Teaching textbooks Pre-Algebra

My oldest (who is 10) uses TT7. I can’t say enough good things about it. The lessons are clear and concise. Each lesson then has 20-25 problems for the student to complete. Many of the problems have a “hint” option if the student needs more help, and after answering any problem the student can click on a button to see how the problem is solved.

It is nice that my son is able to work on math independently. I am a support person – he’ll call me over if he’s not understanding something, but otherwise his work is on his own. The TT lessons are put together very nicely and, to me, quite easy to understand. The lessons are short and build slowly upon each other.

For us, the workbook and manual weren’t necessary. I ended up selling those and keeping just the CDs. My son does his work in a notebook.

We love TT!

My daughter used TT Pre-Algebra some years ago, and while she loved the course and did well on her tests, her standardized test scores dropped that year – not a huge deal but an indicator to us as they’d been very level the years she’d used Saxon. She went to high school the following year, and signed up to take Pre-algebra again, just in case she’d missed something. She did very well in that course, but did feel there were many concepts that TT hadn’t covered.

After that experience, I began asking around, and was told that TT is great for the child who has trouble with math, making it fun and easier to understand. However, people also told me it tends to run a bit behind schedule as compared to other programs, and so a strong math student may need to go up a level. I know quite a few families who rave about it and swear by the program.

I’m still considering using a TT program for one of my students, and I’m thinking I’ll use a placement test to be sure of which level to put him in.

I did mention in my post that my 10YO (fourth grader) is using TT7. He is a whiz in math but I do feel TT is behind a grade – an average fourth grader would probably use TT5.

TT has just finished redoing some of their courses and my understanding is that they have upgraded the scope and sequence as well as making the grading computerized.