Terri NS Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Math, Math, Math! As a background, after homeschooling through to grade 8 my dd came home at Christmas after 2 1/2 years in a private school. Just previous to leaving school, she did a semester of pre-IB math which would have put her into beginning an equivalent of 12 Adv Math, I think a pre-calc level. In Canada the math is not separated so she's covered algebra, geometry trig to a certain level. I was not happy with her mark (60's) and knew it was difficult fro her to get that, so wanted to backtrack. The geometry unit brought her mark up. I didn't think we'd be backtracking as far as we have. A placement test put her back to Algebra 1. I bought the LOF Beginning Algebra thinking she could probably read it over do the problems and have a nice little review. She absolutely could not do the problems on her own by chapter 2. She's missing something and obviously needs more step by step so I've switched over to Intro Lial's and are finally finding both knowledge holes and work she can easily do. We have seriously considered finishing this year and dropping math, as it takes up so much time (at least 1 & 1/2 hr a day) but we shall persevere lol. I'm not sure how to progress through the Lial's or how long it will take -somethings she knows very well, and then all of a sudden we are stuck because there is something she hasn't seen before or hasn't stuck with her. I am totally amazed that she got as far as she has in her Math program at school, and not really sure how she did it. I know somethings she just "did" but had no idea "why" so couldn't apply the knowledge to anything that looked different. I think I'll stick to the Intermediate Lial's for next year, but she will have only the Geometry and Trig she did last year. We don't have SAT so no need to worry about that, and I don't want to take time off of Algebra. She could do some Geometry in 12. She won't be doing Calc but Statistics could be useful in the future. Any suggestions on how this could look for her? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 I would concentrate on the algebra and just keep moving forward so hopefully in the end, she'll have most of an algebra 2 course done. Since you don't have to worry about the standardized tests, definitely leave the geometry alone; sounds like that was a strong area for her anyway. IMO solid algebra is much more important than statistics or pre-calculus. I think it's great that you've gone back to find the holes - something the school should have done long ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 If she's having trouble with algebra, I would go back even further and review math facts, fractions and exponents. She may have used a calculator a lot and forgotten and/or never really mastered them. I like Khan Academy for math review (and it doesn't feel like you're being put into a 6th grade math book.) Speed and accuracy counts too, so even if she knows how to do something, it can build proficiency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brandigirl Posted March 30, 2012 Share Posted March 30, 2012 Have you looked at Teaching Textbooks maybe that approach will work for your DD. I found Lials hard TT to be a great fit. I had to back track after ps also. Tell your dd that all she needs to know are the for basic functions and she can make it through any math class. I am now in Algebra 2 and never use a calculator and its amazing the things you can do when you do have acsses to one. I am typing on my phone sorry for any spelling errors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terri NS Posted March 30, 2012 Author Share Posted March 30, 2012 Thanks for the thoughts. So far Lial's seems to be a good fit, especially for what we are doing. I like that there are a lot of mini lessons, within a concept so I can see what she's got down and what she has problems with. At least that's what has happened so far. Today, we managed to breeze through several of the mini lessons- she put together prior knowledge with a few missing links and it was great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2twoWTM Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Sounds like you have figured it out and I'm a day late on the post but thought I would second a few of the suggestions. We too have backtracked on Math and are redoing Algebra 1. DDs seem to be doing much better on comprehension with Teaching Textbooks. Also, I can't recommend Khan Academy enough. If you continue to find small gaps I would suggest starting from scratch on Khan Academy and working through the learning map. My girls did this and we found weaknesses in several very early concepts that surprised me. Khan is nice because if you know the concept and can get 10 right in a row you move on. This could help identify weaknesses and build confidence again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 Also, I can't recommend Khan Academy enough. If you continue to find small gaps I would suggest starting from scratch on Khan Academy and working through the learning map. My girls did this and we found weaknesses in several very early concepts that surprised me. Khan is nice because if you know the concept and can get 10 right in a row you move on. This could help identify weaknesses and build confidence again. Okay, can someone please help me figure out how to use Khan this way? I go to the website, I see lots of videos and topics - but where is this learning map? And how do I have a kid start using it? Do you have to start at the beginning, and if not, how do you start mid-stream? Do you set up an account? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumto2 Posted March 31, 2012 Share Posted March 31, 2012 I think you need to set up an account to track everything. I set up my teacher account but discovered my dc's need to be tracked via their email accounts. Not going to work well for us -- so gave up. You can just watch videos and do the problems at the end. Then click on the next suggestion. The sections that have been completed are a different Colour. So far this is working fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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