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Please recommend an Algebra 1 course after Horizons Pre Algebra.


BlessedMom
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My child has always done Horizons math, it has been a great fit for this child.

 

Horizons does have Algebra 1, but I do not feel confident that there will be any higher courses available before we need them so I am considering changing.

As much as I hate to change, I am thinking I might want the continuity of the same curriculum through the rest of the math years.

 

Can anyone please recommend an Algebra 1 curriculum that might be a good fit.  Ideally I am thinking something with an online or DVD component, but would appreciate any suggestions and wisdom you have to share.

 

 

Thank you in advance for your time.

 

 

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We didn't use Horizons, but my dd went from Singapore 6B into Video Text Algebra.  The complete course (six modules) starts with pre-algebra (one module) and goes straight through Algebra I and Algebra II.  The lessons are short and succinct.  Each lesson is followed by practice problems.  The following day, there is a quiz over material covered in the previous lesson.  If student passes the quiz, they go on to the next video lesson.  If not, they watch the previous lesson again, and do a second practice lesson (different problems, same material).  The next day, they try the B version of the quiz.  (There are more practice lessons and quizzes for each lesson online if more practice is needed.  We never needed it.)  The lessons are well presented, and they build on each other, always tying previously learned material into new, more complicated scenarios.  The video lessons are short, only 5-10 minutes.  The have printed course notes for every lesson, and discourage note-taking.  Instead, they want the student fully engaged in the lesson, stopping and starting the lesson as needed to figure out answers to questions posed by the teacher.  There are teachers available through the website to answer questions.  The one time we needed them, I sent a message and got a phone call back within 5 minutes.  I don't know if is always that prompt.  

 

I highly recommend Video Text.  They have "Algebra", which contains 172 lessons and covers pre-algebra, algebra I, and algebra II.  They recommend it take about a year and a half to complete.  They also have Geometry" which contains 176 lessons and covers geometry, trigonometry, and pre-calculus.  

 

We didn't go all the way through because dd applied and was accepted into a highly competitive private school in 9th grade.  She had completed 5 of the 6 Algebra modules, and tested right into the advanced 9th grade math track at her new school.  Video Text gave her the strong math background that she needed.

 

Oh, and Video Text is the program recommended by Dr. Jay Wile, the author of Apologia science curricula.  I heard him at a conference years ago, and he really appreciated the straight-forward approach of Video Text.

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I'm looking seriously at Chalkdust for DS/6th when he gets to algebra. (Used. New prices are way too high.) He's my first one to use the upper Horizons books.

 

Or Foersters. My DD/9th used this one with good results, but I don't think you can get video for it.

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FriedClam, thank you for your recommendation of Saxon.

Do you use the Saxon Teacher dvd's or the DIVE ones? If so can you please share your thoughts?

We use the Art Reed dvds. They're short, concise, and he's pretty funny. We just started algebra 2 and my second round of algebra 1/2, and I'm convinced that people who say Saxon isn't abstract enough haven't done a lot of the work in it. That's not said to be ugly, it's just my trips through the Saxon books have taught me a ton (both in algebra and the subtleties of curriculum).

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