Pre-algebra or math 6, recommendations?

[Pen]

What would you suggest for after Math 5 (MM5 plus Fisher's math 4-5)?

 

One possibility is obviously MM6. What would be gained by MM6 as compared to a pre-algebra program? MM5 is going fine--in fact, much faster than I expected--but the pages are rather dense/ cluttered feeling. Less page density would be better. He reads quite well now, but issues relevant to dyslexia are still present.

 

For pre-algebra, if we do that next, some choices I am considering are ChalkDust, VideoText, MUS, Jacobs and AOPS.

 

Sometimes he wants me to teach him and make problems for him, but a lot of the time he wants me to go away and leave him to it, so something that has excellent teaching built-in would be best.

 

My son does not especially love math and would not be wanting to do math Olympiad etc., so in general, AOPS does not seem like a good fit since he is not that mathy, but the AOPS text samples looked clear and he did think Beast was fun (though, I think, mainly for the cartoons). OTOH, he is fairly good at math, had a mathematician grandma and a scientist grandpa, and I think he might get more interested in such subjects as they get more interesting, and don't want to close off options based on his opinion of arithmetic. Nor, on the other hand, do I want to frustrate him with something that is too hard. He tends to get upset when he does not get 100%, or if the math is feeling hard, rather than to enjoy it as a puzzle.

 

He tends to learn well from audio-visual materials (and less well from textbooks--also does better with math examples and less well with explanations and descriptions in English), which is part of why CD and VT are considerations, since they have the DVD's. I think they may be more rigorous than MUS, but it too is a possibility and he did MUS for gamma and delta levels successfully. While he tends to do well with audio-visual materials, he also sometimes likes to just go to a workbook and get on with it, and not spend a lot of time with a video.

 

 

 

He likes KhanAcademy, but we have only dial-up and thus cannot easily get the Khan videos except when at library. I give it more as an example of something (and someone) whose style he likes.

 

I have also heard good things about Jacobs, but have no sense of what it is like.

 

Given the price of these programs, I hate to think I might need more than one thing, but another thought I've had is to get one of the DVD based programs, and also (maybe used!!) a basic algebra textbook so that we would not always be tied to the videos. But if so, what exactly?

 

Which do you think?

 

Other ideas that I'm not considering?

[TarynB]

:lurk5:

 

We're using Math Mammoth 5 right now as well. In looking where to go next, I compared the scope and sequence of MM6 to Lial's Basic College Math (a frequently-recommended textbook here), and found that they have pretty much the same scope of topics, but slightly different sequence in a few areas. So Lial's BCM might be another option before starting pre-algebra if you want to go that route.

 

As for pre-algebra, you may have already seen this, but Maria Miller (the author of Math Mammoth) has a page on her website where she lists several pre-algebra suggestions. Many of her choices are also mentioned frequently on this board. http://www.mathmammoth.com/complete/prealgebra.php

 

Hopefully others who have already been through pre-algebra will chime in for you.

[Pen]

anyone?

[dereksurfs]

anyone?

 

I am not sure of the scope and sequence of MM5 vs MM6. But my son has gone all the way through MUS to Pre-Algebra. So I can tell you that MUS S&S is Fractions followed by Decimals and Precents (Zeta). After that Pre-Algebra begins. If he has covered these areas well then I think this would be a natural progression into Pre-A. Though we used MUS Pre-A initially we do prefer TabletClass now which is an online program. We also purchased and tested out Lials Pre-A which we liked the least.

 

The hard part with AoPS is that it is expensive to simply try out as the books are pricey. But I think they do have good resale value. And that is something worth considering since most well known curriculum you buy can be resold. So its not a total loss on initial investment. But I'm not sure AoPS sounds like the best fit. They also offer online video instruction following the text.

 

KineticBooks has an offline version you can buy which may be worth considering as well. Derek Owens is another good Pre-Algebra option. He has videos which you could probably download while in a starbucks or somewhere else with a high speed connection. Do you live far from normal high speed connection areas? I didn't know dial-up service was still being used in parts. :)

Edited October 26, 2012 by dereksurfs

[AimeeM]

We are using Math Mammoth 6 *as* pre-algebra; combined with Hands on Equations and DragonBox, my husband (whom I defer to with maths and sciences) is very confident with the combo as a pre-algebra curriculum. Either second semester this year OR next year we will move into Jacob's (which has an ample pre-algebra review section).

[justLisa]

I am going to pre-alg after this year in SM5.

[Woodland Mist Academy]

We went from Singapore Math 5b to AoPS Prealgebra. My daughter has no interest in the math competitions (at least not that I know of ;)), but the program is still a good fit for her.

Edited October 27, 2012 by Hilltop Academy

[SilverMoon]

Horizon's might help the page density issue. It's a spiral though, instead of mastery. They have a 6, prealgebra, and just came out with algebra 1.