Saxon Algebra 2 question

[Mom25girls]

I'm looking for input on Saxon's Algebra 2 program. My daughter is just finishing Jacobs Geometry and I just don't know what to use next. I'd like a program that supplements the text with a CD or DVD. My daughter is mid 9th grade and is generally math intuitive.

 

Thanks for your help in advance,

Michele

[LoriM]

Do not use Saxon Algebra 2 if you have not used Saxon for her math prior to Geometry. If she was "raised" on the Saxon method, then it could be a good fit, assuming she performed well in Saxon before.

 

Be prepared to teach Algebra 2, or hire a tutor. :c) It is the rare student who can work independently with text and video only. Nothing beats "just in time" explanations from an instructor or tutor.

 

That having been said, there are several other traditional Algebra 2 programs that have video components. Chalkdust, Teaching Textbooks, and Lial's are a few. Other options would be an online class, so that she would have access to an instructor.

 

HTH,

 

Lori

[Moni]

. I'd like a program that supplements the text with a CD or DVD.

 

Saxon Algebra-2 has a CD/Video component somewhat along the lines of Teaching Textbooks format

 

http://saxonhomeschool.harcourtachieve.com/en-US/saxonteacher

 

:seeya:

[Mom25girls]

Yes! THIS is what my daughter wants to use. Have you any experience with it Moni?

Thanks so much for your time,

Michele

 

Saxon Algebra-2 has a CD/Video component somewhat along the lines of Teaching Textbooks format

 

http://saxonhomeschool.harcourtachieve.com/en-US/saxonteacher

 

:seeya:

[8filltheheart]

I used Saxon alg 2 with my oldest b/c it was given to me free. I regretted it b/c he didn't learn anything new in the first 1/2 of the book and it didn't go as far as where his pre-cal book started.

[ChrisN in NY]

I'm looking for input on Saxon's Algebra 2 program. My daughter is just finishing Jacobs Geometry and I just don't know what to use next. I'd like a program that supplements the text with a CD or DVD. My daughter is mid 9th grade and is generally math intuitive.

 

Thanks for your help in advance,

Michele

 

Michele,

 

What did you use for Algebra I? We did Jacobs for both Algebra and Geometry, then followed it with Foerster's Algebra and Trigonometry. My oldest used it, and I helped him some. My second one didn't do Algebra 2, but by dd is using Foerster's now. So far, so good.

 

I read recently that "Math without Borders" has a CD program to go with it.

 

I'm tutoring a friend's dc this year using Saxon Algebra 2. Because Saxon's sequence is different (Algebra 1, Algebra 2, Advanced Math -- no separate Geometry text), I don't think it's a good followup to Jacobs.

 

Personally, I don't care for Saxon. The explanations are too often harder than they need to be and/or confusing. The "spiral" approach drove my ds nuts!

 

Besides the programs LoriM mentioned, and the one above, there is Videotext.

 

HTH

[yslek]

I went through standard Algebra I & Geometry courses in 7th & 8th grades. I then transferred to a different school district which used Saxon. So 10th grade (skipped 9th) was Saxon Algebra 2.

 

For me, it was a perfect fit. I had struggled through Algebra and Geometry; it wasn't until I was in Saxon Alg. 2 (and later, Advanced Math) that what I had learned in 7th & 8th grades began to make sense. I had gone from hating math to loving it (though I loved it & was good at it in elementary school).

 

Since you say your dd is math intuitive, her experience may be totally different. There would be a lot of review if you went the Saxon route.

 

HTH

[Jann in TX]

Saxon is so DIFFERENT in the methods and the TERMS used that an independent student--even one using the DIVE videos would be lost. They WILL have a difficult time adjusting to the format and wording of the problems.

 

90% of math texts are compatible. This is one case in which there is a HUGE issue.

 

Also note that there is NOT a set boundary between Algebra 1 and Algebra 2. Saxon's Algebra 2 picks right up where the Algebra 1 text left off. There will be 'review' problems in the first sets that a student new to Saxon will NOT have any idea how to work (what to do with them) as no examples will be given.

 

For these reasons I will NEVER recommend an INDEPENDENT student begin the Saxon program past the Algebra 1 level. A classroom situation is different as a teacher is available to explain and fill in gaps as needed. The DIVE program will NOT fill in any of the gaps--it just jumps right on in just like the text and assumes the student remembers the Saxon method from Algebra 1.

[langfam]

When my kids did Saxon Algebra 2, I had to teach every lesson, using the DIVE CD did not work. I will not use Saxon again because of the way it jumps from topic to topic, some dc memorized algorithms without understanding how one concept related to another and now are having problems applying outside the text.