Teaching Textbooks vs Saxon

[kristamaranatha]

I apologize in advance if someone has already asked this question (as well as some others that I have asked recently!). I'm planning on homeschooling next year when my oldest enters sixth grade. I am weighing out which math curriculum we should go with. I already own some used Saxon Math textbooks, but I have heard great things about Teaching Textbooks.

I am wondering what your opinion is on which is "better" (a subjective term, I know).

Side note: I picked up copy of Teaching Textbooks 6 today at a used curriculum fair. When I showed my daughter, she told me she already learned everything in listed in the Table of Contents this year. Did I get the wrong grade level?

Thanks in advance!

[nixpix5]

Teaching Textbooks is behind other curriculum so you will want to go up a grade or two depending upon what she has covered. 

Saxon is solid from Saxon 54 on. My DD who completed BJU math 3 felt that Saxon 54 covered most of what BJU 3 covered but I feel it does it differently enough that we are starting there for her next year when she is in 3rd. I have not used TT but I have looked through it carefully and know others who have used it. I prefer Saxon but I know TT has worked well for many students and although it does start out slower it gets to where it needs to by upper level math. I have looked through TTs Algebra and I think it looks really good for what it's worth.

Saxon and TT are VERY different approaches and it will really depend on what type of learner your student is. Do you know what curriculum she has been using up until now? Is she a strong math student?

[Ellie]

1 hour ago, nixpix5 said:

Teaching Textbooks is behind other curriculum so you will want to go up a grade or two depending upon what she has covered.

Oh, I think that myth has been debunked.

Neither is better. They are different.

If you decide to do Saxon, be sure to have your daughter take the placement test.

[nixpix5]

9 hours ago, Ellie said:

Oh, I think that myth has been debunked.

Neither is better. They are different.

If you decide to do Saxon, be sure to have your daughter take the placement test.

By behind I mean that grade 3 aligns more with other 2nd grade curriculum. Same is true for the first 3 levels of Saxon. If I lay grade 3 TT next to other curriculum in my house (BJU, CLE, RS, BA, SM, Horizon are the ones I have compared when I was considering it and had TT 3 and 4 in my house)  it has a different scope and sequence and is focusing on concepts covered in many other 2nd and even 1st grade curriculums. My 1st grader was able to flip the book open to a random section and work problems in the 3rd grade text without issue after almost having completed BJU 2 for example. The 4th grade textbook appears to align better with what I have come to see as the basics of what most 3rd grade texts cover. It doesn't mean it is bad, it just means that you should choose the next level up. As I said, it ends up in the same place  eventually and their upper math looks really great!  

Again, this was just my observations having the textbooks for a couple of weeks that I borrowed from our umbrella school library and sat on the floor comparing with other curriculum in my house. My kids didn't actually use it outside of my son doing some random flip problems and my DD in 2nd saying "mom this looks sooooo easy!" So that is what I am basing it off of.

I believe now the only place you can buy the text and discs will be TT themselves as most other sellers are selling off any old stock they have since TT released 3.0 and is trying to move people to that platform. They are still offering the physical copies of 2.0 for now if people prefer but I am not sure if they plan to phase it out. I think that is why Timberdoodle switched back to MUS.

 

[Lecka]

If your kids are coming from Common Core, then things are different than with older math curricula.  Not like there is anything wrong with things older, they aren’t very old at all, and who can say if the current fad is really better.  Though it seems fine to me lol.

My kids are in public school with Common Core and they cover some (quite a bit really) of “pre-Algebra” in 6th grade and about half of “Algebra I” in 7th grade.  Then they don’t do the second half of “Algebra I” until 9th grade, if I understand correctly.

In the meantime, it looks like about half of “Geometry” will be done in 8th grade (my oldest is finishing 7th so I’m not sure).

Where we live now they get unit packets and no textbook, so I have gotten my son a used math textbook, and it is hard to figure out what to get, because things do not match up.  

So I think this may be more of a Common Core issue than a Saxon/TT issue.  

It is just different.  

[Lecka]

If you want to see what topics your daughter might have covered in Common Core, fairly easily, you might look at Math Mammoth or Khan Academy.  Those are the easiest places I have seen.

We moved during my son’s 6th grade year and they were both Common Core, but, I didn’t understand this, they don’t do the same middle school sequence and they don’t do the content of a year in the same order, so my son missed some 6th grade content without me realizing it and then I had to find things to make it up with him.  Naively I thought with Common Core I wouldn’t have to worry about it.  

[Lecka]

Oh, and as far as I know, if you are wondering what they are doing if they cover a lot of pre-Algebra in 6th grade, but don’t cover the 2nd half of Algebra I until 9th grade, the answer is Statistics.  Apparently they have added in a lot of Statistics in 8th grade.

My oldest hadn’t gotten there yet but this is my understanding at this point.  

Edit:  and in CC “Algebra I” they cover some material from “Algebra II” because some of the content bumped down, since part of “Algebra I” was already covered in 7th grade. As far as I can tell from looking at it, at least.  

[Lecka]

Also you might ask your child about bar or tape diagrams.  In my old district my older child started bar models in 4th grade, and here my younger child has done tape diagrams in 3rd grade.  They are basically the same thing.

But it is a difference between Common Core and other programs in the lower grades, they have a lot harder word problems in lower grades than previously, and teach the models.  It’s something that might make some things review-ish for your child now.  

 

[Lecka]

Edit:  nm

[....]

I don't know anything about Teaching Textbooks, but two of mine are using or have used Saxon.  DD10 is using Saxon 6 and really likes it.  DD16 used Algebra 1 and 2.  She's doing a separate geometry course right now, because she just didn't feel very confident in geometry (the edition we use is integrated math, so geometry was mixed into the algebra books).  We are studying for the ACT right now and I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't score pretty high on the math section (she is scoring in the low 30s on practice tests).

Our Cons for Saxon:  just waaaaay too many problems for my kids.  I know it's controversial on this forum, but we do NOT do every problem.  They would mutiny.  I look through all the problems and choose what to do.  The algebra 2 was hard to teach.  I had to physically go to the dry erase board and teach every lesson, grade her answers from the Mixed Problem set and then go over what she got wrong.  But, that could've just been my kid that needed that.  Maybe other people's kids are able to teach themselves from the textbook.  Mine couldn't.  The integrated math takes some getting used to.  They teach one thing and then move onto something else unrelated and it can be frustrating.

Pros: The Mental Math section in the lower books is great.  They will be very good at arithmetic.  They're mostly non-consumable (I always pass everything down to the younger kids). There are used copies of everything available for cheap on Ebay.  I think I only paid $30 for algebra 1 with answer book and probably that much for algebra 2.  There is a ton of review.  I think it covers everything very well.  Like I said, I'm anticipating dd16 to score pretty high on the ACT. 

And to make it even more complicated, I have kids using Mathusee, so I've gotten to compare Saxon to MUS.  (lol). Saxon problems = more difficult.  MUS = easier to teach/explains concepts better.

Good luck with your decision! 

[PeterPan]

On May 18, 2018 at 9:44 PM, kristamaranatha said:

I apologize in advance if someone has already asked this question (as well as some others that I have asked recently!). I'm planning on homeschooling next year when my oldest enters sixth grade. I am weighing out which math curriculum we should go with. I already own some used Saxon Math textbooks, but I have heard great things about Teaching Textbooks.

I am wondering what your opinion is on which is "better" (a subjective term, I know).

Side note: I picked up copy of Teaching Textbooks 6 today at a used curriculum fair. When I showed my daughter, she told me she already learned everything in listed in the Table of Contents this year. Did I get the wrong grade level?

Thanks in advance!

It sounds like you need to do placement tests for a few publishers and see where she fits. She may need a math 6 or may be ready to move on. Some kids skip math 7 and move directly into pre-algebra at that point. Totally depends on the dc. 

You might get placement tests for Saxon, MUS, TT, Horizons, etc. and just see what happens. It will give you a really good feel for the differences in the curriculum. Some people with very intuitive math learners do pretty well with TT. We've seen that here on the boards. It just really varies with the dc. Once you're talking pre-algebra, you're trying to set yourself for an algebra sequence. It's a point where even people who had a good fit before sometimes transition. So just try things and see what happens. :)