Need Geometry recommendations! DESPERATE PLEAS!!!

[tmkclscroggins]

Help! We are using Jacob's Geometry and completely not getting it! Is there another ( EASIER) program out there we could use? At this point, I don't mind buying something else. We just started it in October and for some reason.....IT DOESN"T MAKE SENSE!!! We even have the "Ask Dr. Callahan dvd's.

 

Please help this struggling mom who is starting to feel like a failure. I didn't get Geometry in high school and it still doesn't make sense! Algebra, yes...Geometry...no!

 

 

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Melissa

[LisaKinVA]

My only suggestion is Chalkdust. Go to www.chalkdust.com and view their demo lesson (with your son/daughter), and see if his presentation of the material is better. From my understanding, the instructor prefers the NEW version vs. the TRADITIONAL version. But, I think you can see a demo of both.

 

Lisa

[Lisa L. in MI]

What are you particularly not understanding in the Jacobs' text?

 

Lisa

[langfam]

When my dd did geometry, she used TeachingTextbooks and loved the course. She had looked at Jacob's and decided against it.

 

She did well on the SAT (620 Math), but had also used Chalkdust's SAT Math review. She did have to do proofs using TT. She really liked being able to use the TT solutions CDs for explanations of the problem she got wrong and it showed her how to solve them step-by-step.

 

This dd started the year with Chalkdust's Precalculus and although, she loves Dana Mosely lectures, she had a very difficult time with the textbook. I've come to the conclusion that with this child, TT is best for her, so we switched to TT Precalculus and she's really happy with the change. She's not going to be a math major and wants to CLEP out of college math.

 

I guess what I'm trying to say is, it really depends on what kind of math student your child is. My other children are doing well with Chalkdust, but I think the textbooks used can be difficult for some dc to use.

 

 

 

HTHs

Edited November 21, 2008 by langfam

[tmkclscroggins]

This would be for my math whiz and my "I hate math with a passion" child. None of us understand it!

 

Would Teaching Textbooks be thorough enough?

 

Melissa

[langfam]

I not in any position to tell you if TT Geometry is thorough enough. Maybe someone like Jann would know. I can only tell you that it worked for my dd. She said that it really helped her on the geometry questions of the SAT.

 

The features she liked best about TT. The solutions on CD which explained step-by-step, the straight-forward text without distractions of colored pictures. I know that sounds odd, but for some reason the layout of a math book makes a big difference to her.

 

I'm not sure if I'll use TT for my other dc, still thinking about it because they seem to be learning well from Chalkdust.

 

 

I hope some other moms who have used TT will chime in.

 

 

Another thought, if you're not comfortable with figuring geometry, I don't particularly like it myself, having the TT step-by-step solutions would be a big plus for you. The thing I didn't like about Jacob's was the lack of solutions manual.

Edited November 21, 2008 by langfam
Added an extra thought.

[Beth in SW WA]

Bev in B'ville uses TT Geo w/ her dc -- so it must be good. I am using it currently w/ ds/8th grade. Simple instructions. Plenty of proofs. Solutions CD. We'll do more Geo later, if needed (beyond CD SAT prep).

[HiddenJewel]

I'm liking VideoText's Algebra so their geometry might be an option.

[Bev in B'ville]

Bev in B'ville uses TT Geo w/ her dc -- so it must be good. I am using it currently w/ ds/8th grade. Simple instructions. Plenty of proofs. Solutions CD. We'll do more Geo later, if needed (beyond CD SAT prep).

 

Hi Beth, Thanks for the compliment; the check's in the mail! :001_smile::lol:

 

My dd used TT Geometry last year and my son is doing it this year. We started with Jacob's Geometry with the videos by Dr. Callahan. It didn't take long before my dd was in tears over Jacob's. She was hating math and this wasn't normal for my dd. She usually loved math! I switched to TT Geometry and she loved the textbook and the videos for the same reasons already mentioned above. She took the ACT for the first time last spring (as a 14 yo) and scored in the upper 20's. I think it prepared her just fine for that test. It also had enough proofs (at least two per test if memory serves with many steps and that's plenty for me) for the entirety of the program. She's using Chalkdust's Precalculus this year and doing great with the program.

 

My son is also doing well with TT Geometry and likes the format. The textbook is straight forward enough that there are times that he (and dd did this, too) can skip the video portion and just use the book.

 

HTH.

[HollyinNNV]

Hi Beth' date=' Thanks for the compliment; the check's in the mail! :001_smile::lol:

 

My dd used TT Geometry last year and my son is doing it this year. We started with Jacob's Geometry with the videos by Dr. Callahan. It didn't take long before my dd was in tears over Jacob's. She was hating math and this wasn't normal for my dd. She usually loved math! I switched to TT Geometry and she loved the textbook and the videos for the same reasons already mentioned above. She took the ACT for the first time last spring (as a 14 yo) and scored in the upper 20's. I think it prepared her just fine for that test. It also had enough proofs (at least two per test if memory serves with many steps and that's plenty for me) for the entirety of the program. She's using Chalkdust's Precalculus this year and doing great with the program.

 

My son is also doing well with TT Geometry and likes the format. The textbook is straight forward enough that there are times that he (and dd did this, too) can skip the video portion and just use the book.

 

HTH.[/quote']

 

Hi Bev,

I was wondering why you used TT Geo and then Chalkdust Precalc? Do you not like the CD Geometry text? Just curious.:001_smile:

Holly

[Michelle in AL]

Hi Melissa & Holly, we used Chalkdust last yr and very much disliked the text. We did use the old text, but the explanations in it were not nearly enough to be able to do the lessons. Dr. Mosely was fine (for me), but both of my kids disliked his teaching :001_huh:.

[Susan A.]

We are using Math-U-See along with the Honors book and it is going well with my math hating/easily frustrated dd. I watch the DVD with her and I also let her use the teacher's manual (not the answer key section!) for a little backup through the week. She is a visual learner and not having a textbook was hard for her, so this arrangement really helps. (The student book is just the daily problems, not an explanation of the lesson.) I know some think there are not enough proofs, but I just know my dd would sink with a program too heavy with them - I sent back TT just for that reason. She will get two semesters of logic and that hopefully will fill in any gaps.

[Bev in B'ville]

Hi Bev,

I was wondering why you used TT Geo and then Chalkdust Precalc? Do you not like the CD Geometry text? Just curious.:001_smile:

Holly

 

 

I picked Jacob's with Dr. Callahan. I really liked the way it worked. However, it bombed with my dd. Having learned that lesson, I had her look at as many video demos as possible on the net, including Chalkdust, TT, Lials, etc. *She* picked TT and I'm glad I went with the one she picked. In addition to her liking it, it also gave her a sense of responsibility having picked it herself. I think a sense of ownership really helped. In fact, in planning this year's curriculua I had both dc look and help pick (after I eliminated the no-gos).

 

HTH.

[HollyinNNV]

Bev,

Thanks for the response. I appreciate it!

Holly

[laughing lioness]

Keys to Geometry. Hyper easy. We talked to the gentleman who wrote Videotext at a convention (he had helped write the math portion of one of the major tests, along with Saxon) and his comment was that "keys.." will teach you everything you need to know on the tests. Just a thought. Simple and cheap, er, frugal:001_smile:

[jubileex5]

My son used the Chalkdust program and we also intensely disliked it. We really disliked the text. We will be using BJU for my other children.

[Beth in SW WA]

Keys to Geometry. Hyper easy. We talked to the gentleman who wrote Videotext at a convention (he had helped write the math portion of one of the major tests, along with Saxon) and his comment was that "keys.." will teach you everything you need to know on the tests. Just a thought. Simple and cheap, er, frugal:001_smile:

 

Interesting. How many proofs? Did he mean it was sufficient for SAT/ACT prep?

 

We are doing TT Geo over 2 years along w/ Alg 1 & 2. I will keep Key To Geo in mind for later in high school for refresher...

[laughing lioness]

Beth,

I'll check tomorrow and let you know.

[Lizzie in Ma]

We are through the first two books and loving math for the first time.

http://www.stanleyschmidt.com/FredGauss/31samplepages.html

[Grace is Sufficient]

We began VT Geometry this year after using it for Algebra the last two years. I can give a little info about the course begins.

 

Module A was largely a review of geometric concepts (lots of different types of shapes -everything from triangles and circles to cones and prisms- and how to find areas, perimeters, and volumes. It also introduces formal logic.

 

Module B begins with lessons in logic - statements, converses, inverse, etc., and then teaches formal definitions of points, lines, rays, angles, circles, etc. This is where we are currently. The rest of Module B is postulates/axioms, followed with proofs and theorems in Modules C and D.

 

HTH

[chelsea in TN]

My son is doing Life of Fred Geometry and Adv. Algebra. I have been taking the Jacobs Geometry and the ALg and Structure bk II (Dolchiani) to make sure he is covering everything. So far he is not having any problems.

 

He actually does the geometry (LOF) by himself and I check in with him at least once a week with the other texts and check the "cities" (reviews in LOF).

HTH,

Chelsea

[Storm Bay]

Rather than go easier (and we don't like TT based on our experience of TT Algebra 1), how about taking time away to garner some practical Geometrical experience in order to build for more aha moments? I should say that we tried & rejected Jacobs Algebra, even though it was recommended my a homescholing mother whose advice was generally helpful to me.

 

My understanding of this is that doing Geometrical constructs first can greatly help the understanding of Geometry. Keys To Geometry does this, although I wouldn't use it alone as the Keys to Fractions we have makes it clear to me that this is not a stand-alone math system, but we may do it first. Of course, it turns out the well-written Geometry books we ordered based on recommendations by mathy parents includes the constructs. These are specifically Dressler (I have a used one from the 1970s that has these) and another, the name of which I can't remember, that includes an teacher's guide & an answer key. We're getting ready to do Geometry, but I think the modern math programs are rarely as good, and I don't just hear this in these boards--I have a ps teaching friend who buys old math texts from the 1960s & 1970s because he says all the new stuff is junk (he is a man of strong opinions ;))