Geometry - what are you using, how is it (if in the past "did it" work out?)

[74Heaven]

Hi, THis is kind of a poll....

 

What Geometry program are you using (or have you used in the past)?

How "mathy" is your child?

Overall, how is it going?

 

We are using Chalkdust Geometry with an 11th grader

My child is not "mathy" but does okay with lots of help from me ("B student")

It is rough going, lots of head-scratching, a few tears and C- grades so far.

 

I'm thinking about changing programs. THanks for any input!

lisaj

[Veronica in VA]

My ds used Chalkdust geometry. He was mathy and did just fine with not much input from me. He didn't really like the videos, but overall ok.

 

After seeing my good friend struggle with Chalkdust and her non-mathy daughter, I decided to use MUS with my dd. It is working very well and we like it. I just felt Chalkdust wasn't the right fit for dd, and she was adamant she didn't want to watch videos every day again this year.

 

Hope that helps,

 

Veronica

[Michelle in AL]

My dd is pretty mathy. Last yr, we used Chalkdust too with the old text. We really disliked the text. There's no way you could have done the problems w/out Dr. Mosely. There were some problems that had no explanation in the text and some of the concepts were not clearly defined IMO. We struggled some. I wouldn't use Chalkdust Geometry again, and doubt I'd use a Larsen text, due to our dislike of the Geometry.

 

So you're not alone.

 

Don't know what I'll use with dd2.

[LoriM]

At the time my dd did Jacobs, she was NOT mathy. She did about 1/3 of the book. Now she's a math major with a 4.0, and loves her proofs course.

 

We ended up just finishing up Geometry with the Cliff's Geometry (yellow book) for test prep for the SAT/ACT. It was sufficient to meet her needs.

[rhrice3]

We did Chalkdust Geometry with my ds last year in 9th grade. He is very mathy. I pushed him with the most difficult problems, and he loved the course. If you compare Chalkdust Geometry with other courses, you will see it goes into some beginning trig and other deeper math issues. My son scored very high on the math portion of the ACT in the spring, because he had had Chalkdust and done it all!

That being said, I was not going to use it with my second child, dd, because although very bright, she does not "see math" like my ds does. Then a friend told me a story about her dd and Chalkdust. She had a very non-mathy daughter who struggled through Algebra I in 8th and 9th grade. She used Chalkdust Geometry, and although it was tough goings for her daughter and the dd worked hard to get B's and C's, she said that her dd did best on the math portions of the ACT in Geometry.

I think that I will do it with my dd, but I will not require her to do ALL the problems like my son did. Of course, I could be wrong and she could love Geometry.

My 2 cents

ReneeR

[Jenny in Florida]

She liked it very much and earned a solid A. In fact, it went a long way toward undoing some of the "I hate math" attitude that had crept in during our last couple of years trying to go it on our own.

 

My son is doing the UCCP algebra class this year, and I'm really looking forward to having my son do the FLVS geometry course next year. I think he'll love it.

 

Edited to add: Ooops, I forgot to answer the math-y query. I'd say my son is slightly more math-y than my daughter. Both are very good at math, but neither loves it. My daughter is happy that she will need to take only one more math class to fulfill her degree requirements and is looking for one that requires as little actual math as possible. My son may end up going into a science/engineering field. He knows he needs to have a good grasp on math, but he definitely sees it as a means to an end.

[Michelle in MO]

last year. My oldest did fine with Chalkdust--A-minus/B-plus for grades, until the 8th chapter. Then she failed the chapter test twice. After that, I panicked a little and ordered Jacob's, but in the end we stayed with Chalkdust. It's difficult to switch math programs mid-stream. After I calmed down a bit and re-thought some things, here are some changes I made:

 

1. I had dd watch the lesson twice on the first day; once to just watch and absorb the lesson, and the second time to take down all the notes Dana Moseley writes on the board.

 

2. I also watched the lesson, first thing in the a.m. (right after I do my daily "check in" on the boards!), and took my own notes. I'm not saying you have to do this, but I have found, over time, that although my girls are not terribly gifted in math, they are smart enought to "fool" mom into thinking they've really learned the lesson! Watching the lessons for myself and taking my own notes enabled me to really see where they were missing things on their lessons. In other words, when they would "fudge" the answers or perhaps write down an answer without showing complete work, or when my oldest would draw a triangle but not bother with checking side and angle measurements---knowing the material myself helped me to catch these "shortcuts" and make her stick to the real work. Of course, not every kid may require this.

 

3. I also slowed down the pace. If necessary, we backtracked.

 

If Chalkdust really isn't working for your dc, then you may indeed need to switch. However, you might see if you can figure out specific problems that you can handle a different way.

 

I hope the math thing comes together for you and your dc!

[Kareni]

My teen used Jacobs' Geometry, 2nd edition.

 

She does not care overmuch for math but is, in my opinion, quite good at it. She followed Geometry with Lial's Intermediate Algebra. She took placement tests at the community college and placed into College Algebra. After that class, she continued with Trigonometry. Currently, as a 12th grader, she's doing AP Statistics through PA Homeschoolers.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Laura K (NC)]

Hi, THis is kind of a poll....

 

What Geometry program are you using (or have you used in the past)?

How "mathy" is your child?

Overall, how is it going?

 

We are using Chalkdust Geometry with an 11th grader

My child is not "mathy" but does okay with lots of help from me ("B student")

It is rough going, lots of head-scratching, a few tears and C- grades so far.

 

I'm thinking about changing programs. THanks for any input!

lisaj

 

We're using Jacobs 3rd edition. My son is at the end of chapter 6.

Math isn't my son's favorite subject.

I think it's going very well. I'm having my son memorize the theorems, definitions, etc, and it doesn't seem difficult for him. He does all the problems in the first two sections, but none of the third section. He doesn't get all the problems in the problem set because sometimes he doesn't "get" what the point of the line of questioning is going. As he goes along he's understanding the author better, and is getting better at creating theorems from beginning to end. The tests are very fair. I am very, very pleased with this text.

[Grace is Sufficient]

We're only three weeks into it, so I can't give much feedback. It's been fine so far. My husband, the 'rocket scientist,' is satisfied with the scope/sequence type information about it.

[SusanAR]

I purchased Chalkdust but was very disappointed in the text. I wanted a text with lots of proofs, and although there are a few in Chalkdust, I didn't feel there were enough to become proficient. We switched to Jacobs after three chapters of CD and had a great year. My ds is good at math, but I don't know if I would call him 'mathy'. It certainly isn't his favorite subject:001_smile:

 

Susan

[Beth in SW WA]

Ds is starting TT Geo along w/ CD Alg 1. I think he's crazy -- but he wants to do both simultaneously.

[Moira in MA]

My eldest did Jacobs 2nd edition and then followed up with Foerster's Algebra II. She's now using his Precalculus text.

 

My youngest has just started Jacobs.

 

Neither are particularly inspired by math as a subject, but both do well with it.

[Susan A.]

Math-U-See for my non-mathy dd who does not plan on being a math major! I think it will give her a good basic foundation. She is also doing the honors book as well. So far she actually likes it! We have used Saxon, Lials, and Bob Jones in the past for elementary, prealgebra, and Algebra 1 (in that order).

[threetreasurs]

I used Jacob's Geometry with my son. He was/is good at math but dislikes textbooks. Jacob's was a hit.

[Pamela H in Texas]

Only independent Geometry dd did was Life of Fred. Otherwise, she got what was in the Lial Algebra through College Algebra books and Life of Fred's other books, including Trig. She scored very high on the Geometry section of the college entrance test, but she IS a mathy kid.

[Cathy in TX]

We are using Jacobs, and it is going very well. My dd is more of an English kid than a math one, but does okay in math. Additionally, I have the Teaching Company dvds for geometry that I've aligned with the chapters of Jacobs. She watches those prior to beginning each chapter of Jacobs.

[LisaNY]

We are using Jacobs, and it is going very well. My dd is more of an English kid than a math one, but does okay in math. Additionally, I have the Teaching Company dvds for geometry that I've aligned with the chapters of Jacobs. She watches those prior to beginning each chapter of Jacobs.

 

Cathy, have you found the Teaching Co. Geometry DVD's helpful? Do they dovetail well with the lessons in Jacobs? I watched a couple of the lessons, and the teacher seems to explain things well.

 

We will do Algebra 1 this year (8th gr.), and probably a mix of some Alg. II/Geometry next year. My dd will be going to ps in 10th gr., where they will be teaching Geometry for the whole year. I'd like to give my dd a "leg up" on the concepts. My thought is to use the Teaching Co. DVD's in tandem with a text. Some of the options I've explored are Jacob's and MUS.

 

Thanks!

[Cathy in TX]

I have found them helpful. The teacher does a great job explaining the concepts, and dd likes hearing them explained before reading about them in the text. I think she would do fine with just Jacobs, but the pairing of the two has really helped cement the concepts.

 

Some chapters of Jacobs are covered in several TC lectures, especially the chapter on congruent triangles. Most of the rest have one-to-three lectures per Jacobs' chapter.

 

Cathy

[Barb_]

Well, the older 2 dd's are very mathy kids and we gave Geometry the short shrift both times. I find Geometry texts dreadful on the whole and never found anything I was particularly thrilled with. My older daughter used an old Merrill text and that worked passably well. The younger one used ALEKS, which I don't recommend for a primary curriculum in any other case. But she got through it quickly and was able to move seamlessly on to Alg II/Trig.

 

Barb

[Maverick]

My kids both used Jacobs 2e last year. They are both good at math but don't like to spend time on it. I knew they'd never go for a CD/DVD program because they just want to open the book and get it done--they don't like it when I try to explain or lecture. And I like to explain and lecture. :D Older ds finished Jacobs Geom. last year (Did Jacobs Elem Alg in 8th) and is now in Foerster Alg & Trig. Younger ds started Jacobs in January (after finishing Foerster Alg I) and took time off for summer vacation, so is just in ch 9 so far. I wanted to emphasize proofs, so that's why I picked Jacobs 2e and I assigned a lot of proofs. It seems to have paid off because now ds #1 is not having any trouble doing the proofs in Foerster.

[langfam]

I don't have anything to add about CD geometry because we've never done it. I'm very interested in this conversation because ds will take geometry next year. I don't have anything negative to say about Dana Mosely as I think he's an excellent teacher. However the textbooks have terrible reviews, granted from only a few reviewers, but I'm worried ds will flounder with it.

 

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/061864525X/ref=ord_cart_shr?_encoding=UTF8&v=glance

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/Heath-Geometry-Integrated-Roland-Larson/dp/066945530X/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221582518&sr=1-14

 

 

I've looked at the HOLT geometry text and like it alot, but don't feel confident to teach it. Geometry is just not my thing. I've been intrigued by the mathwithoutborders geometry.

[Moni]

How do you know when your studen tis "mathy" ?

 

That's one thing I've never figured out on this board :glare:

 

We are using Saxon for geometry.

 

It's working . . . . . or rather the student is working.

If he gets some wrong, he has to rework the problems.

If he had a poor daily score for a few or several days in a row, he repeats the few or several lessons.

 

I don't konw whether the curriculum is "working" but my student's brain is "working"

 

:)

 

 

 

Hi, THis is kind of a poll....

 

What Geometry program are you using (or have you used in the past)?

How "mathy" is your child?

Overall, how is it going?

 

We are using Chalkdust Geometry with an 11th grader

My child is not "mathy" but does okay with lots of help from me ("B student")

It is rough going, lots of head-scratching, a few tears and C- grades so far.

 

I'm thinking about changing programs. THanks for any input!

lisaj

[oakmom]

I've looked at the HOLT geometry text and like it alot, but don't feel confident to teach it. Geometry is just not my thing. I've been intrigued by the mathwithoutborders geometry.

 

 

Holt offers free online videos to go along with some of their 2007 edition books, including geometry. Most (all?) of the vidoes used are from Thinkwell. You can take a look at them here:

 

http://www.go.hrw.com/gopages/ma/geo_07.html

 

Just choose homework help and try out some of the chapter sections.

[langfam]

Oakmom, thanks!!

[Jean in Wisc]

Hi, THis is kind of a poll....

 

What Geometry program are you using (or have you used in the past)?

How "mathy" is your child?

Overall, how is it going?

 

We are using Chalkdust Geometry with an 11th grader

My child is not "mathy" but does okay with lots of help from me ("B student")

It is rough going, lots of head-scratching, a few tears and C- grades so far.

 

I'm thinking about changing programs. THanks for any input!

lisaj

 

Dd--Jacob's. Did Alg I and II completely on her own. Geometry was HARD and was one of only 2 B's on her transcript.

 

Ds--Teaching Textbooks. Struggles with math. TT was hard but he was able to do it on his own for a change. With careful work and studiousness, he's getting an A in this class!!!

 

I think minds are wired for Algebra or Geometry and lots of kids get one more easily than the other.

 

FWIW,

Jean

[Quiver0f10]

My 19 yo did TT, 18 yo used Saxon through Alg II and then college courses, 17 yo did TT and my current 10th grader is planning on Saxon all the way through.

 

My kids who used TT did well with it and liked it OK. They both scored OK on the ACT and SAT. My son who did Saxon & college courses did very well on the ACT. My 10th grader will do the ACT for the first time in December.

 

We do plan to use Chalk Dust with the rest of our children, but plans could change by them. Time will tell.

[Jane in NC]

How do you know when your studen tis "mathy" ?

 

 

 

And that is the $64,000 question!

 

Some high school students who excel in algebra hit a wall in geometry...or vice versa.

 

I would hesitate to label a child as mathy or not given that some thirteen or fourteen year olds do not have the mental processes to understand abstraction, but they grow into it a year or two later.

 

No easy litmus test, I fear.

 

Jane

[Miss Marple]

We found this to be true also. And, my son doesn't like to watch DVDs which made the text very difficult to use. So I switched him to Life of Fred Geometry. I decided he isn't the personality to appreciate LOF :-), so we switched to Jacobs. It appears to be a good fit (at this point). This is the son who does well with whatever I give him so I was very surprised that he was frustrated with both CD and LOF. In fact, this is the only subject for him for which we have made a curriculum switch!

[LisaNY]

I have found them helpful. The teacher does a great job explaining the concepts, and dd likes hearing them explained before reading about them in the text. I think she would do fine with just Jacobs, but the pairing of the two has really helped cement the concepts.

 

Some chapters of Jacobs are covered in several TC lectures, especially the chapter on congruent triangles. Most of the rest have one-to-three lectures per Jacobs' chapter.

 

Cathy

 

Thank you, Cathy! That was very helpful. :001_smile:

[Guest Katia]

My ds used MUS geometry. He did fine; scored well on ACT and has graduated from college.

 

My dd used some of TT geometry. She is not a mathy person and although she worked on this every day, she didn't finish the text. As a slow thinker, I only let her work on math 1 hr. per day and then pick up where she left off. She did ok on her ACT math section; not fab but not terrible. This summer she worked through as much Life of Fred geometry as she could and said she wished we had found LOF sooner.

 

My youngest dd did TT geometry last year, and I had her do LOF Advanced Algebra along side it to keep up her algebra skills. Well, she ended up LOVING LoF so this year, she is doing LOF geometry along side her TT Trig/PreCalc just because she likes it so much.

 

That has been our geometry experience.

[Jann in TX]

I'm using the 1992 Holt Geometry with students again this year. I've used it many times in the past--it is a solid no-frills program. The first half of the text covers proofs--with some application. The second half of the text covers application with some proofs (if that makes sense).

 

I've also used this text with students who used Saxon for Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 but did not want to continue on to the Advanced Math text. They needed the first 6-7 chapters of this text to complete their credit. Most worked these chapters over a summer.

 

Text costs around $15 in like-new condition. TE (also called ATE) is around $25.

 

I have not liked most of the Holt texts after 1992-- but the newest ones (2007) are not that bad. I still miss the simple organization and flow of the older text. When it was published (and for several years afterwards) the 1992 Holt Geometry text was the number 1 text in the US.

[gardenschooler]

We're using Jacobs' Geometry, 3rd edition. Dd14 is pretty mathy, and is having an easy time of it so far.

[Kareni]

I think minds are wired for Algebra or Geometry and lots of kids get one more easily than the other.

 

This has been my experience also.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Kanga]

We used MUS with my dd who is very mathy. Although she did very well with PSAT, SAT, placement tests and her college math classes, she felt that MUS was not as rigorous a math program as she should have had for her major. She begged me to change math programs for my ds, who is not mathy, because she felt he would have a harder time filling in the holes. I switched him to Saxon but he hated it. So I made my dd review math books and she had me switch my ds to BJU last year for Algebra, he did well with it, so we are continuing with BJU for Geometry.

 

BJU is heavy on logic, so I am only having him review his old logic once a week. I think it is moving slowly, but he is getting it. I do have to present each new lesson to him; on the one day when I said why don't you try reading it - he bombed! He is a visual learner so having me write on a white board makes a huge difference to him.

[74Heaven]

thank you all so much. This thread was very enlightening to me. I feel like I have company and am not alone. And I feel like people are all-over-the-board as far as the Geometry curriculum. It seems like there is more one-mindedness amongst us (generally) with algebra curriculums but with Geometry choices are more varied, as are people's satisfaction.

 

It is late, and I feel like, grammatically, this post is wordy and poorly constructed. But I just want to say thanks to everyone who read and/or responded. It has been helpful to me!

 

Lisaj