nurse_kris Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 Looking for an algebra curriculum for my DS 14. He has consistently scored above average in math on his Iowa tests over the years, but has below average grades in public school this year using 8th grade Saxon math. I am looking for a video based algebra curriculum to homeschool him this fall, but am not sure which would be the best fit? Looking at Chalkdust, Video Test and Teaching Textbooks. Can anyone give me some pros and cons of each if you have experience with them? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 How far above average was he scoring on the ITBS? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurse_kris Posted May 8, 2014 Author Share Posted May 8, 2014 How far above average was he scoring on the ITBS? The Iowa Assessments scores for math from this spring are: NPR 84, NGE 13+, and NSS is 286. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkT Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Looking for an algebra curriculum for my DS 14. He has consistently scored above average in math on his Iowa tests over the years, but has below average grades in public school this year using 8th grade Saxon math. I am looking for a video based algebra curriculum to homeschool him this fall, but am not sure which would be the best fit? Looking at Chalkdust, Video Test and Teaching Textbooks. Can anyone give me some pros and cons of each if you have experience with them? Thanks! Can I dare ask since I have a DS turning 14 soon. Did he put in a full effort? What Saxon text book did they use? Have him try some pre-Algebra stuff on Khan Academy to see if that learning method works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Are his grades because he tested poorly or did poorly on homework or both? In Saxon, you HAVE to do the work to learn the material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurse_kris Posted May 8, 2014 Author Share Posted May 8, 2014 Are his grades because he tested poorly or did poorly on homework or both? In Saxon, you HAVE to do the work to learn the material. Oh, I am sure that he didn't put forth the effort he could have. This is why he goes to school and I homeschool my other two kids. He typically gets very good grades in school and gets along without problems, whereas the year I homeschooled him it was nothing but a constant struggle to get him to complete his work. That being said, I do think he is having trouble with some concepts that were covered this year. He either didn't pay attention or it wasn't explained well enough. This is the book they are using http://www.amazon.com/Saxon-Math-Course-2007-Student/dp/1591418844 Sorry...meant to quote Mark too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 Saxon is a love or hate program. It has nothing to do with ability or intelligence. It has everything to do with how your brain works. I LOVE Saxon. I am a total Saxon kid from day 1 of schooling. My son is an AoPS kid and hated Saxon. He showed no growth, disliked math, fought to stay focused. It was a total battle. Saxon doesn't work for him. Before you decide your son doesn't get the concepts, see if it is merely that he hates the materials he is being forced to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 I'll throw another one in the mix. I am a fan of Math Relief. Very gifted in teaching algebra. Very streamlined program, with problems already written out, and answer key with problems worked start-to-finish. You can sample a video on YouTube or their website MathRelief.com. My kids who used it are 18 & 27 now, mathy and not, and they still wish everything on life were explained as clearly as Mr Firebaugh did. Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen in NY Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 EndofOrdinary said: 'Saxon is a love or hate program. It has nothing to do with ability or intelligence. It has everything to do with how your brain works. I LOVE Saxon. I am a total Saxon kid from day 1 of schooling. My son is an AoPS kid and hated Saxon. He showed no growth, disliked math, fought to stay focused. It was a total battle. Saxon doesn't work for him." :iagree: I almost hate to say it because I know so many people are happy with Saxon and have had great success with it.... We used it for my older dd's 8th grade year - it was the year of great math suffering around here. Crying every day. (Granted, she was 13....) Gnashing of teeth. Pulling of hair. We switched programs and never looked back. She wrote about the first book we used after that in her college applications, lol! I guess switching was a good thing. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurse_kris Posted May 8, 2014 Author Share Posted May 8, 2014 Saxon is a love or hate program. It has nothing to do with ability or intelligence. It has everything to do with how your brain works. I LOVE Saxon. I am a total Saxon kid from day 1 of schooling. My son is an AoPS kid and hated Saxon. He showed no growth, disliked math, fought to stay focused. It was a total battle. Saxon doesn't work for him. Before you decide your son doesn't get the concepts, see if it is merely that he hates the materials he is being forced to use. It is both. He does not like Saxon, but he has also told me that he doesn't understand all the concepts. This is why I am looking for something different for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SailorMom Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 I highly recommend Foerster. There are videos that I haven't tried through Math Without Borders, but I've heard they are good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
journey00 Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 I liked the video on Mathrelief.com. He was very clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angie in VA Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 I almost hate to say it because I know so many people are happy with Saxon and have had great success with it.... We used it for my older dd's 8th grade year - it was the year of great math suffering around here. Crying every day. (Granted, she was 13....) Gnashing of teeth. Pulling of hair. We switched programs and never looked back. She wrote about the first book we used after that in her college applications, lol! I guess switching was a good thing. :) *Waving to Jen* Hey, girl! Is your dd home for the summer yet? Or does she get to come home? She may be off on some great internship already. I got my girl Tuesday. Yay! What did you change to? AOPS? I still laugh about the topic of my dd's college app essays: breakfast cereal. No lie! Now, those weren't her honors and scholarship essays, but still. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 I used Videotext and my dd liked it. However, I am a math person and so she also did problems from Life of Fred and Danica McKellers series. Yes, I did go a little crazy throwing things together. You do not want to know what I did to my dc in history. I think the animation and color coding in videotext is very helpful to understanding. Some people think color coding just makes it look more interesting, but it actually serves a purpose. It has been 5 years since I used Video Text and I think I had an older version. I know people who have used TT and have been able to be completely hands off of teaching. That may be a better series if your ds is going to have issues with you involved. Do look up concepts on youtube. There are many, many videos besides Khan academy. Some kids do not respond well to Khan, but there are many other good teachers on youtube. If I were you, I'd involve ds somewhat. Once you've narrowed down texts to a group that you think adequately covers the curriculum and matches his learning, I would request samples/demos from each publisher and have him view them. Ask him to narrow down or pick. That is a how dd ended up using Video Text. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raganfamily Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 I used Videotext and my dd liked it. However, I am a math person and so she also did problems from Life of Fred and Danica McKellers series. Do look up concepts on youtube. There are many, many videos besides Khan academy. Some kids do not respond well to Khan, but there are many other good teachers on youtube. I really like Video Text, and I am a math person as well. I highly recommend giving math problems from other sources than only the math curriculum you choose. My oldest completed Video Text and needs to go back to review concepts that she fully did not understand. My failure was not giving review while learning new concepts. Needless to say my other children will have plenty of review while working through Video Text. I have always gone to Khan and will look into other youtube resources. Thx! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurse_kris Posted May 8, 2014 Author Share Posted May 8, 2014 Thanks for the suggestions everyone. We have looked at Khan academy and watched a few videos on topics he was having problems with. It seemed to help. He told me his teacher has been having them work thru Khan academy lessons in study hall, but they skip the video portion. Unfortunately, the video is the part that helps him. I like the looks of Math Relief and Video Text. I may give one of them a shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 He told me his teacher has been having them work thru Khan academy lessons in study hall, but they skip the video portion. Why? because they don't have enough time? That seems to devalue the use of the lessons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurse_kris Posted May 8, 2014 Author Share Posted May 8, 2014 Why? because they don't have enough time? That seems to devalue the use of the lessons. I'm not sure. DS just told me that the teacher has the kids work the problems on there. Actually, I was quite surprised the teacher even uses it at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted May 8, 2014 Share Posted May 8, 2014 I think a lot of schools refer to Khan Academy now. My dd attends public hs. In the posted math summer assignments, each problem references a link to khan academy. I suspect, to give the students help in the summer when they can't ask a teacher. My dd's current teacher has her own videos online so her students can review teacher while doing assignments at night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkT Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Oh, I am sure that he didn't put forth the effort he could have. This is why he goes to school and I homeschool my other two kids. He typically gets very good grades in school and gets along without problems, whereas the year I homeschooled him it was nothing but a constant struggle to get him to complete his work. That being said, I do think he is having trouble with some concepts that were covered this year. He either didn't pay attention or it wasn't explained well enough. This is the book they are using http://www.amazon.com/Saxon-Math-Course-2007-Student/dp/1591418844 Sorry...meant to quote Mark too. No worry we are here to help. I am quite familiar with that text. Can you list the particular lessons (by number) you believe he finds difficult? (and some actual problems). It is not a particularly difficult text but some lessons can be tricky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkT Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 It is both. He does not like Saxon, but he has also told me that he doesn't understand all the concepts. This is why I am looking for something different for him. Going with my gut here. Leave him in school for next year. Homeschool him on the parts of Pre-Algebra (the book you mentioned is Pre-algebra) that he struggles with this summer (twice a week??) and then maybe start him with some Algebra. Do some after-schooling Algebra with him. Does the school he attends use Saxon for Algebra as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nurse_kris Posted May 9, 2014 Author Share Posted May 9, 2014 Going with my gut here. Leave him in school for next year. Homeschool him on the parts of Pre-Algebra (the book you mentioned is Pre-algebra) that he struggles with this summer (twice a week??) and then maybe start him with some Algebra. Do some after-schooling Algebra with him. Does the school he attends use Saxon for Algebra as well? I also thought of working with him over the summer. I did go ahead and get the first section of Algebra from Math Relief. I read somewhere that the beginning of the course covers prealgebra concepts. We will see how that goes. If he "gets it", which I am assuming he will, he can go back to school if he puts forth more effort. He other grades have been slacking as well, but all of his scores on the Iowa Assessments are very good. He just doesn't feel the need to apply himself right now. The only class that concerned me really is math. It is important to me that he grasps all the concepts as they will be needed in Algebra. Oh, and yes...I do believe the school continues with Saxon for Algebra. Also, right after I ordered the Math Relief I received a phone call from the instructor wanting to know how I found out about it. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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