery. If you want to stick with AoPS but need more practice, how about "Key To..." workbooks? My older DD used CLE Math 800 and loved it! It's spiral, but not as incremental as Saxon. It includes several problems to practice the new lesson taught and the rest of the lesson is review of previous lessons. I thought it was a very nice balance of mastery & spiral. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aelgraham Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 My son just started using Derek Owen's online class. The videos are all on the website so you can start it any time. I like that he takes notes and practices during and after the lecture, and I like that this is a sequential, comprehensive program. You could easily skip topics that your child has already mastered. I definitely see us following his classes for the rest of our years in hs'ing. http://www.LucidEducation.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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