Geometry Help

[Vintage81]

DD is currently in 8th grade and working through Saxon Algebra I. I'm starting to plan for next year. I know we can move on to Saxon Algebra II and then Advanced Mathematics, but I'm not yet convinced we want to go down that path. She's doing pretty well with Saxon, but I'm just looking at all of my options before we make a final decision.

I will most likely be teaching her at home (not outsourcing). I have a math degree, but Geometry is my least favorite and it's been a while since I've done it. One of the curriculums I'm considering is Geometry by Ray C. Jurgensen. I've been through the pinned threads and tried to gather as much info as possible, but I want to make sure I understand what I need. It looks like there's a student textbook, a solution manual, some sort of teacher's manual. I also located a link to some helpful youtube videos that line up with the lessons. Looking online, the only thing that seems to be hard to find is the teacher manual. Is it necessary? Is there any sort of syllabus or schedule available out there somewhere?

I've also looked a little at Holt Geometry, but not as much. I found a student textbook and teacher manual, but I'm not sure if there's any other materials needed. I haven't found any online videos. I know Jann in TX teaches a class online, but again I think I'd like to teach DD myself. How does Holt compare to Jurgensen?

DD likes the textbook style of Saxon (vs. videos like Derek Owens, which she has taken in the past). The youtube videos are nice, though, just in case I need to reference something. Are there any other curriculums I should be considering? Thanks!

[RootAnn]

Jurgensen can be very rigorous (using the B & C levrl problems). I'm not familiar with Holt.

Memoria Press had lesson plans for it for awhile. Not sure that they still do. They also used to sell the TM.

[cintinative]

1 hour ago, Vintage81 said:

 

I will most likely be teaching her at home (not outsourcing). I have a math degree, but Geometry is my least favorite and it's been a while since I've done it. One of the curriculums I'm considering is Geometry by Ray C. Jurgensen. I've been through the pinned threads and tried to gather as much info as possible, but I want to make sure I understand what I need. It looks like there's a student textbook, a solution manual, some sort of teacher's manual. I also located a link to some helpful youtube videos that line up with the lessons. Looking online, the only thing that seems to be hard to find is the teacher manual. Is it necessary? Is there any sort of syllabus or schedule available out there somewhere?

 

I am on my second run through with Jurgensen's Geometry.  We own the Teacher's Edition, the Solution Manual, and the student text.

It is a proof-heavy course, but I think the text is well written.

There are schedules in the front of the Teacher's Edition.  It has a "maximum course", "average course", and "minimum course" schedule with problem sets for each.  It assumes 160 days but you need to add some in there because for whatever reason it has tests plus a bunch of other review exercises all on the same day.  Anyway, the TE also has answers (but not worked out solutions) to most problems, except the proofs. The proofs are largely NOT in the teacher's edition but are in the solution manual.  The TE has the answers to the oral exercises/practice exercises before the "written exercises."  The TE also has tests in the front. However, there are tests in the student text, so you can use those as well.  We used the one in the text as a practice/review and then did the TE test as the official test. So, you could probably survive without the TE and if you wanted the schedule, I could probably scan and email it to you.  

There are some free videos on YouTube. They are just okay. A couple of times when we got stuck I found better help elsewhere. 

I have the Duke TIP CD-ROM that we never used. I thought you could skip around on it, but you can't. You have to start at the beginning and watch through all of it and complete their exercises, etc.  

[cintinative]

It looks like MP sells the teacher edition but it is $$$ ($225). I am pretty confident I didn't pay more than $40.  It looks like a very good copy is $142 on Amazon. I wouldn't pay that either! Yikes. 

[Vintage81]

1 hour ago, cintinative said:

It looks like MP sells the teacher edition but it is $$$ ($225). I am pretty confident I didn't pay more than $40.  It looks like a very good copy is $142 on Amazon. I wouldn't pay that either! Yikes. 

Yeah, I saw that. Pretty crazy! They also didn’t have the student textbook for sale either, which was strange. Looks like they have Video Text Geometry offered as well, so maybe they’re moving away from Jurgensen to that. 🤷🏼‍♀️
 

So, looks like if I want to do Jurgensen, I’ll be using the student textbook and solutions manual. It being a more rigorous course, I’m a little concerned. DD does well in math but it’s not her favorite. Decisions, decisions…and it’s only the beginning! 😣 🤣

[blue plaid]

I bought the Jurgensen text and the solution guide new, but after looking through it pretty quickly decided it was not going to work well for my daughter. (Unfortunately I couldn't tell this by looking at the samples available online.)  I ended up using Prentice Hall Geometry (2011) which is fantastic.  (I'd describe it as fully rigorous but also very understandable and user friendly.) I highly recommend it.  I believe it is out of print now but imagine that likely you can get it used online pretty easily.  There is a two volume teacher edition which accompanies it which has additional info and solutions.  (I'm happy to sell my Jurgensen text and solution book though if you want to go that way.) 🙂

[MamaSprout]

Memoria Press is switching to VideoText.

We used Holt, but mostly the Teacher One Stop. We access to the videos, but mostly we looked at the lesson in the book, did some sample problems then did the appropriate One Stop pages. It was not a great year because Dd had health issues.

She might have been better off with Jurgensen (which I bought and resold), but I needed more support than the student solutions for grading. Derek Owens self-grading is what she did for Algebra 2 and Precalc, and maybe we should have used his geometry. The reviews were so hit-or-miss for that particular course, though.

I think I still have Holt materials in a box to sell, maybe with the video disks? (same as Thinkwell videos).

Dd got perfect on her ACT geometry questions, but said she had a couple gaps going into Trig topics in DO Algebra 2. We did Geometry year in a really light manner, though.

[Vintage81]

37 minutes ago, blue plaid said:

I bought the Jurgensen text and the solution guide new, but after looking through it pretty quickly decided it was not going to work well for my daughter. (Unfortunately I couldn't tell this by looking at the samples available online.)  I ended up using Prentice Hall Geometry (2011) which is fantastic.  (I'd describe it as fully rigorous but also very understandable and user friendly.) I highly recommend it.  I believe it is out of print now but imagine that likely you can get it used online pretty easily.  There is a two volume teacher edition which accompanies it which has additional info and solutions.  (I'm happy to sell my Jurgensen text and solution book though if you want to go that way.) 🙂

Thanks for the info. It’s definitely hard to decide without seeing the materials in front of me….maybe that’s why I’m struggling. 😣

I will look into Prentice Hall Geometry! Thanks! And I’ll let you know if we decide on Jurgensen. ☺️
 

Edited December 3, 2021 by Vintage81

[cintinative]

22 minutes ago, Vintage81 said:

Thanks for the info. It’s definitely hard to decide without seeing the materials in front of me….maybe that’s why I’m struggling. 😣

I will look into Prentice Hall Geometry! Thanks! And I’ll let you know if we decide on Jurgensen. ☺️
 

You can look at the text on archive.org. It's free.  https://archive.org/details/geometry00brow

The solution manual is also there, it looks like.

I am not sure who the author is for the Prentice Hall but here are the listings for that:  https://archive.org/search.php?query=geometry prentice hall

 

 

[Ad astra]

My oldest has been taking Thinkwell's Honors Geometry course this year. The video instructions are done by the author of the Holt textbook (Burger), which are great and very helpful. I believe the extra worksheet problems are identical to the ones in the textbook. You can print out the worksheets and worked-out solutions on each lesson. IMO, doing the online portion of the practices and quizzes/tests based on multiple-choice questions alone makes it too easy to float through on the surface without retention and not rigorous enough. The worksheets make it proof-heavy and really check their mastery. 

I also have a set of McDougal Littell Geometry text & TE (by Larson) and a Jurgensen's text on my shelf in case we need additional practice or review. Larson's is a standard PS textbook just like Burger's and its TE is relatively easy to find at a reasonable price. Jurgensen's is out of print, so harder to get an used copy of TE or solution manual, but most of its worked-out solutions are currently available for free on Quizlet. 

[blue plaid]

For clarity the book we used and liked is https://www.amazon.com/Geometry-Student-PRENTICE-HALL/dp/0133500411/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=prentice+Hall+geometry+2011&qid=1638564560&sr=8-9 

Note that there is a similar looking text which is part of the Foundations Series which is different -- I believe it is a lower level version of the text.

[RootAnn]

2 hours ago, Ad astra said:

I also have a set of McDougal Littell Geometry text & TE (by Larson) 

I don't know if mine is by Larson but I'm teaching McD-L Geometry now. I like it better than Jurgensen for my not-thrilled-about-math kids. I was gifted a textbook, TE, solutions manual, and some teacher workbooks.

[Vintage81]

40 minutes ago, RootAnn said:

I don't know if mine is by Larson but I'm teaching McD-L Geometry now. I like it better than Jurgensen for my not-thrilled-about-math kids. I was gifted a textbook, TE, solutions manual, and some teacher workbooks.

 

3 hours ago, Ad astra said:

I also have a set of McDougal Littell Geometry text & TE (by Larson)

Is this the one?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0618250220/?coliid=I213Z5OL9ET79I&colid=H4NFQUGX7XLN&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

[RootAnn]

Yes @Vintage81. That's the one I have.

[cintinative]

59 minutes ago, Vintage81 said:

 

Is this the one?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0618250220/?coliid=I213Z5OL9ET79I&colid=H4NFQUGX7XLN&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

@Vintage81  here is the book on Archive.org if you want to compare:  https://archive.org/details/geometry00lars

[Ad astra]

23 hours ago, Vintage81 said:

 

Is this the one?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0618250220/?coliid=I213Z5OL9ET79I&colid=H4NFQUGX7XLN&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Yes, except that mine is this 2011 edition.

https://www.amazon.com/Holt-McDougal-Larson-Geometry-Student/dp/0547315171/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=larson+geometry+2011&qid=1638655410&sr=8-1

My impression is that this one (written by Larson) and Holt (by Burger) text are pretty similar. (I have both in Algebra 1.) Both versions have been published under the merged company (Holt McDougal) since this edition. The pages are typically colorful and busy. 

For Jurgensen you can take a look at how the inside looks like here: https://www.rainbowresource.com/product/046637/Jurgensen-Geometry-Student-Edition.html. Much less crowded page layout, straight to the point and supposedly more challenging than other PS textbooks with lots of proofs and constructions. (Correct me if I'm wrong. We haven't used it yet. For some reason, my kid balked at the look of it.)

Edited December 4, 2021 by Ad astra

[lmrich]

I loved using All Things Algebra for geometry units - I really love her flip books to help cement a concept. You can find her stuff on TPT or her website. She also has loads of games and activities to make geometry a little fun. 

[mom31257]

I teach the Holt book to my students, and I love it. Geometry was never my favorite, but using this book for several years now has made it one of my favorite things to teach.

I have the One-Stop Planner and use it frequently. The videos are no longer accessible; however, the Thinkwell company has videos by Dr. Burger that look like the videos for this course. Those wouldn't be free.  I never really needed the videos, though. I felt like I understood the examples enough to teach it. 

 

[Vintage81]

13 hours ago, mom31257 said:

I teach the Holt book to my students, and I love it. Geometry was never my favorite, but using this book for several years now has made it one of my favorite things to teach.

I have the One-Stop Planner and use it frequently. The videos are no longer accessible; however, the Thinkwell company has videos by Dr. Burger that look like the videos for this course. Those wouldn't be free.  I never really needed the videos, though. I felt like I understood the examples enough to teach it. 

 

Could you explain more about the One Stop Planner? When I looked for it, it appeared to be a cd/dvd, not a book, correct? What kind of things are on it? Can the curriculum be done with just the student and teacher books? Thanks! 

[mom31257]

16 minutes ago, Vintage81 said:

Could you explain more about the One Stop Planner? When I looked for it, it appeared to be a cd/dvd, not a book, correct? What kind of things are on it? Can the curriculum be done with just the student and teacher books? Thanks! 

The One-Stop Planner is a CD with a full teacher's edition, worksheets for reteaching lessons, quizzes, and multiple test options for each chapter (some multiple choice, some straight answer, and in varying degrees of difficulty. It also has a test generator and worksheets for practice and extra challenges. Some use primarily the worksheets, but I only assign the book problems. I used the reteaching pages when I had a couple of students who struggled with math. 

You could do it with those books; however, you won't have the full solutions in the teacher's edition, just the answers.  You can purchase some of the resources individually. Here is the assessment book (tests and quizzes) and these have few full solutions. 

If you want more information, feel free to PM me. We could even arrange to talk on the phone or me send you pictures from the book. I really love this book! 

[Vintage81]

4 hours ago, mom31257 said:

The One-Stop Planner is a CD with a full teacher's edition, worksheets for reteaching lessons, quizzes, and multiple test options for each chapter (some multiple choice, some straight answer, and in varying degrees of difficulty. It also has a test generator and worksheets for practice and extra challenges. Some use primarily the worksheets, but I only assign the book problems. I used the reteaching pages when I had a couple of students who struggled with math. 

You could do it with those books; however, you won't have the full solutions in the teacher's edition, just the answers.  You can purchase some of the resources individually. Here is the assessment book (tests and quizzes) and these have few full solutions. 

If you want more information, feel free to PM me. We could even arrange to talk on the phone or me send you pictures from the book. I really love this book! 

Thank you for the information and all of your help! I really appreciate it. 

Unfortunately, I don't have a computer that we can put a CD in. 😕 I wish there was a digital version! I'll take a look at the assessment book though and see if that's helpful. I think having the solutions worked out (vs. just the answers) would be really important. 

[mom31257]

6 minutes ago, Vintage81 said:

Thank you for the information and all of your help! I really appreciate it. 

Unfortunately, I don't have a computer that we can put a CD in. 😕 I wish there was a digital version! I'll take a look at the assessment book though and see if that's helpful. I think having the solutions worked out (vs. just the answers) would be really important. 

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