LOF and Foerster Algebra I

[shanezomom]

I overdid it on Algebra curriculum so we have Life of Fred Beginning Algebra, Foerster Algebra 1 with the Math Without Borders DVD and I also bought Jousting Armadillos because it sounded interesting. Ds loves loves loves Fred and is several lessons into the book which he would like to work on through the summer. He did Fractions, Decimals and Pre-Algebra with LOF.

 

Please tell me that if we stick with Fred for Beginning Algebra, ds would be able to open up Foerster Algebra I at random and understand what's going on or am I dreaming?

 

[VANURSEPRAC]

I can only add our experience with Foerster I but we have never seen LOF.

 

D12 is working (chpter 8) her way through Foerster I with MWB videos. Prior to Foerster I textbook she did the (Prentice Hall Texas  Middle School  book) She is a public school kid. She has not had any problems with the Foerster text as of yet. She likes how visually uncluttered it is.

The first 4 chapters of Foerster were a review. she did not start really learning new concepts until the 5th chapter.

So I would say the spiral middle school text prepared her well for it.

[Brad S]

I think it's possible but not a sure thing.  For a confident, mature 13 y.o., with a strong math background, I would guess yes.  For a less confident student,  with limited math background, he or she might be uncomfortable.  I do think it would be a good idea to try, so your DC is comfortable reading and doing math in a different format.  Foerster's probably a good text to try, as his books are solid, pretty standard and have some good word problems.  If it takes awhile to make the adjustment, it is what it is; at least you'll know sooner rather than later.  But if I remember correctly, the LOF order of presentation is a little different, so you'll want to be sure the topic was covered in LOF before trying it in Foerster.

[Stellalarella]

Tried that same pathway. 

 

In order to make it work, you will need a highly self-motivated learner.

 

 

[shanezomom]

Stella, was it LOF that was lacking? Ds is self-motivated, but how would that bridge any gaps? Thanks

[Stellalarella]

There aren't enough problems in LOF lock the skills it into long term memory, in my opinion.  If someone is really motivated, she could latch on perhaps, and get excited about finding more problems to do, but that just wasn't  what my ds did.

 

Foerster explains the math quite well.  A motivated student should be able to open and go with Foerster, IMO.

 

 

[dachewitt]

My daughter worked through the early books of LOF (fractions, decimals, and pre-algebra)  and enjoyed them. By Algebra though, the story was muddling the algebra for her, not clarifying it. Mid-year she switched to Saxon Algebra 1 (starting at the beginning of the book) and much prefers it. She is now through her first year of Saxon Advanced Math and uses the Art Reed videos as a supplement which I recommend highly.

 

Regards,

Debbie

[Pronghorn]

The effectiveness of Life of Fred depends on the child. Not everyone needs tons of practice to lock things in. We do Beginning Algebra in two passes. On the first pass, my daughter learns the material and works on the Cities until she can get over 90% on a City. After a few chapters, I have her go back and do the Cities at the end of a chapter that we did a while back. If she gets 100% on the first try, she is done with the chapter. Otherwise she does all three Cities and must exceed 90% on at least one before we move on. For her learning style, this gives enough repetition. Too much repetition leads to brain shut-down.

[Kareni]

Is your son simply reading for the story or is he working the problems as he goes along?

 

If he needs more practice, LOF also offers an additional book of problems.

 

Life of Fred: Zillions of Practice Problems for Beginning Algebra

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Pronghorn]

Jousting Armadillos is pre-algebra. If you want to do it, do it before Life of Fred Beginning Algebra, which is like an Algebra I course.

[Sunshine State Sue]

The effectiveness of Life of Fred depends on the child.

:iagree:

I also went overboard on Algebra.  In 7th grade, ds worked through MUS (which we had used and supplemented with Singapore Challenging Word Problems for years) and LoF.  LoF did not fit his learning style well and it was a struggle.  Back then, there was no zillion extra problem book.  In 8th grade, ds worked through Foerster's.  He would not have been able to work through Foerster problems with his LoF knowledge.

 

I thought LoF was a rigorous program, but it was not a good fit for my ds.

 

YMMV.

 

[MarkT]

if you use LOF keep Foerster for additional word problems,  Foerster has good word problems

[mumto2]

We have never used Forester's so I have no idea of the format but We have used most of the Non elementary LoF books. I would do LoF then go through chapter tests in Foresters with an emphasis on the story problems, since a pp said they were good. Roughly a week per chapter assuming it has 15 or so chapters. If he can go quicker let him test and be done.

 

Dd only did Fred for geometry and trig. We did a couple of final exams from other curriculums and no need to do more. She had already done Algebra when we bought the Fred books. Dd did the Fred book for Calculus first and her comment after was it didn't have enough problems to be truly competent at Calc (not ready for the AP) but had absolutely no fear of Calculus thanks to Fred. I think that statement might apply to doing the LoF algebra first also.