Rays for high school Geometry

Hi Jill,

Have you heard my interview on geometry and algebra in the ADE podcasts #56 & 57?  They might help if you haven’t yet.  Also, I recommend proof-based geometry just like Charlotte Mason.  There certainly may be others out there so it is your decision but I have found Jacobs’ Geometry and Jacobs’ Algebra easily adaptable to CM’s methods.   I’m also pasting in a Q&A I did somewhere else in case it helps you:

Q: What does a high school lesson look like?

A: This is a page from one son’s Algebra notebook. You will see that each lesson is a mix of oral and written. A beautiful thing with CM’s applied philosophy is that many methods are like a golden thread that run through many areas of study. Oral and written work in math flow very similarly to oral and written narration.  Additionally, when you provide oral work in these older forms you continue nurturing habits developed in the earlier forms across the spectrum of subjects: attention, concentration, clear thinking, readiness, etc.

Jacobs’ Algebra and Geometry books provides me with a history of captain thinkers, interesting problems linked to real life, review work and work in new concepts in different sets for each lesson along with fun challenges to kindle the imagination.

What does that tend to look like in our home? I read the introduction to the lesson taking care to stop and see if my son can suggest how to work the illustration before any steps are spelled out. If we need to go onto the steps then I will read it and he will narrate it back (the only case when pure “narration” is given rather than digesting/assimilating info in other ways). I use Ask Dr. Callahan’s scope & sequence which is free on his website but cut it down even further as I see where my student is in understanding. I keep the lesson to 30 minutes. Many problems we do orally which not only saves time but allows me to really know my student and, again, nurtures those good habits. He graphs anything that needs to be graphed and has problems to finish on his own in his notebook. We have a term exams which fit the 30 minutes of class time.