Customer Reviews

Key to Algebra - Books 1 thru 10

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

 

 

This series categorizes algebra knowledge into sections. At the beginning of each section/topic, the necessary skills are logically presented. A typical problem is worked through. Then there are practice problems for your student to achieve mastery. The series builds on these sections. The booklets are thin -- so students don't feel overwhelmed by a huge text book. There is space to show work until the answer is achieved. A relatively painless way to concisely teach your teen algebra skills. Makes up for the inadequacy of most Integrated Math texts.

Over the last several years I have worked with a total of nine students who had a particular difficulty with math. This set has explained algebra in a clear and easy to understand way. I began with Key to Fractions and then moved to Key to Algebra. At the moment, I'm teaching six 8th and 9th grade students in a self-paced classroom. Each week I hear, "Oh. I never understood that before," about three times.

Every concept is explained well and demonstrated clearly.
Each booklet has 37 pages with plenty of practice for each step.
Because the books are short, the student has a sense of progress. It is encouraging to finish a book and get a new one.
A separate book contains end of book tests. The notes and answers books are handy for fast grading.

My only challenge (though it has not been a problem), has been to get my students to read the actual words on each page. They believe they understand the instructions and try to fly through the work. When someone hits a snag, and asks for help, I always start with the instructions. That clears up 90% of our problems. I only get a real math question about twice a week. That's how good these books are!

I would not recommend this curriculum for fast paced students who want to move quickly.

Each student needs his or her own set of books. These are not copy masters. They are workbooks. You only need one copy of the notes and answers, and you only need one test booklet, as it is a copy master.

These books are good but are lacking in explanations on how they get some of their answers. I even used a school text book and could not come up with the right answers on some of the problems. If you are looking to get extra practice on your Alg. work they are a good resource. Teachers do not let the kids get a hold of your answer books that is the only key you have some times.

I used this series when homeschooling my daughter. The information was clearly explained and posed no problems in understanding any of the basic algebra concepts. She was able to complete almost a year of algebra before she entered public school in eighth grade and was placed in the "advanced" group.

We liked that each concept had lots of opportunity for practice if needed. The print was large enough for those students who have trouble with small, crowded print. Many activities are also "boxed off", helping the students keep their numerals lined up more easily and giving lots of room for those with large hand writing. This is helpful for students with learning disabilities.

There are a few mistakes in this series, I will admit that. I don't get tooo crazy about them, as there are very few and if my kids don't agree with an answer, we find it together.

These are easy to use, and I can tell you that's true because I hate algebra! The moment I learn something (again) about it, the new information goes right out of my head. My kids, however, are really getting it. There is gradual new information, there is just enough repetition.

I highly recommend their other sets as well!

My book:
Whispers Of Angels

A Knight In Glendalough (The Aerleah Series)

Absolutely wonderful books! I am using them to homeschool my son for a year now. We tried different textbooks but nothing can equal the ease and clarity of Key to... series. The pace is very slow, even and well illustrated, there are plenty of exercises to drill every possible difficulty. The results are more than I expected- right now, as I type this, my 10 year old is working on and almost finished with Algebra 3- and believe me, he is not some kind of math whiz. He loves these books and always chooses them instead of other texts. They are thin, so he completes them quickly and that gives him a great sense of accomplishment.

My only wish is that geometry series would follow somewhat similar pattern- they are somewhat different from the rest, mostly constructing without explanation, but, hey, my son really loves geometry books, so we do them as well, while supplementing theory with regular geometry text.