Any thoughts on Transition Mathematics or other pre-algebra courses?

[AmyCC]

I already have Basic College Math, but I'm not sure that's the best fit for my upcoming 7th grade dd. I'm also looking at Transition Mathematics (Chicago Math). Anyone know anything about this? Feedback?

Thanks!

[teachmom3]

Hi, Amy--

We used UCSMP's Transition Mathematics for all three of my children.

Transition Math is sort of a mix of advanced arithmetic, pre-algebra, and pre-high school geometry. UCSMP probably does one of the best jobs of any math program that I've seen for real-world application of math and for teaching the conceptualization of math concepts. The UCSMP series probably is not as rigorous as, say, Larson (Chalkdust) or Lial, but I don't think rigor is as important in pre-algebra as it might be in, say, algebra 2. UCSMP does to a better job, I think, in teaching conceptualization of mathematical concepts than Larson does. It is visually bright and interesting, which could be either a pro or a con, depending upon the student.

In terms of the the type of student who would benefit from the text, of my three children who used it, the youngest is developmentally delayed and currently doing fine in Jacob's Geometry after finishing UCSMP Algebra; the oldest is in college, still trying to decide on a major but may end up a math major (he tutors math as a very part-time job); and the middle child definitely is NOT a math major but scored high enough on the SAT to get a full-ride scholarship in college. Using UCSMP Transition Math definitely hasn't appeared to have hurt any of them math-wise!

[AmyCC]

Thanks so much for your response. Good input!

[Jan P.]

I like Bob Jones Press math books. Their Pre-algebra makes a great transitional book especially if you might want to use the Foerster Algebra books. Explanations are clear, especially in teaching word problems. In fact the seventh grade book dips into pre-algebra too. I'm already teaching my seventh grader how to set up an algebraic word problem and how to solve a linear equation.

HTH,
Jan P.