Customer Reviews

Algebra 1/2: An Incremental Development, Second Edition

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This isn't a book for every student - but for those who need slow, careful explanations (easy to understand) and who are helped by lots of review, this is an ideal choice.
I worked wtih a n ESL student who needed to get up to grade level as quickly as possible. Within a very short time, using this book, his math skills were on a par with the other students and he felt confident about his ability to understand the concepts.
At least half the book is devoted to review of basic math concepts like adding mixed numbers, mixed number subtraction , decimal parts of a number and so on. Only in the later lessons are actual algebraic equations and concepts fully explained. I felt this was a good thing, giving the student a solid base to work with but I could see how more advanced math students might feel bored or impatient with the lengthy review sections.
This book does explain every single concept carefully and with simplified language which optimizes a student's ability to understand and use basic math concepts.
In short, know your student before purchasing your book. But for the right student, this could be an ideal choice.

As my 11 year old son begins his second semester of Calculus at our local college, he tends to take exception with parents that look down on the Saxon series of math books, with them often calling the books "boring" or "repetitive", as if math is intended to be loaded with excitement from day 1. Getting good at something, whether it's cutting lawns or learning pre-algebra, take practice. I just feel so bad for the kids with these parents, as the kids will never amount to anything, given that environment. Simply put, the Saxon series of books, if completed per their instructions (i.e., doing every problem), assures that your kid will NEVER have trouble in math.

This book, Algebra 1/2, is simply phenomenal. The problems and the design of this book assures that your kid will glide right into Algebra 1, and never look back (to this day, I wish that I could have been prepared to this level when I took Algebra 1). Of all the Saxon math books, I've always looked at this one as the best of a superb series. It is just amazing.

So I recommend to anyone that wants to listen, get the Saxon books and teach your kid yourself, otherwise you're at the mercy of programs and books that are almost designed to fail.

For the most part, this book is useful for groups of kids on uneven footing, or who came from various math programs. We used it in grade 7 advanced math, and that worked out well enough because it went fast for the kids who were bored because they had done everything already, and helped those who had been a touch behind the grade six standard. But the writing isn't particularly inspired, and it was a good thing that we only used this book maybe 2/3 of the time.

Saxon makes it so easy to homeschool! My 4th grader is zipping through pre-algebra on his own because of this simple to use text. LOTS of examples and practice. Plenty of review of old material to keep it in the long-term pool. Uncomplicated language. Easy for mom to shorten length of "seatwork" by crossing-off mastered material. My only gripe so far is that in Lesson 46 they jump right into indexes & radical numbers with no previous explanation (or review)of the concept of squares or square roots. They also didn't use the terms "squared" or "cubed," and offered no explanation of why indexes are written starting with 3, not 2. And, in that same lesson, they used the number 1 in an example to explain powers and to explain simplifying a radical. (I thought that was pretty lame.)
But other than that one bizarre lesson, the book is SO easy to use, your child can teach himself! (I also love how they throw in neat vocabulary words in their word problems.)

The people that give this series of books bad reviews simply don't understand that kids need a lot of repetition to learn math and to retain what they've learned. My husband is a college math teacher and we've homeschooled two kids with these books. He says he wishes all kids learned math this way. He always knows when he gets a homeschooled student in one of his math classes that they will do well and succeed in the class. The Saxon math books are used by many private schools and homeschoolers and are considered useful for advanced students, not students that struggle, like one reviewer said. My son used the Saxon math series from 2nd grade to age 14 and it prepared him well for college math. He's 15 now and takes Calculus at our local community college. My daughter used it until she decided to go to public high school, where she became bored by the books they used and sadly started hating math. This series gives a very strong foundation because of all the repetition. It may seem boring to some folks, but it works if you give it a chance. : )

BRIEF EVALUATION

I found Algebra 1/2 to cover with only small additions and enhancements the topics that Saxon's Math 8/7 covered already. While it should be very good for students who feel the need to consolidate the material studied during the previous year, my own children felt that there was little new here and they asked me to skip the Algebra Half and go to the full Algebra One, which is what we are about to do.

We had a very good experience with this set but, thanks to my kids being such godd students, we've decided to skip it.

Even though we had to abandon this course after the first half-dozen lessons convinced us that we didn't need it, I will grant the package 5 stars for Saxon's proven effectiveness but be aware that this should be skipped by the more advanced students.



THE SAXON METHOD

We've been using Saxon's books to teach our kids math starting with Math 3/2 and we've been very happy.

Algebra 1/2 (it means ALGEBRA HALF not "Algebra One and Two" is comprised of 123 lessons, 31 tests and a number of Topics labeled from A to J. Unlike the previous Math courses, there are no 'Investigations' and the lessons no longer begin with drills and warmup activities. Also, unlike prior math cycles up to Math 8/7, tests are administered after every four lesson rather than after every five.

Each lesson begins by explaining and illustrating a number of new topics - one, two or sometimes three. That is followed by a small number of practice exercises that are related to the new topics. Finally, there is a 30-item problem set (what the prior volumes were calling 'mixed practice') that asks students to answer/solve 30 questions that could be on EVERYTHING covered by Saxon up to that point. Each individual question has references to the lesson(s) which the students may want to review if they are having trouble with the answer/solution.

After every 4 lessons there is a 20-question test.

The problem set and the multi-topic lessons are what makes the Saxon method so effective as new concepts are introduced incrementally and each problem set keeps revisiting prior topics and many of the problems require the student to combine skills and knowledge aquired in more than one lesson.



THE KIT's CONTENTS

A complete kit should include the following:

- The Algebra 1/2 textbook that includes the 123 lessons, the extra topics, index, glossary and an answer key to the odd-numbered problems.
- Test forms that include the 31 tests plus reproducible test answer sheets.
- Answers and tests solutions booklet that is just that. It only includes the answers not the ways to get there - for that an optional 'Solutions manual' can be obtained separately.


Note: Please be aware that the THIRD edition is now available. This being 'math', the changes are minor but you can probably get 'the latest' for about the same price.

My 7th grade pre-algebra class used this book (1989-90). I never saw a better math textbook.

I cannot understand the critical reviews here. I was the top student in any math class I took between middle school and college. I won my state's math competition my senior year of high school. So it's not like gifted kids in general hate the book.

And, hey, the issue is not whether the student likes it. It's whether she learns math. And she will learn it if she uses this book.

As a teacher, I believe strongly in constant review. This works. I will home school my own children, and these are the textbooks I will use.

I don't know what is wrong with the people that review this book before me but my daughter is a straight a student and is struggling with this program. I think that the parents want it easy for there child and don't want to see them struggle with an advanced course. My daughter is a 7th Grader and made it into the Duke TIP Program with an 99 Percentile in math on the ITBS. She has been in Saxon for her whole life. I think all that "reviewing" did some good. Maybe you should try it before you give some awful review to a book you just took a glance at

We homeschooled our kids over a period of years, and Saxon Math, including Algebra 1/2, was always our choice for math texts. I also teach in a classical Christian school where we use Saxon Math as well. I find that for most students, if they will take the time to read the lesson well, do all of the problems, and then rework any problems they miss then they will achieve a high degree of mastery of the material at hand.

This book will adequately prepare math students for Algebra 1, which has proven to be the mathematical Waterloo of many a student. With adequate preparation, it doesn't have to be. Advanced students may be able to move from Math 76 directly to Algebra 1, especially if it seems (as it has to some) that this book moves to slowly or contains too much review.

The greatest advantage of Saxon Math is that each lesson provides practice not only for the new problems but also built-in review for every kind of problem the student has previously encountered. Algebra 1/2 is no exception to the rule that Saxon Math texts help students learn math well. After Algebra 1/2, all of my kids who have taken it were definitely ready to move on to the next level.

In general, Saxon Math, including Algebra 1/2, is highly recommended. It is especially ideal for homeschooling families.

As a 5th grade teacher, I use this book with several of my advanced students. It explains the concepts in enough detail that they can work primarily on their own. For my three students who are advancing especially quickly, I only have them do the mixed practice (review portion) for every other lesson. (They do two lesson each day.) I would not advise shortening the lessons for most students. The review provided truly solidifies the concepts in their minds.