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Do we need to finish Foerster's Algebra 1?


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I am thinking of having my daughter skip the last chapter. She has done fine in the whole rest of the book but we are getting sick of school and want to call it quits for the summer.  She will do Teaching Textbooks Geometry for the next school year and probably Math Without Borders Foerster Alg. 2/Trig after that.  Anyway, ch. 14 in her current book is called "Functions and Advanced Topics" and covers:

Functions

Direct and inverse variation functions

Function terminology

Trigonometric functions

Quadratic functions

Solving quadratic inequalities by completing the square

Solving quadratic inequalities by the quadratic formula

I am trying to decide if we can skip it now and come back to it before the next Foerster book in a year or so, or skip it completely, or push through June and just finish it up.

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I would like to offer another idea.  Teaching Textbooks Geometry will be distinctly less rigorous than Foerester.  She might forget some of the algebra that she knows now.  What if you start next year working once a week with some Algebra reviews?  You could use the chapter reviews from Algebra I, either Foerster, or a similar textbook.  And when that is done, slowly work through the final chapter from Algebra I.  The topics that you listed are indeed advanced for an Algebra I curriculum. That way, when she is ready to begin Algebra II everything should be a bit more fresh.  If you intend to complete all of Algebra II and Trigonometry in one school year there will not be much wiggle room to slow down and review if her Algebra I skills have faded a bit.  With this routine, you will be finishing the text and also keeping her algebra skills maximized!

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32 minutes ago, LJPPKGFGSC said:

I would like to offer another idea.  Teaching Textbooks Geometry will be distinctly less rigorous than Foerester.  She might forget some of the algebra that she knows now.  What if you start next year working once a week with some Algebra reviews?  You could use the chapter reviews from Algebra I, either Foerster, or a similar textbook.  And when that is done, slowly work through the final chapter from Algebra I.  The topics that you listed are indeed advanced for an Algebra I curriculum. That way, when she is ready to begin Algebra II everything should be a bit more fresh.  If you intend to complete all of Algebra II and Trigonometry in one school year there will not be much wiggle room to slow down and review if her Algebra I skills have faded a bit.  With this routine, you will be finishing the text and also keeping her algebra skills maximized!

Thanks, that's a good idea and very doable with our schedule.  She read half of Advanced Math for Young Students last year, and she can finish that alongside TT this fall before finishing up review with Foerster as you suggested.

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I like the response you had above. If she will be taking the ACT or PSAT before getting to the end of the chapter than I would do the trigonometric functions section. Actually, that is the one section I would say go ahead and do. It stands alone, and though some Geometry programs cover it also, I don't know that TT does.

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4 hours ago, Ms.Ivy said:

Solving quadratic inequalities by completing the square

Solving quadratic inequalities by the quadratic formula

I believe these were covered in the Alg 2/Trig book, but it never hurts to see them twice.
Doing some review & then starting the Alg 2/Trig book very slowly & a bit early might buy you some more time for the year after Geometry. That Alg 2/Trig book is thick!

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That's some good confirmation right there, thanks so much.  I am not worried about  taking extra time on the other side of geometry, as she is only in 7th grade right now so we have time to review all this in the next couple of years.

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If she is going to be in 8th grade next year and if she was mine I'd be thinking strongly about using The Art of Problem Solving Introductory Algebra. I would be thinking this because if she is a strong enough math student to be doing Algebra 1 in 7th grade, I would want her to get deeper rather than farther. Algebra 1 in 8th still gets you to Calculus in 12th grade. The first 8 or 9 chapters are roughly the equivalent of Algebra 1 but much more deep and challenging. Just a thought...

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TT covers trig.  I would also do it next year.  We found TT geometry (which I've used twice) only takes 4 days a week.  We use the fifth day for Algebra review.  You could schedule it that way and spread out the algebra so it's fresher when you get back to it.

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