A couple of Foerster's Alg 2 Trig ?'s

[SusanAR]

I don't feel as confident about teaching Alg II as I did with alg I and geometry:) I recieved my books last week, perused a few sections, and worked some problems without problem, but I know that I will have to spend more time with it than I did with alg I and geometry.

Can you share which chapters/ sections were the most difficult for you and your student? I know this is subjective, but I have a free day tomorrow, and I thought I'd spend time working on math.

Also, we haven't purchased a new graphing calculator yet. How soon do we need it?

thanks,

Susan

[langfam]

If you need help http://www.mathwithoutborders.com has CDs that teach the lessons to Foerster's Algebra.

[Sharon in MD]

I would only use this text for AL II and wait to hit the trig in Foerster's Pre-calculus with Trig....that is when you would HAVE to have the grapher. I went ahead a bought my son the graphing calculator earlier because I wanted him to get really comfortable with it. We bought the TI-84 Silver Plus, I know it is more expensive, but I felt the added speed and memory were worth it. As it is, that one is even slow to graph the really big stuff that comes along in pre-calculus.

 

I really don't have any suggestions as to which chapters to review....I hate to say it, but I think your best bet is to sit down and just page through it and review where you need it most. I wouldn't worry too much about it, I think that if you read along or just a little ahead of your student you will probably be fine. I found that it was most helpful for me to be just a day ahead of him when I could manage it. Also, there is the Math Forum web site that can be helpful when you hit a snag. You can look through their data base of questions and get helpful info. Another good web source is Hot Math....they have the Ed Burger lessons for just $25 a year, I think. And they have some free helps there as well.

 

HTH

Sharon

Who is dreading and yet excited, call me crazy, about calculus this fall...:svengo:

[SusanAR]

I would only use this text for AL II and wait to hit the trig in Foerster's Pre-calculus with Trig....that is when you would HAVE to have the grapher. I went ahead a bought my son the graphing calculator earlier because I wanted him to get really comfortable with it. We bought the TI-84 Silver Plus, I know it is more expensive, but I felt the added speed and memory were worth it. As it is, that one is even slow to graph the really big stuff that comes along in pre-calculus.

 

I really don't have any suggestions as to which chapters to review....I to say it, but I think your best bet is to sit down and just page through it and review where you need it most. I wouldn't worry too much about it, I think that if you read along or just a little ahead of your student you will probably be fine. I found that it was most helpful for me to be just a day ahead of him when I could manage it. Also, there is the Math Forum web site that can be helpful when you hit a snag. You can look through their data base of questions and get helpful info. Another good web source is Hot Math....they have the Ed Burger lessons for just $25 a year, I think. And they have some free helps there as well.

 

HTH

Sharon

Who is dreading and yet excited, call me crazy, about calculus this fall...:svengo:

 

Thanks, Sharon

I remembered your post about pre-cal, and that is my plan. I've decided to cover only alg II this year, so maybe we will be covering it slowly enough that I can keep slightly ahead of ds without problem. It's just when you add in all the other subjects that require my attention, it makes my head hurt!!

Susan

[Sharon in MD]

But, I don't think you'll find it too bad....the explanations are really good in Foerster and the solutions manual is generally pretty thorough. One thing I'd suggest for your dc is have them check their work after a couple of problems. That way if they are totally doing it wrong, they won't reinforce bad habits.

 

This is also what the Chalkdust folks recommend...