Jaybee Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 Has anyone taken a look at this? It was mentioned on Cathy Duffy's latest email review. Here's the review from her site: http://cathyduffyrev...-Geometry.htm�� Looks interesting, and I'd like to hear from anyone else who has reviewed it. ETA: Link doesn't work. Not sure how to fix it. Let me see if I can copy the email: A Fresh Approach High School Math Series Author: Christy Walters The Fresh Approach high school math texts look like typical, hard cover school textbooks on the outside, but the insides are not typical.... In the algebra texts most lessons begin with relatively brief teaching of a new concept, generally followed by not just one, but perhaps up to six examples with thorough explanations. Examples sometimes use real situations or applications that make it easier to grasp what you are trying to accomplish. Walters teaches by "showing" through the examples rather than just presenting information. Examples are followed by many practice problems so that students master each concept. The Geometry lessons include detailed explanations and examples but these are generally prefaced with more teaching and presentation of postulates and theorems. Walters' teaching style is "user-friendly" with a conversational tone. She walks students through concepts as if she were sitting next to them, noting pitfalls to avoid or potential difficulties to which students should be alert.... For each course, the text is divided into chapters, and chapters are divided into "Parts." Each Part teaches a single concept.... Read my full review here... See the complete review for more details on each course. The first chapter and the Table of Contents for each book are available for download so you can try before you buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 I used the Algebra 1 book with my 3rd son. It was perfect for his needs. It had a lot of practice for each subject taught. At the end of each chapter, the review was cumulative. It is a non-fussy text in that there aren't graphics or bright colors. My son actually wrote in the text because there was enough space. The author is extremely nice and readily available for questions. I think it was quite thorough and covered everything in Algebra 1 well. This is my son who isn't as mathy as his brothers. He needs a little slower pace with less information thrown at him and the fact that each part only has a single topic was perfect for him.. His younger brother was moving into Singapore DM 3 at the time this 3rd son needed to move to Algebra 2. I purchased the Algebra 2 A Fresh Approach so he could look at it. He compared it with his brother's Singapore DM 3. He opted to try Singapore. I think he felt a little pressure because all his other brothers used Singapore and I spoke so highly of it...and he went into Singapore DM 3 just fine. He still moves through math slower than his brothers. A Fresh Approach was just the program he needed at the time to build his confidence. I like the whole product line and would not have had a problem continuing him in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaybee Posted May 8, 2013 Author Share Posted May 8, 2013 Thanks, Cynthia. I am not familiar with the way Singapore is organized. We will just be doing pre-algebra next year, but I am trying to look ahead. Ds did not like Math Mammoth at all ("they don't explain things well"), yet he seems to be mathy in a very organized, linear way. He prefers an approach like Saxon, but I'm planning to add Alcumus (sp?) to the mix to see what he does with it. I don't think AOPS books would be a good fit for him, yet he is thinking that engineering is in his future, so I want to make sure he has a strong background. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 I would rank Singapore right under AOPS in terms of rigor although their approach is different. We actually used AOPS at times. A Fresh Approach is very organized and focuses on one concept at a time, then there is plenty of practice with that concept, then it is practiced again at the end of a chapter in the cumulative review. It was organized such that he knew what to expect with each chapter. All of my boys are good at math, but this one approaches it differently from the others and simply needs more time to solidify the knowledge.His two older brothers are engineering majors and he says that is what he wants to do as well. He has gone on to take College Algebra and Trigonometry at our local university as a dual enrolled student without any problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cabertmom Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 I just saw the same thing and would love to hear more about this too. After Jacobs and then LOF Algebra 1 followed by Teaching Textbooks for Geometry, we're still looking for what works best for DD. She didn't like the stories in LOF (just wanted to get it done) or just the amount of problems in Jacobs (we stopped halfway through and switched to Fred, and even TT takes her a really long time every day. She gets almost all A's--it just takes a really enormous amount of her time. Thank you, Miss Marple. Anyone else using this? Or has anyone tried it and decided against it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaybee Posted May 8, 2013 Author Share Posted May 8, 2013 Bump and a clarification question for Miss Marple. So, do you feel that A Fresh Approach followed all the way through would have given an equivalent background to Singapore through the same levels? (I guess that would be the three books FA books compared to the three DM books?) How do the explanations compare, as in ease in understanding what they are trying to explain? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 I don't think the rigor is quite the same especially in the level of thinking required for the word problems. The Fresh Approach is more straightforward and doesn't have all the multi-step problems that one encounters in Singapore. Singapore moves at a faster pace. I know that there are many, many math programs in the public schools and those kids do go on into engineering programs with success; so whether Singapore is right for your son, or a Fresh Approach, or any other program will depend more on the student's learning style and the amount of help you, as teacher, can give. Some people will swear that Saxon does a terrific job, but my boys and I would have been terribly frustrated using it (I actually tutored a boy who used Saxon). Math is the subject that my boys are good at and that I am able to easily teach. What I saw in the Algebra 1 and 2 books was fine, but I'm certainly no expert on math curricula :) I just found the ones my boys liked and that I could understand and teach. I would not have hesitated to use the Algebra 2 book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaybee Posted May 9, 2013 Author Share Posted May 9, 2013 Ok, thank you so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 I just saw the same thing and would love to hear more about this too. After Jacobs and then LOF Algebra 1 followed by Teaching Textbooks for Geometry, we're still looking for what works best for DD. She didn't like the stories in LOF (just wanted to get it done) or just the amount of problems in Jacobs (we stopped halfway through and switched to Fred, and even TT takes her a really long time every day. She gets almost all A's--it just takes a really enormous amount of her time. Thank you, Miss Marple. Anyone else using this? Or has anyone tried it and decided against it? We have the same problem. My dc are VERY slow in getting their math work done. With my oldest, MUS worked best to address the speed problem. Saxon was a nightmare, TT was better. I am trying to decide what to do with my next one because math shouldn't take so much time that nothing else gets done the way it should. At one point, I exchanged emails with the author of A Fresh Approach and agree she is kind and helpful. I'm wondering if she could make suggestions about the time issue. Perhaps give some advice on doing fewer problems, maybe a couple of easy ones to make sure they know it but then focus on more challenging ones. ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cabertmom Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 We have the same problem. My dc are VERY slow in getting their math work done. With my oldest, MUS worked best to address the speed problem. Saxon was a nightmare, TT was better. I am trying to decide what to do with my next one because math shouldn't take so much time that nothing else gets done the way it should. At one point, I exchanged emails with the author of A Fresh Approach and agree she is kind and helpful. I'm wondering if she could make suggestions about the time issue. Perhaps give some advice on doing fewer problems, maybe a couple of easy ones to make sure they know it but then focus on more challenging ones. ?? Tiramisu (love the name), I don't want to say I'm glad you're going through the same difficulty, but it is sort of good to know that we aren't the only ones! I did just find and order a used set for A Fresh Approach to Algebra 2. I find myself wondering if just doing the odds or evens would be enough to cement the concepts--or maybe do the odds, see if she gets at least 90% correct, and if not go back and do the evens? At this point, we're debating between that and intermediate algebra at the local community college, which would leave open the poosibility of something after algebra 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaybee Posted May 9, 2013 Author Share Posted May 9, 2013 Last night, I downloaded the sample chapters for Alg. 1 and Geometry. The pages are straightforward and clean. The explanations are nice and clear. I think this will be a good fit for my son--but I still have another year to agonize over the decision. ;) http://www.aplusses.com/zencart/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Marple Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 Cabertmom, there are so many problems for each section that the author recommended that we only do either the odds or evens (I don't remember). And if the concept was not cemented with those, there were the others left that the student could go back and do. That's one of the things I really loved about this program. My son would often tell me that he was fine and didn't need to do any more of the questions (usually after 10 perfect problems) and we would just move on. The flexibility was great for him because some concepts he could get down quite quickly others needed more time and practice. Definitely do not do all the problems :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 Tiramisu (love the name), I don't want to say I'm glad you're going through the same difficulty, but it is sort of good to know that we aren't the only ones! I did just find and order a used set for A Fresh Approach to Algebra 2. I find myself wondering if just doing the odds or evens would be enough to cement the concepts--or maybe do the odds, see if she gets at least 90% correct, and if not go back and do the evens? At this point, we're debating between that and intermediate algebra at the local community college, which would leave open the poosibility of something after algebra 2. About the speed issue, it took us a long time to find out that my oldest has visual processing weaknesses. A developmental optometrist, using a computer with special goggles attached, determined that her eyes move slowly, though her comprehension is excellent. Then a neuropsychologist found weaknesses in visual processing in a variety of areas, as well as the same slow speed/high comprehension. For some reason, this affects her math a lot more noticeably than her other work. Learning about this helped me understand why Foerster's Algebra 1 and Math U See both worked very well with her. Their formatting is very clean. The worst for us was Saxon. She also did not have a good impression of Jacobs algebra, so we never used it, and Jacob's geometry was a bust. I'm just throwing that out there because there could be a very good reason that your dd works slowly on math, despite being very good at it. Some people tried to tell me, when we first started hsing and were using Saxon, that we should back up because she must not understand the concepts well enough. I'm glad I ignored that advice. If I had money to burn, I'd get my next one up tested before high school to help me make the right curriculum decisions. It might sound crazy to people who haven't BTDT but how a book looks can make a huge difference for some kids, and there could be a very good reason why. I used to think processing speed was a simple thing but then I did SAT math review with dd. When it's something she can do in her head, she's really quick. She can do more in her head than I can and do it faster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cabertmom Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 Miss Marple, that's fantastic to hear that the author says doing just odds or evens as long as the concept is cemented is a reasonable option! Tiramisu, that is very interesting information. She is a very visual learner actually--to the point that when I'm reading aloud to all the kids, she often comes to sit next to me and read along. She's also very artistic and good with her hands, figuring out how to make 3-dimensional objects in a variety of materials from sewing to leather to ceramics. On the other hand, her reading speed hovers around 30 pages per hour, which seems kind of slow to me. Does it to you? After getting your daughter assessed by the optometrist and neuropsychologist, what were they able to do to help her? Or was it more something to be aware of and just helped by knowing what the best curricula and other resources were for her? Sadly, money is definitely an issue for anything like that, but if it helped.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Tiramisu, that is very interesting information. She is a very visual learner actually--to the point that when I'm reading aloud to all the kids, she often comes to sit next to me and read along. She's also very artistic and good with her hands, figuring out how to make 3-dimensional objects in a variety of materials from sewing to leather to ceramics. On the other hand, her reading speed hovers around 30 pages per hour, which seems kind of slow to me. Does it to you? After getting your daughter assessed by the optometrist and neuropsychologist, what were they able to do to help her? Or was it more something to be aware of and just helped by knowing what the best curricula and other resources were for her? Sadly, money is definitely an issue for anything like that, but if it helped.... I don't know what what her average reading speed is. Now you've got me curious. It does vary according to the familiarity of the material, the optometrist pointed out. Actually, my dd has auditory processing disorder so we were thinking she was visual. It's just that the auditory part was much more obvious. It really took the testing to figure it out. She is also very crafty, and she's a musician. The optometrist told us that reading and playing music is better for her than any therapy he could come up with. And he told her to read a lot, which she was already doing. Knowing these things will allow us to get accommodations for college. She did not get the testing in time for the SAT's, and did okay anyway. The neuropsychologist said if she were younger, she would have her doing occupational therapy, but because of her age and stage in life, she didn't recommend it. The one thing I can say is that I noticed things, like the preference for certain types of formatting in math books and the strange frustration with new symbols in math. If I had trusted her and trusted myself more, I could have possibly caught on about certain issues without the help of a specialist, found ways to work with it, and gone with what works without being hung up on what was supposed to be rigorous. But I was trying to fit her into a mold of what I thought a smart kid should be, and instead wound up putting a lot of pressure on her to try harder which was not helpful. My best advice would be to really pay attention and listen to her when she tells you about how she interacts with a curriculum and feels about it. And go with what she likes and what works. She'll learn and she'll be happier than if you try to force what might not be a good fit. :grouphug: HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christy Walters Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 I have posted a FAQ page on my website, www.aplusses.com/textbooks.php, that addresses some of your questions here. CabertMom, I would suggest that you talk to a psychologist (and, depending on how that goes, maybe an optometrist or neuropsychologist) about your daughter. If you find a good one, he or she should be able to give you exercises that will make learning easier for her in the future as well as guidelines that will help you be a better teacher. Additionally, one of these people should be able to give you the documentation you will need if you want her to have extended time when she takes her ACT and/or SAT tests. And finally, please feel free to email me again at christyATaplussesDOTcom or send me a private message if you still have questions. Christy Walters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.