If I wanted to switch from Lial's to a less challenging Alg. I program...???

[RhondaM.]

Lial's ..while a good program..is not a good program for people who struggle in math. I'm sure we can do the work, we just need it spelled out a little better. And yes, I have the DVTs. But we are pretty thick headed I guess.

But I really, really don't want to buy another Alg. I program. Really.
What I'd like to do is be able to move on to TT Geometry and then TT Alg. II after using what I already have in my home.

I have the following:
Lials (as mentioned)
Keys to Algebra
Life of Fred: Beginning Algebra

If we did both Fred and Keys would that be enough to take us into TT Alg. II?? If not could I just pull what ever else I needed from Lials?

If nothing else...how much Lial's do we have to cover in order to be ready for TT Alg. II?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Colleen]

This probably isn't much help, but I had my oldest complete the first seven or eight Key to Algebra workbooks before starting Lial's Intro Algebra. This worked well, as he's now able to ease into the Lial's text with some foundational knowledge. He's just started, and I'm going to have him take it slow and steady (he's only 12, so there's no rush), but so far, so good.

[Veronica in VA]

This probably isn't much help, but I had my oldest complete the first seven or eight Key to Algebra workbooks before starting Lial's Intro Algebra. This worked well, as he's now able to ease into the Lial's text with some foundational knowledge. He's just started, and I'm going to have him take it slow and steady (he's only 12, so there's no rush), but so far, so good.

We did something similar. My son got stuck partway through Lial's. We used a few of the Keys to Algebra, and then went back to Lial's. After that it went ok. My daughter struggles in math so we used Math Relief, which went a lot better.

Veronica

[RhondaM.]

This probably isn't much help, but I had my oldest complete the first seven or eight Key to Algebra workbooks before starting Lial's Intro Algebra. This worked well, as he's now able to ease into the Lial's text with some foundational knowledge. He's just started, and I'm going to have him take it slow and steady (he's only 12, so there's no rush), but so far, so good.

My ds (who is 15) has worked through Keys 1-3 and Lial's chapters 1-2.4.
Not much.

Mostly I'm afraid that if we keep going with Lials that when it really gets hard we will have to switch anyway. If my son was younger I'm sure I'd be more inclined to stick with Lials just because of all the good I've heard about it.

I guess I'd rather just go ahead and do the switching now so that we can work through Keys or Fred or whatever between now and 10th grade. We'll be working through the summer no matter what.

Thanks Colleen.

[mama25angels]

Rhonda, i'm giving you a big hug because that's all i'm able to do right now. I have no advice, I wish I did.

[Colleen]

I hope you find a good solution (ha! no pun intended). I'm just crossing my fingers and hoping the path we're headed down now works, but who knows...!

[RhondaM.]

I hope you find a good solution (ha! no pun intended). I'm just crossing my fingers and hoping the path we're headed down now works, but who knows...!

Thanks Colleen. :)

[RhondaM.]

Rhonda, i'm giving you a big hug because that's all i'm able to do right now. I have no advice, I wish I did.

Thanks! :)

[Claire]

My ds (who is 15) has worked through Keys 1-3 and Lial's chapters 1-2.4.
Not much.

Mostly I'm afraid that if we keep going with Lials that when it really gets hard we will have to switch anyway. If my son was younger I'm sure I'd be more inclined to stick with Lials just because of all the good I've heard about it.

I guess I'd rather just go ahead and do the switching now so that we can work through Keys or Fred or whatever between now and 10th grade. We'll be working through the summer no matter what.

Thanks Colleen.

IMO, Life of Fred works better as a review or supplement. It's not thorough enough to be used as a spine.

If it were me, I'd probably consider switching to VideoText. There is an email support group for it at http://groups.yahoo.com that is very helpful for researching that approach.

My dd was able to get through public high school algebra by working long hours on homework with her Dad. I had tried some programs at home with her (MUS and TT), but she always hit a wall pretty fast with them. In retrospect, I think VideoText would have been a good choice for us if we had had two years to spend on it.

Also, in retrospect, I can say that high school math requires a *lot* more study hours than I had expected. My dd's classes were block-scheduled, which meant she had to get through Algebra I in half a school year. She averaged 3 hours a night on algebra homework/study alone to get through it.

[Michelle in AL]

We hit a wall with algebra I when we were using Glencoe Algebra. I switched to BJU Algebra (pretty cheap used: needed student book and TM) and used video instruction from www.hotmath.com for $29/yr. The instrutions in BJU were more clear than Glencoe and didn't have an overwhelming # of problems/day. I lined up the topics from Hotmath with the lesson topic we were doing in the book. It worked for us. I was able to borrow the book from a friend to be sure we liked it.

My dd and I are both OK at math. She's very good intuitively at math, but a little lazy.

I hope you find a good solution!
Michelle

[RhondaM.]

Ok...I think I've decided to chill out and not give up on Lial's just yet. If it takes us the rest of the year, all summer and all of 10th grade, then so be it. As long as we are understanding and moving ahead.
Surely with Keys and Fred to help out we can make it through.

Thanks for all your help.

[gardenschooler]

I think that's a good plan, Rhonda. Also, check out the hotmath site mentioned if you need more instruction. I don't know what's on the dvt's, but sometimes just a different source to explain things helps.

And besides hotmath, here is a site I used for help w/my oldest dd. It's cool math. You can pull up a lesson for any topic you're on.

http://www.coolmath.com/algebra/

[RhondaM.]

I think that's a good plan, Rhonda. Also, check out the hotmath site mentioned if you need more instruction. I don't know what's on the dvt's, but sometimes just a different source to explain things helps.

And besides hotmath, here is a site I used for help w/my oldest dd. It's cool math. You can pull up a lesson for any topic you're on.

http://www.coolmath.com/algebra/

Thanks for the link. And I'll check out hotmath too. :)