I've coined a new phrase: "When math is going well, ALL is going well"

[Michelle in MO]

Unfortunately, math is NOT going well right now, which I admit is partly (mostly?) my fault!

My oldest is doing Chalkdust geometry, and as I've mentioned several times before, Dana Moseley's teachings are excellent, but I don't like the Larson book Chalkdust uses for geometry. I don't think the explanations in the book are very thorough.

Nevertheless, all has been going well with geometry for my dd until this chapter. My oldest failed the chapter test, even though I gave her two days to work on it! :( I'm having her re-do the chapter, only doing every other odd problem instead of every odd problem. Chapter 8 is on similarities.

Am I taking the right approach here? Is this a critical chapter, for those of you who are familiar with Chalkdust? The next chapter is on right triangles, I believe.

I forgot to mention: up until this chapter, she has gotten an A on every test, without using the text. (I never allow my kids to use the text unless the book specifically states.) This test, I could tell she was struggling, and after calling Chalkdust, they said she was probably having an "off" day and to allow her to use the text. She still flunked the test, so obviously she doesn't understand the concepts.


Any help is appreciated!

[Martha in NM]

is that you look at all her work on both tests. Try to see if there's a pattern in the missed answers. Did she clearly list each step, so that you can pinpoint the exact place where things started to go wrong?

Then, do the same thing with her daily work. Was she having difficulty with the same types of questions?

Repeating the chapter might be a good idea. You might ask her to take notes on each day's work the second time through. Sometimes re-wording the concepts makes things "stick". Also, it might help for her to make a list of where she went wrong on every missed problem. Sometimes a different explanation from another text or internet help board works if your text's explanation isn't helpful.

I'm not familiar with the Chalkdust text, but my working assumption is that if it's in the text it's important. FWIW, the material covered in Jacobs' chapter on similarity is such that I'd be reluctant to move on without mastering it.

HTH, and keep in mind that I'm NOT a math expert!
Martha

[Michelle in MO]

repeat the chapter, and I can tell she's having trouble setting up the proportions, which is one of the main principles, I think, behind the similarities. I just wish the Larson text had better explanations. Since my oldest watches the lectures (I haven't yet), I'm not sure what's being explained. Up until this point she's done quite well.

I think I'll start with just going through a number of problems setting up the proportions.

Thank you so much for your kind help, Martha!