Why not AoPS Prealgebra?

[Aloha2U]

I recall reading in a couple of threads that some of those using AoPS were not impressed with their Prealgebra program. Would anyone like to share pros or cons?

[boscopup]

I think it's mostly been folks with really young kids, and it's only been a few. I love it as I go through it myself. I'm going to try it with my son in 4th grade. I can't even predict how he'll do with it. I'm sure I'll have to ease into the independent usage of it, as some have said they did - using it more traditionally, then gradually making it independent.

[Halcyon]

WE tried it, but for my 10 yo it wasnt a fit.perhaps down the road. He prefers a more straightforward approach.we incorporate some of the problems, but right now, that's it.

[Alte Veste Academy]

Most complaints I have heard are that it is too wordy and overcomplicates the material. My oldest DS and DH disagree on both counts, and positively love it. They are both natural puzzle solvers though, so it fits them like a glove. AoPS is not a fit for everyone though, including me. I need a more traditional (spoon-feeding :tongue_smilie:) text.

[FairProspects]

VERY wordy. Mathematicians are not always words people. After reading through it, there is no way dyslexic ds would want to do it at the age he will be ready for the material. We'll have to try something else instead, probably the beginning of Jacobs Algebra.

[Arcadia]

It is wordy enough that I do not need to do any teaching :) It does overcomplicates the material in a way but it keeps the kids awake. We are using the textbook as a supplement and kids love the videos. We are going to use Singapore Discoverying Math as core.

[wapiti]

AoPS books were written specifically for the niche of high-performing math students and have a big-picture approach to the math generally. They are different from traditional texts in that rather than starting with instruction, the lessons start out with problems, through which the lesson is "discovered," little by little. The lesson problems are followed by full solutions to the lesson problems, which contains a lot of the teaching, and that's presumably where the wordiness complaint comes in. Following those solutions are exercises for practicing what was learned in the lesson. Each chapter ends with good-sized sets of review problems and challenge problems. Learning by doing hard problems is one of the core philosophies of AoPS.

 

As for wordiness, this thread discusses that at length.

 

FWIW, I used AoPS Prealgebra with my dd, who is now using a traditional algebra in her middle school. I'm currently using it with my ds, who is younger but advanced - he's about 3/4 of the way through. I'm looking forward to starting his twin brother with it this summer - he needs some development in the area of slowing down to think about hard problems. We love AoPS here. HTH :)

[IrishMum]

We found AOPS prealgebra difficult. My two older boys are above average at math, but we went through Life of Fred Prealgebra 1 and 2 before AOPS pre algebra. Now AOPS is doable for them, before if was too frustrating, with them spending too long trying to work solutions out. It is still challenging, but no longer impossible.

[Momling]

I bought and returned it. I think we've grown so used to the Singapore way of introducing a topic that it kind of put me off to see such wordiness. It just didn't appeal to me at all to want to try to teach it -- especially since my girl isn't a math lover. I love the videos though (and the girl tolerates them). Instead, we've been working through a variety of pre-algebra type books: SYRWTL Maths 2 (for arithmetic review and beginning algebra intro), Challenging Word Problems 5 (for word problems, which we do using a bar model and also try with algebra), Keys to Algebra and Algebra Survival Guide (to ease into beginning algebra)... also a little bit of MM7 when needed. I think she's absolutely prepared to start algebra any time now, but I'm going to wait until fall. This summer we'll give Hands on Equations and Zaccarro Real World Algebra a try. I've found I like DIY pre-algebra. I use SYRWTL Maths as the spine and then supplement or exchange or skip or focus on topics as needed.

[Woodland Mist Academy]

My dd11 is enjoying AoPS Pre-algebra. It's been a great fit for her.

 

The fact that it is written to the student is a huge plus for us.

[nandmsmom]

It is wordy and it is difficult. With that said, I absolutely adore this program. If your child is not a mathy kid, I would not use it. If you have a STEM kid, I would at least check it out. Highly recommended.

[boscopup]

It's wordy because it's meant to be a math teacher lecturing a student. If your child were sitting in a math class, listening to a teacher, that's what they would be saying. Since your child is instead reading this book, it has to be wordy. It's not meant for you to teach it. It's meant for the student to read the material and learn from the authors of the book.

 

Obviously, that won't work for every kid. ;) But the wordiness is necessary in order to be fully independent as it's designed to be.

[Aloha2U]

Thank you for all the responses!

 

It's wordy because it's meant to be a math teacher lecturing a student. If your child were sitting in a math class, listening to a teacher, that's what they would be saying. Since your child is instead reading this book, it has to be wordy. It's not meant for you to teach it. It's meant for the student to read the material and learn from the authors of the book.

 

Obviously, that won't work for every kid. ;) But the wordiness is necessary in order to be fully independent as it's designed to be.

 

 

Thank you for elaborating on this. After reading the linked thread that wapiti provided, I believe we'd prefer the wordiness. The sample explanation found in #11 (by lewelma) made perfect sense to us. So that's a plus for us using AoPS, which is a good thing because I already have it on order from RR for next year.

[FairProspects]

Yeah, but if your kid would learn the material perfectly well from a teacher, and not from a book, that doesn't work so well :(

[mommymilkies]

VERY wordy. Mathematicians are not always words people. After reading through it, there is no way dyslexic ds would want to do it at the age he will be ready for the material. We'll have to try something else instead, probably the beginning of Jacobs Algebra.

Exactly. My chemist dh is dyslexic and my 12 yo dd (who is a very strong advanced reader) but both had issues with it. Both are gifted at math, but the wordiness threw both of them off. Dd can see math, but AoPS KILLED her love of math. Seriously. She loathes it now. It was overly confusing if you don't like wordy math. I'm not talking "word problem" wordy, but using a zillion words to explain simple things. Just because you don't like wordiness doesn't make you a subpar mathematician. People learn in different ways. Ds is auditory, so I might try Algebra (not Pre-a) for him someday, but it just killed the rest of us VSL who like things like Singapore.