Guest Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Which do you prefer for Algebra 1....Foresters or Jacobs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Both? I chose Jacobs for my oldest and Foerster for my second. Very different kids. Jacobs is more lighthearted and starts with a few chapters of prealg. Foerster is a little bit meatier and has tougher word problems. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Agree with Silvermoon, they're both excellent choices. Which will fit best depends a bit on the student and what elementary/prealgebra they're coming from. Jacobs starts off gently and gets more difficult in the second half. A good portion of the learning in Jacobs occurs within the set of exercises, a bit of guided discovery, so to speak, i.e., the exercises very gradually and incrementally lead the student to something deeper (I'll probably have to come back to reword this, but I need more coffee). Foerster is more challenging, a little drier in style, has more word problems, and includes a few additional challenging topics that are not included in Jacobs. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dereksurfs Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 What type of learner do you have when it comes to math? What approach has worked best in the past? Have you looked at them both yet? Another way to help decide is to pick them both up and have you and your dc look them over. Both are relatively inexpensive on the used market. Having more than one resource is also beneficial when wanting supplemental materials. Sometimes having another way of explaining a concept can help when a child just isn't getting things in the spine program. Or they may just need extra practice problems before moving on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 I ordered both and chose Foerster. It just seemed to suit me and my daughter better. I teach the lesson using the example problems on a white board, we do the oral practice together and the problem set she does on her own. Now that I think about it..., the Jacobs book I bought was in poor condition and smelled musty and the Foerster was like new. I think perhaps the physical condition of the books had something to do with my decision. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AimeeM Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 What type of learner do you have when it comes to math? What approach has worked best in the past? Have you looked at them both yet? Another way to help decide is to pick them both up and have you and your dc look them over. Both are relatively inexpensive on the used market. Having more than one resource is also beneficial when wanting supplemental materials. Sometimes having another way of explaining a concept can help when a child just isn't getting things in the spine program. Or they may just need extra practice problems before moving on. No. Lol. Good luck finding a readable copy of Jacob's for less than $100 - it's out of print and ridiculous now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dereksurfs Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 No. Lol. Good luck finding a readable copy of Jacob's for less than $100 - it's out of print and ridiculous now. Wow, I had no idea the price shot up that much. That's crazy expensive for that old book! I did a quick search and found one for $60 (with CDN exchange rate). But that's still too expensive, IMO. When I looked a few years ago they were much less. However, after checking it out from Open Library I was somewhat underwhelmed when comparing it to Forester, Dolciani and AoPS for ds13. Though I'm not ruling it completely for our dds, depending on how they do in Pre-A. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEmama Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 No. Lol. Good luck finding a readable copy of Jacob's for less than $100 - it's out of print and ridiculous now. We bought ours last year on eBay or Amazon (can't remember since they both had copies) for $30-35. It is definitely easy to find and inexpensive. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 I bought our Jacobs before the prices went nutters. :huh: If finances are a concern and Foerster seems like it may be too much, consider Lial's Introductory Algebra. Solid text, and a boardie does online classes with it (Jann in TX? I think?). You can usually find older editions with their solutions manual for dirt cheap on Amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Thank you all. I have ordered both to look at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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