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Algebra nightmare!
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My 16 year old has been using Math U See since the early grades with a year off in middle school for Math on the Level. Last year she did MUS pre algebra and finished the course with a strong B average. She started off this year with MUS algebra 1 doing fairly well, but unit 7 and 8 have been horrible! She barely gets 50% right on a lesson. We discuss it and go over her mistakes every time, but it doesn’t seem to make a difference. It’s not that she’s not understanding the concepts as much as that she seems to make careless mistakes and/ or has a hard time getting all the “details” of a problem done in the right order and even when she checks over her work she can’t seem to catch those errors. She wants to do well but is getting really discouraged and hates math. Have any of you experienced this? Do you have any advice or know of other methods or curriculum that might help? We experienced this same kind of a “block” in middle school and taking that year to do math on the level really helped. ( wish they had a high school curriculum!). But being in high school now I feel so bound by time restraints and that feeling that she HAS to get algebra done now to keep on track for college that it is hard to switch gears in the middle of the year.
I was hoping to see a response to this post. My 15 year old is working through Math U See Algebra and it has been slow going. I have tried curriculum changes in the past when she has seemed especially stuck, but in the end have come back to MUS.
This happened to my oldest. After years in MUS, we switched to Sytematics Mathematics for Algebra, then came back to MUS for Geometry. SM is an excellent curriculum for filling in any foundational math gaps http://www.systemath.com/index.html .
What about some of the online free classes? Could she watch the video’s that correspond and maybe that might help. I also use MUS and am going through that in this house with my “use to be” advanced math son. Now he is just making it. Here are a couple I have use:
http://education-portal.com/academy/course/index.html
Good luck. Let me know if you find the magic cure?! LOL Misty
I too wish MOTL had a high school set. I don’t have any advice as I’m behind you (our son is just finishing up MOTL this year). He is 14, but I am sort of wondering what we’ll do for Algebra.
I have considered thinkwell. Here’s a link at the Co-Op, where they offer up to 50% off depending on how many end up buying it:
https://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/thinkwell/?source=56669
We also test drove YourTeacher.com this summer, because the Co-op had it for FREE this summer. It is well-done as far as quality and offers much from video tutorials to practice problems to tests. I might consider it as well in the near future.
https://www.homeschoolbuyersco-op.org/yourteacher/?source=56669
I wish I had more to suggest, but I am afraid I may be in the same boat sooner than later. My oldest son is just not a natural in math, though MOTL helped him immensely in gaining confidence and SEEING math.
What about the Great Courses? I have read great reviews on here by people who use them. They are having a big sale right now.
http://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/courses/course_detail.aspx?cid=1001
ForeverMom — have you been in my house? Because it sounds like you’re describing my 14 yo son exactly when you describe your dd. He’s halfway through MUS pre-algebra and I definitely foresee the problems you are describing. I’m learning that when he’s stuck, we just keep at it until we’re not stuck anymore. So that means I use the worksheet generator to give extra review and use some other on-line tools (Khan, etc.) until the concept gets easier for him. Then we just stay on the lesson until it makes sense.
So what seems to be the hold up at this age? My son was as mentioned above level till he hit pre-algebra this year? Why does it just seem to stop? Could it do with maturity and all that is taking place in the brain? Was hoping someone with a child who has gone through MUS (like Bookworm maybe) would chime in and let us know how they managed these harder concepts.
Misty, great reminder about about http://www.khanacademy.org/ . We’ve used the videos many times for higher math concepts and most recently for chemistry. I saw on another thread that you’ll be getting a tablet – thought you might like to know that Kahn Academy recently put out an App for the Ipad – its excellent!
Jeaninpa….did you find algebra I on the worksheet generator for MUS? I went there the other day and thought it only went up to pre- algebra. Or did you find other sites that create worksheets ?
Hi, everyone. I’ve popped in on the thread before but wasn’t sure if you wanted to hear from me or not. 🙂 OK. Algebra. Most people try to take algebra too fast, expecting that that 14yo mind which has done mostly fairly concrete work until now is suddenly going to get the abstractions in Algebra just fine. Trying to get the same amount done in a day at first is a big mistake. In units seven and eight you’ve just introduced your kids to manipulating numbers in some pretty mind blowing ways. Irrational numbers? Funky square root signs? You need to go back to the very beginning of these and take them one at a time. You need to rewatch the video, go over ALL the examples in the teacher book, and then don’t just leave the student to work on their own right away. Turn to the problem on the student page and have the student orally walk through it as they do it. You will probably find some deficiencies in understanding. Everyone makes SOME careless errors. 50% means there is an understanding deficit. The student doesn’t REALLY understand what to do when she encounters the problems. If she can only work four problems a day, orally with you, then that’s what she needs to do until she understands it thoroughly. You may even need to back up and review a little, negative number rules and other issues (that causes big time trouble if you don’t have all that down pat).
My kids had minor problems at spots in algebra, I was fortunate that they were all pretty math-y, but if you have a kid whose primary means of relating to the world is NOT abstract math 🙂 then you need to put a little effort into something like irrational numbers. Do try Khan videos or other things if you think the different explanations might help, but I have to tell you–algebra is algebra. It is work either way. There is no one magical explanation that is going to miraculously make it easy. 🙂 It’s been this way for a thousand years and has been tripping up students for just as long (except historically, many students didn’t GET there until older than ours are.)
I also recommend stopping in at the MUS forum on yahoo. We discuss sticking points in algebra with some regularity. 🙂 There are lots of other experienced moms and even some reps there. Also a session with Peter at the MUS help desk can be very helpful when there is an understanding problem. I had one son I would bang my head into the wall explaining something, and he could spend 5 minutes online with Peter and go “Oh.” LOL This is one place that we moms really need to step up and try to understand this stuff well enough ourselves to explain it, to see where they are going wrong and getting stuck, to remedy the exact problem. It’s hard! And gets progressively harder the farther you go. But it is worth it! Even if your student never messes with irrational numbers again after high school. Hang in there, slow down, have the student walk through every problem orally until she gets it!!!
Thanks Bookworm. You’re right, as usual.
So, now all I need to do is figure out how to clone myself, or stop sleeping, Yea, that would work too. Just kidding, but enough hours in a day to do this all well is always an issue.ForeverMom, you’re correct. The worksheet generator only goes through pre-algebra.
Thanks Bookworm, and of course we’d love to hear from you ALWAYS! Take it slow, master, and then move on. I hear you! Misty
So, now all I need to do is figure out how to clone myself, or stop sleeping, Yea, that would work too. Just kidding, but enough hours in a day to do this all well is always an issue.Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 15 total)
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