hcrocker Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 DD12 is doing Keys to Algebra, currently almost done with book 4, and seems to be doing well. We started the year with Singapore NEM, which did not work for her at all, but I wanted a text with a richer scope and sequence. She's just started doing Singapore IP 6A (for spiral, mostly), but I am concerned that she's not getting appropriate breadth. Has anyone used Keys to Algebra as a primary text? If you supplemented, what did you use? And how has your child done with higher level math - Geometry, Algebra 2, etc.? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennynd Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Key to algebra itself is really not enough as a algebra curriculum. It covers barely minumum. It is a great curriculum to get kids to get into algebra but by no means can be used as a primary algebra IMO. ( My older used this as a pre algebra) Even their own website suggested to use it as a supplement. Did you look into Singapore discovery math? It is not as hard as NEM but still more riguous than many of the other curriculum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 Keys to Algebra is not a full Algebra 1 curriculum (despite what Cathy Duffy says) and will not prepare most students for Algebra 2. It is a great lead-in to Algebra 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccolopy Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 I have to agree with the previous posters. We used Keys to Algebra alongside and after Singapore 6, before moving on to Foerster for Algebra 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 a good local source for math info told me to work through the Key To Algebra series and add in the TOPS science units "Math Lab" and "Probability" and call it pre-algebra. The goal was to get my kid read for an algebra program. I think the Key to is either preparatory for algebra 1, or remedial for kids who started algebra 1 and are floundering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CupOCoffee Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 I agree with the others. I had actually emailed the company directly and they responded that it really is NOT a stand alone Algebra I, more like a prep for Algebra I. We used it remedially with DS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hcrocker Posted January 23, 2013 Author Share Posted January 23, 2013 OK, that's what my sense of this was. She had used Keys to Percents, Decimals, and Fractions, and one of the LOF Pre-Algebra books and enjoyed them, so when NEM was not working for us, it was an easy solution to jump back to that. She was definitely not ready for Foerster at 11.5 yrs when we started NEM. But as I started looking ahead to next year, and the possibility of ps for high school, there was no way she seemed ready to pick up the Geometry/Algebra 2 sequence after this. Thanks for confirming my suspicions. I'd looked at Jacobs and Foerster for Algebra 1, so perhaps I'll start re-evaluating those again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txhomemom Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 We are currently using the Key to Algebra books for prealgebra. Next year for Algebra I am considering Algebra Fresh Approach and I might combine that with the Discovering Algebra text for a different approach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hcrocker Posted January 24, 2013 Author Share Posted January 24, 2013 @ txhomemom - Are you doing anything besides Key to Algebra this year? Just curious. I do like the idea of multiple resources in order to address gaps or provide a fresh perspective on a difficult topic. @ redsquirrel - I didn't know TOPS had math units, I will have to check those out. Good to know that even the company says it's either prep for Alg 1 or remedial for struggling students. Maybe I'll save the later books (which I've already got) in case DD needs extra practice next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txhomemom Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 @ txhomemom - Are you doing anything besides Key to Algebra this year? Just curious. I do like the idea of multiple resources in order to address gaps or provide a fresh perspective on a difficult topic. We are pretty much just doing Key to Algebra for now. I have other resources in case we need to pull out problems from another source. I own the Chalkdust Basic Math and Prealgebra texts and I have the Math Mammoth blue topic books. This year has been a learning experience with math. We started out trying Derek Owens prealgebra (still love this one), but my dd did not want a video based course. Then we tried MUS, not sure why I went that route since she did not want a video course, but I thought it would be easy to adapt without the video, but it just did not work for us. We had already completed Key to Decimals, Fractions, and Percents, so it was super easy to just come back to that method and start up Key to Algebra. I also have some of the Key to Geometry books, so we might start those at some point. Our plan is just to get as far as we can in the Key to books and then we will transition to a complete algebra course from another source. I am definitely a multiple resource kind of mom, I just intuitively pull out whatever text/workbook, etc that we have that fits a particular topic when we need it. I have never really worried about whether we are covering what would be in a typical Saxon textbook, etc. My goal for math is that my dd know how to do each math skill really really well. I would rather her stay longer on a topic and understand it and be able to work the problems in her sleep then worry about getting ahead to Algebra. I am not really in favor of the new track of doing Algebra in 7th or 8th grade or even earlier in some cases. There may be a few kids that are capable of this, but honestly I took Prealgebra my freshman year in high school! I did not take Algebra until 10th grade. What is really weird is that I am a complete math and science nerd now. I was kind of a late bloomer in math. I like the Fresh Approach Algebra course because it is intended for the book to be written in, so my dd does not have to recopy the problems like in other traditional texts. I already own the text and just glancing at it I like the simple presentation of each lesson and uncluttered pages. The only thing I noticed is that my dd may still need to work out the problems on another piece of paper, because there is not a lot of writing space in the book. I am thinking about just giving her a journal that has graph paper in it and letting her work any problems in there. I also seriously considered Jacobs Algebra for next year, but my only concern is sometimes my dd likes to get to the point quickly, and although I like the different way it presents problems, it may end up frustrating my dd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hcrocker Posted January 25, 2013 Author Share Posted January 25, 2013 I will have to check out Fresh Approach. I am not looking forward to DD's face when she sees the 700 page algebra books... I am generally a multiple-resource kind of gal too, and there's a certain pressure to complete a textbook, as opposed to multiple smaller books. I always feel as though I have to go in order from start to finish without skipping a single lesson. (OK, perhaps in the case of math that would not be a bad thing!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 We're using Key to Algebra with Life of Fred Pre-Algebra (both books) and that seems to work well for DD. I really didn't think she was ready to be faced with a 700 page algebra book either, nor was she ready for really big problem sets, and Fred for the conceptual stuff, plus Key to Algebra for practice seems to be a good combo for her right now. I wouldn't call it Algebra 1, but I'm guessing she'll be ready for something more formal when she gets there. Right now it seems like a good combo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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