Rod and Staff Math and Algebra

[daybreaking]

I posted this on the K-8 board, but thought it might be a good idea for me to post it here, as well:

 

For those of you who have used Rod and Staff Arithmetic for the long term, I could use some insight.  My son has used Rod and Staff Arithmetic beginning with their grade 1 book, and is just now completing their grade 7 book.  I'm deciding what to do with him for next year.  He's very bright (probably gifted) and has scored at the 99th percentile on his standardized for years, with a recent math grade equivalency of 13+.  He's fantastic with higher level thinking, but at the same time, he tends to make careless mistakes and can get overwhelmed when overloaded.  I often refer to him as my absent-minded professor.  :001_smile:   I'm wondering if it would be safe to move him into Algebra, or if it would be better for him either to finish Rod and Staff Math 8 or to take a different Pre-Algebra course.  If he took Algebra in the fall, he'd hit Calculus in 11th grade, so there's no rush.  I would just like him to be appropriately challenged.

 

For a second question, I would love any Algebra recommendations that fit well with Rod and Staff.  I love the way Rod and Staff presents new material and the way concepts are explained in such a clear manner.  I'm a former math teacher, so I'm fine with a curriculum that requires parent involvement.  I don't like Saxon, as the math teacher in me just can't get around the jumping around of topics and the wordiness of the explanations.  I've considered Foerster, so if anyone has used that, I'd love your feedback.  I'm open to other suggestions, as well.

 

Thanks!

[SilverMoon]

R&S 7 to algebra would be skipping an entire level. I think I answered this elsewhere. If you're looking for more challenge now, try Lial's prealg or add Keys to Algebra workbooks alongside R&S 8.

 

Lial's prealg can be found used on Amazon for dirt cheap. Look for used, older editions in good condition. Just make sure the image on the student text and solutions manual match; you won't need a TM.

[MIch elle]

R&S 7 and 8 are so very similar!  With my older ds, we skipped R&S math 7 and went from R&S math 6 to 8 (he'll be  a sr in college this fall). He used Saxon algebra 1 for most of grade 8 and then did algebra 1 again for his first year in a private high school.

 

I think you could skip 8 and go onto an algebra program like Saxon, TT or another program.  The problem with Saxon is that there are TOO MANY problems.  I had my ds do only half the problem set.  I liked Art Reed's Saxon algebra videos.

 

 

Just be aware that the R&S math program is weak in introducing algebra. Most current math programs today have the students using basic algebra and geometry much earlier than R&S.  I switched my younger ds to CLE math after learning how behind R&S math was compared to modern math programs. 

[Jlynn]

We went from R&S 7 (used in 6th grade) to Saxon 8/7 with no problem. But we both didn't care for the wordiness of Saxon, so after finishing that book, he used a mix of Great Courses Alg1, LOF Beginning Algebra, and Lial's Intro to Alg for that course- I don't recommend that mixture, but after trying each one individually I wasn't about to spend more money. We did watch every Great course lesson and go through LOF entirely. The best of those three books was the Lial's, but when teaching seventh or eighth grade algebra the smaller print and format was a little overwhelming, which is why we didn't cover that entire book. Ds used TT Geometry and Alg 2 and will be using Foerster's Precalculus with VP Academy (11th grade). I would use Foerster for Algebra if I had it to do over again.

[daybreaking]

Thanks for all of the suggestions! :001_smile:

[yvonne]

We've used R&S English 2-7, but not math. I just picked up the R&S grade 8 book to do the two chapters on Algebra with my daughter as review over the summer.  She did the Dolciani Pre-Algebra: An Accelerated Course book this past year and is supposed to start the Dolciani Algebra 1 book with a class in the fall. She lacks confidence in math, so we're reviewing over the summer. R&S English with its clean pages, clear-cut explanations, and small incremental steps has worked so well, I figured the math might work well, too, at least to review.

 

We don't like wordy and flashy/busy/noisy texts, either. My kids, who have done well with R&S English, have also done well with the Dolciani texts (Pre-Algebra and Algebra I, so far).  Like R&S English (and R&S math looks similar in style), Dolciani texts tend to have very straightforward explanations, plenty of practice problems, enough review to maintain previously taught concepts/skills. Like R&S, each lesson is a perfect size for daily work. We approach Dolciani the same way we did R&S Eng.... Read the lesson together, do the Oral/Class exercises together, do some of the Written Exercises together, and then the student does some part (evens or odds..) in writing on his own. Correct. On to the next lesson.  Easy to implement because it's so clearly laid out, so it got done every day.