Foerster's Algebra

[mamanlait]

How much time do you allot each day for Foerster's? Do you use it 5 days a week or 4 days in order to finish during the school year? Any tips on scheduling or use would be greatly appreciated!

[StephanieU]

Here is the information from the introduction to the World Geography guide about Foerster's Algebra 1:
General pacing suggestions for Foerster’s Algebra I include doing a section each day (odd numbered problems only) and spending 2-3 days completing all of the problems in the story problem style exercises at the end of each chapter. If you spend 2 days on the story problem style exercises at the end of the chapter, then you can take one day to complete the “Chapter Review and Test.” However, if you spend 3 days on the story problem exercises at the end of the chapter, then you will instead need to do the “Chapter Review and Test” on your free 5th day in order to complete the text by the end of the school year.

Based on this, it appears it is "scheduled" four days a week for most of the year except for chapter reviews and tests.

[mamanlait]

Thank you, Stephanie.
Still looking for roughly how long you "budget" into your day for Foerster's. Also, how frequently have you pulled out the thumb drive to get help with a chapter (once a week/month/never)? I know that will vary depending on my teaching comfort and my student's math abilities. I'm just trying to get a general estimate for whether or not we nought to start Foerster's over the summer to still have a balance during the school year. Dd is not a fast math-worker and she's got a full year coming up in the fall with outside activities.
Thanks!

[StephanieU]

Julie says about an hour for math in WG. Bit I think it could vary based on child for sure.

[mamanlait]

Reviving this older thread because we are just now half-way through Foerster's and it's nearly March. We are on track to only be done with Chapter 9 of 14 at year's end. ugh. We followed the schedule from MWB which usually scheduled odds but I found that often times my dd needed more time on sections and so the following day we would do evens.

I found this text to be so thorough (and much more thorough than what I remember learning even in Algebra 2 in high school). So, do I go through the summer to finish it or just start back up in August after a few month's break?

Is this text what the average Algebra one class is or is this a fairly advanced text? Finally, when we finish Foerster's Algebra 2, is this comparable to Pre-Calculus? I cannot imagine an Algebra 2 text getting much harder without it containing what a normal Pre-Calc book does. Maybe I just had a terrible High School math experience myself and I'm simply comparing that poor series with this strong one. However, for whatever it's worth, I did have a very difficult College Algebra course years ago and Foerster's seems to cover that all plus some. Call me crazy.

[Nealewill]

This text is definitely a more challenging one. I have read on here that Foeresters is really more like a honor's level class than just a regular math course.

As for going over the summer, I would say that this is really up to you. I know my kids are much younger than yours but I have actually always had my kids do 3 days of math over summer break. Not a lot of math but just enough that they don't forget everything the learned the year before. I also know that text books always have review coming in but I have still found this to be a good fit for my family. If you have plenty of time on your side, then would ask your dd what she wants to do. How far do you or does she want to make it in math? I would also consider this when making a decision.

And finally, as for pre-calculus, there are many topics in Pre-cal that are also in Algebra 2. I think this is because most students don't always finish their Algebra 2 course work and they need to make sure that kids coming into Pre-cal are ready for the actual pre-cal topics. There is an Algebra 2/Trigonometry review at the beginning of that course.

[mamanlait]

I guess my concern is mostly that we will just keep getting behind with every subject and not make it to Pre-Calc. I wouldn't be so concerned if I thought the Alg 2/Trig book was mostly Pre-Cal. Does anyone know if there is a Foerster's PreCalc or has anyone used Foersters Alg 2 to know how much more difficult the Pre-Cac book is (assuming that there is one). Our goal is to finish through Pre-Calc material prior to graduation. Dd is now a Sophomore in everything except math (just finished WG). The other option would be to go with a slightly easier math series starting with Geometry to make sure we get through the material. I'm fairly convinced that though Foresters is EXCELLENT, it's a lot more difficult than most. We did problems today in Chapter 6.9 using the Quadratic Equation for d=rt-5t(sq) that I didn't learn until senior physics. I love that I'm actually understanding all of the WHY's behind these formulas!! So, no complaints about the book itself. I just worry that if all of the books are this complex, how will we ever make it through? Do I just stop fretting and go as far as we can?

[Nealewill]

That is a great question to ask - how many chapter do you need to finish before you can call it a year. I am sorry that I can not answer that for you. And where I live, I know that kids are only required to complete 1 year of algebra for graduation requirements. My personal plan for my kids is to finish Pre-Cal and that sounds like that is your goal as well. My guess is that Carrie is planning to reveal the math choice for Pre Cal at some point this spring and that it will be in the final guide. My guess (and this is a TOTAL guess) is that she might use Foeresters as well for this. But I literally have no idea.

If it were me and you are wanting your child to get to Pre-Cal as a senior, I probably would consider doing it over the summer. That is just me though.

[Carrie]

Mamalait,

I am so glad that you are getting a chance to use and enjoy Foerster's Algebra I. I agree that it is a very challenging, very meaty text. It is so important to lay a strong foundation in Algebra, so you are wise to spend time doing that right now. With that in mind, I will share a few things that may make your math journey a bit more enjoyable and may give you some peace of mind.

When we did Foerster's Algebra I with our second oldest son, we spent an hour daily on math and did manage to finish by the end of the year. However, my second oldest son is very mathy, and we did not do the evens but only did the odds. We also had to pull back the number of days we spent on the problem-solving sections as the year went on, as those just kept getting longer (or we would never have finished the text by year-end).

When we did Geometry, we used the Chakerian text (as Foerster does not have a Geometry text). My son adored the Chakerian text and was able to do much of it on his own with Math Without Borders intros to the chapters and their essential printable PDF of solutions. It is very different from Foerster's and takes a bit of getting used to, but it is worth the effort to adjust as it is a breath of fresh air in between the years of Algebra. My son had a great year with it and finished on time. The text is definitely doable in a school year (which will help you not feel like you are getting behind more and more each year).

If you did decide to carryover Foerster's Algebra I into the next year, one other option for doing Geometry more quickly would be doing it through http://www.mathhelp.com (formerly YourTeacher.com). My oldest son did this for geometry, and we do recommend it as one of our math options. It has fewer lessons which allows Geometry to be completed in less time. My oldest son took longer to do Algebra I and Algebra II through VideoText Algebra (as he did the odds and evens for most lessons, thus stretching out the program longer than I intended) and needed a shorter Geometry to get back on track. This worked well for him, and he actually loved the YourTeacher.com so much that he did College Algebra through that same program as a senior. So, this is an option too. If you did go that route, you could always return to Foerster's Algebra II after Geometry (or you could continue with YourTeacher.com - now math help.com) instead. Either would work. Just be warned that http://www.mathhelp.com does not have a Pre-Calculus yet. It is easier than Foerster's too, so you couldn't move very easily into Foerster's Pre-Calculus after http://www.mathhelp.com Algebra II. It would be a pretty big leap.

Now, with my second son we are back to Foerster's for Algebra II and Trigonometry for his junior year. This text is longer than Algebra I, which can feel daunting, however we are using Math Without Borders teaching video for each lesson and then only doing the problem sets assigned by Chandler in Math Without Borders. This is a huge blessing, as it pares down the number of problems each day substantially (while still assigning a variety of problems to be sure the student has exposure and practice in all needed areas). Our math time is now 45 minutes a day, and we are on track to finish the entire text (using Chandler's assignments) in a year.

This Algebra II and Trigonometry Foerster's text is also very meaty and challenging, and in our letter to those who are using the US1 Guide, we gave some suggestions for how the text could be used for credit. The trigonometry portions of the text are definitely pre-calculus level, so depending on your students needs you could do just the Algebra II portions in a year (skipping the trigonometry chapters to make the year more manageable and awarding credit in Algebra II only). Then, the following year, you could just begin with Pre-Calculus. Another option would be to do the Algebra II and Trigonometry chapters in 1 year and instead list Algebra II with Trigonometry on the transcript for that year upon completion of both. Then, the next year you could proceed onto Pre-Calculus (making the first part of Pre-Calculus a bit of a review though it is taught differently). Or, if you did not wish to proceed to Pre-Calculus at all for the senior year, you could do Algebra II in a year, saving the Trigonometry chapters to do for part of the senior year, and award full-credit in Algebra II for one year and then award .5 credit in Trigonometry the following year. These are all workable plans that will build in some flexibility if you have gotten behind anywhere along the way! I discussed these options with David Chandler at Math Without Borders, and he felt these were all very viable options that he recommends himself.

One last blessing is that David Chandler from Math Without Borders has now made an assignment list for Foerster's Algebra I, which helps pare down the plan a bit of doing all of the odds for each lesson. It also shows which assignments could be divided. I will link it below as a possible guide. You may wish to print it and go from there for the remainder of the year. Of course, Chandler's Math Without Borders flash drive complements this plan well.

http://mathwithoutborders.com/wp-conten ... nments.pdf

The best part is that we do carry or recommend each of the options I have mentioned above through HOD!

Blessings,
Carrie

[mamanlait]

Wow! That was such helpful advice! Thank you for taking the time to explain how your sons have differed in their math paths and how you've accommodated them both. I feel much better about staying the course with Foerster even if we don't finish Pre-Calc in the end. It is a really incredible Algebra text and there isn't a day that goes by that I'm not completely blown away by what my dd is learning. Fortunately, despite my reservations, she is actually a pretty good math student thanks to years of Singapore (thank you SO much for scheduling Singapore each and every day or I may have found an easier alternative years ago! ).

[StillJulie]

We used both the Foerster's Algebra and the Advanced Algebra/Trig. We did both texts in their entirety, one year each. We allowed one hour per day (five days/week) for math.

I did not have the benefit of the Math Without Borders DVD or schedule, but did get the teacher's edition of the text and used it's recommendations to help me in scheduling. I also have a math background (former high school math teacher), so I'm sure that helped as well. The Advanced Algebra/Trig text is definitely advanced and much more thorough than a typical public school Algebra 2 course.