8th grader struggling with MUS Algebra 1

[heidip2p]

Our dd completed MUS Pre Algebra last year and did fine. Now we are on week 11 of Algebra 1 and she is not getting it. Even by lesson E she is still missing more than half of the questions. I work them with her every night. I think she understands. Then the next day she misses them all again. I am not a mathy person. After watching the DVD I can get a pretty good understanding to help her though. What else can I do? She does not NEED Algebra this year. It just seemed to make sense after doing Pre A. Should I switch to something else? Add something in? I am really at a loss.

 

I was thinking of adding in Key To Algebra but not sure.

[Lori D.]

Our dd completed MUS Pre Algebra last year and did fine. Now we are on week 11 of Algebra 1 and she is not getting it...

I was thinking of adding in Key To Algebra but not sure.

 

 

This was exactly what I was going to suggest! Set the MUS aside, work through Keys to Algebra, then come back to MUS and see how it goes. That will also give your DD another year for those abstract thinking portions of the brain to develop and give her better skills for "clicking" with Algebra (a very abstract, non-concrete subject!)

 

BEST of luck! Warmly, Lori D.

[kiana]

Switching to keys, doing that as a second pre-algebra, and then switching back sounds reasonable.

 

Also, even next year -- if she's going through and missing a LOT of problems, it means you need to slow down, work some more, etc. -- she shouldn't be moving to the next week without getting the week she's on.

[dereksurfs]

I agree with others on supplimenting. MUS Algebra is known to be a very gentle Algebra 1, so much so that some use it as a Pre-Algebra. So I don't think looking for an easier program is the answer. Maybe consider LOF, Keys To, HOE or other algebraic supplimentals.

 

Jacobs is the only thing I might consider as an altenrative Algebra 1 since it is known to have a lot of Pre-A review in the beginning. I'm just not sure it would offer more than MUS once past this initial review.

Edited October 27, 2012 by dereksurfs

[Corraleno]

I think MUS works best for a specific kind of learner, and may not be the best program for very linear/verbal kids. MUS teaches graphing functions right up front, earlier than many other texts do, which could be confusing for a child who doesn't visualize math very well. For some kids, literally seeing an equation as a line or parabola, or whatever, is the key to understanding what an equation is, but others will need to understand equations in a linear/verbal way before they can understand the connection between an equation and a line. Does that make sense?

 

I think the Keys series would work well for you, and I might also recommend Teaching Textbooks algebra, which is not only fairly gentle and very verbal, it also delays functions until later. There is also a book called Basic Algebra by Dolciani, Smith, & Brown that was designed as a remedial algebra text, but which I think would work very well as a gentle introduction for younger kids. It is very verbal/sequential, the layout is clean and simple, it postpones functions and graphing until later in the book, and it teaches functions in the context of other kinds of graphs — bar graphs, line graphs, then functions.

 

(ETA: I would probably not recommend Jacobs, as it also covers functions very early on.)

 

Jackie

Edited October 28, 2012 by Corraleno

[Pegasus]

We use MUS. Last year, my younger DD was doing fine in math but I just wasn't sure she was ready to dive into algebra. Instead, we ventured off and she did the two LOF pre-algebra books. She is now back to MUS Algebra I and doing great. Don't be afraid of taking a side trip and coming back to MUS Algebra later.