Dolciani Algebra 1, and Jacobs, and Foerster's, and edition of Dolciani

[Janeway]

I am a curriculum junkie. I may accept this about me, but I am not sure I want to change..Bwaa ha ha ha ha!

 

Anyway..seriously..I have, and really like, Jacob's Algebra and Foersters for algebra 1. I LOVE Jurgenson's Geometry for geometry. So when I saw a later copy of Dolciani Algebra 2, it looked just the geometry. 

 

Would it be silly to find a Dolciani Algebra 1 now too? I would only use one program? Or would it just be enough similar to the rest that it would just be a waste of money and time? Or would it not be that great of a program compared to the others? If I bought Dolciani, it would be the one with the cover that looks like Jurgenson's so that it would be in similar format. I suspect if I went with a much older Dolciani, either it would be so similar to Foerstar and Jacob's that it would be a waste, or too much older and it would really be for the much more mature student. My son who will be starting algebra next month is 12. And he is just average mature for 12 yrs old.

[wapiti]

Keeping in mind that Dolciani passed away in 1985, the latest edition of algebra that bears her name is probably from the Structure and Method series (it would be Book 1; n.b. course 1 is something else).  There are reprintings probably into the 2000s but the actual edition I think would be late 1990s.  Alternatively, as you've seen, the really early editions from the 1970s are quite different; they have their own special strengths but drawbacks as well (answer keys/TMs may be hard to get, the paper is different, sometimes they're musty, etc.).

 

I think the editions most like the format of Jurgensen are late 1980s.  There are basically two, one called Algebra 1 (now expensive or this one is more reasonable) and another is Structure and Method Book 1 (cheap!  Note that the algebra 2 you saw was probably "Algebra and Trigonometry, Structure and Method Book 2).  Algebra 1 and Structure and Method Book 1 are fairly similar to each other.  Amazon can get tricky in that different texts may be linked (like the "unknown binding" one there looks like a different book), but the pictures I linked above are accurate - I have both those books.  I think the printing dates that would work would be between 1986 and 1991/2.

 

Whether you would really need them, I don't know.  I have way too many books and no one to teach - my kids are all in school  :tongue_smilie:

 

ETA, just purely for page format, for my old eyes, I think I prefer the Dolciani to the Jacobs and the Foerster.  But I haven't really used it, so I can't vouch for the explanations.  See this post where someone recently came upon an online sample of a similar edition of Structure and Method Book 1 and I was able to find almost every chapter of the book

Edited September 14, 2016 by wapiti

[MarkT]

 

 

ETA, just purely for page format, for my old eyes, I think I prefer the Dolciani to the Jacobs and the Foerster.  But I haven't really used it, so I can't vouch for the explanations.  See this post where someone recently came upon an online sample of a similar edition of Structure and Method Book 1 and I was able to find almost every chapter of the book

Derek posted a link to an online scanned classic version of Dolciani Structure and Method book 2 a while back.  You actually check it out of the online library.

[ElizabethB]

The 1960s and 1970s Dolciani Pre Algebra and algebra start with set theory and everything in later chapters is tied back to set theory. I found it really helpful and interesting as a big picture person to see that.

 

The later Dolcianis do not have set theory.

Edited September 16, 2016 by ElizabethB

[quark]

My son's math tutor used a 1990s (IIRC) edition of Dolciani Algebra 1 and they continued with Jurgensen and Structure and Method 2 as well. It gave him a very good foundation. My son then used Art of Problem Solving and various other books as supplements/sources for additional problems. He covered set theory via math circle and some googling on his own.