Algebra 1 curriculum advice

I have just finished writing a LONG article on homeschool algebra 1 recommendations and advice. It took me quite many hours to write and research.

Questions about what to do for algebra 1 have become one of the "frequently asked questions", so I decided to write down something that I can refer people to, from now on.

I realize you may have different opinions and even suggestions for algebra curriculum in homeschool, so if you let me know, I'm willing to look into other possibilities not mentioned in the article.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I was surprised to see no mention of The Art of Problem Solving - Introduction to Algebra.
For the mathematically inclined student this is a wonderful book, and there are also online courses available. (As somebody else put it: the standard books give you the nuts and bolts - AoPS gives you the nuts and bolts and then has you build the Taj Mahal with them.)
6:30 PM, June 24, 2010
Shirley said…
Hi~ great review! We stumbled on a book at our library called "Algebra the Easy Way" by Douglas Downing. Written as a story wherein the characters of a mythical kingdom learn about algebra first-hand. This was the ticket my son needed to grab his interest.

Very in-depth on some topics, with only a few "skimmed." In the end, I did find it to be a hybrid of both Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 (as defined by "standard" textbooks for our state)... not quite covering all of either. But the few lacking topics were easily covered by tutorials from purplemath.com and others you have listed on your refence list.

Thanks for all your hard work!
8:12 PM, June 24, 2010
Maria Miller said…
Thanks for the tip about AOP's book. I had frankly forgotten about it. I have added it to the article now. It's a good choice for top students.
12:55 PM, June 25, 2010
animateholic said…
a math animation blog
http://animateholic.wordpress.com/
12:58 AM, June 27, 2010
TerriW said…
Hello! I really enjoyed this. Do you have any thoughts about Singapore Math's New Elementary Math curriculum -- people always talk about Singapore as if it ends after the 6th grade, and I'm not sure why. Is it because NEM isn't as good, or it doesn't translate as well to the home environment for some reason (too challenging for a non "mathy" mom?) or ... ?

Do you have any thoughts on NEM?
8:52 PM, June 27, 2010
Maria Miller said…
NEM is a series of books covering grades 7-10, and is considered to be quite challenging in its problems. This may be good for some students, but not work out for others. Also, NEM books may not have enough explanations of concepts, and the sequence of topics does not follow the traditional American way, but prealgebra, algebra, geometry, and statistics topics are mixed. If you feel comfortable with this, it will be fine, but I would only consider it for "mathy" kids because of the difficulty of the problem sets. Singapore Math also offers other series for grades 7-10 that are easier than NEM; please see a comparison here. Well-Trained Mind forum has lots of discussions about using NEM.
12:04 AM, June 28, 2010
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