avdelp Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 Hi, I'm thinking of switching from Saxon Algebra 1/2 to Lial's BCM. I was looking at the table of contents and noticed that graphing coordinate pairs was not covered (it was in Saxon). Have any of you found that Lial's leaves any "gaps?" Saxon's spiral approach just isn't working for my daughter and I need something mastery based, but I want to make sure I pick the right thing. Any tips or experience would be MUCH appreciated. I hate to curriculum hop in the middle of the year, but I'm thinking it's time to cut bait with Saxon and move on. Thanks in advance! Alicia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in OH Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 Hi, I'm thinking of switching from Saxon Algebra 1/2 to Lial's BCM. I was looking at the table of contents and noticed that graphing coordinate pairs was not covered (it was in Saxon). Have any of you found that Lial's leaves any "gaps?" Saxon's spiral approach just isn't working for my daughter and I need something mastery based, but I want to make sure I pick the right thing. Any tips or experience would be MUCH appreciated. I hate to curriculum hop in the middle of the year, but I'm thinking it's time to cut bait with Saxon and move on. Thanks in advance!Alicia I think if you start comparing tables of contents you will find "gaps" in all math curricula since different publishers cover topics at different times. I heard SWB say that once you start a math program at the high school level, you should try your best to stick with the same program so your child will be taught all topics. That said, my non-mathy dd really learned - and retained - a lot from Lial's BCM. She has continued on with Lial's Introduction to Algebra (Algebra I) and finds the thoroughness and consistency in the explanations to be very easy to understand (and comforting :) ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jann in TX Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 (edited) Also Introductory Algebra (Lial) covers coordinate pairs in great detail. Honestly, this concept takes about 30 seconds to teach--not a bridge to die on. There are many 'Algebraic' concepts that are totally OPTIONAL in a Pre-Algebra program-in fact for most students an official Pre-Algebra program is optional. Another thing to consider. You cannot judge the content of different math books by looking at the table of contents. Just because a concept is listed in the table of contents does not mean that it was taught/presented completely. The table of contents for TT's Algebra 1 is similar to the one for Lial's Introductory Algebra. Lial's will cover MUCH MUCH more--enough to nearly complete TT's Algebra 2 program. If you compare ABeka's Algebra 1 to just about any other program you would find the same HUGE difference in the depth of what they 'claim' to cover in the TOC (ABeka being very weak). I'm an experienced Math teacher. I switched my dd from Saxon 8/7 into Lial's Basic College Math (half way through the text--something I would normally try to avoid). I carefully considered the concepts taught in each book--and the DEPTH of the lessons. Just like Saxon has concepts that are not covered in BCM there are concepts covered in BCM that are NOT in Saxon 8/7. But any differences are totally MINOR. The fact that dd started UNDERSTANDING math(after she began BCM) --and was able to fill in the gaps she had BECAUSE she did not retain the Saxon lessons were the real issues for me. Edited October 7, 2008 by Jann in TX spelling of course! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 Hi, I'm thinking of switching from Saxon Algebra 1/2 to Lial's BCM. I was looking at the table of contents and noticed that graphing coordinate pairs was not covered (it was in Saxon). Have any of you found that Lial's leaves any "gaps?" Saxon's spiral approach just isn't working for my daughter and I need something mastery based, but I want to make sure I pick the right thing. Any tips or experience would be MUCH appreciated. I hate to curriculum hop in the middle of the year, but I'm thinking it's time to cut bait with Saxon and move on. Thanks in advance!Alicia Saxon's incremental/spiral approach was not for us either. BJU is mastery approach, and worked great for us. I did look at Lial's BCM -- actually bought a copy after reading all the posts here from satisfied users. But after looking it over, I decided that it really is Basic Mathematics, as the title says. I was looking for something that was more of a traditional PreAlgebra course -- introduces concepts and methods that lay the foundation for Algebra. I found that in BJU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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