Trigonometry Archives - Eva Varga


April 26, 2019

My son started dual enrollment at the community college this past fall. The assessment test placed him in Intermediate Algebra. I felt confidant that all would be well – after all, his sister had forged the same trail two years prior.

Things didn’t go quite as planned however. He struggled to manage his time well and follow through on the homework. We thereby decided that he should repeat the course. He improved the second term, particularly in the latter part of the term.

This term, however, the instructor he wanted to take was not teaching the next course. He thereby opted to wait until Fall. Yet, I wasn’t comfortable skipping two terms of instruction time for fear he would slip back after the gains he has made.

I received access to this product in exchange for a review. I was compensated for my time and was not required to make a positive review.

Teen boy using CTCMath online math program with text overlay CTCMath & College Prep

CTCMath College Prep

When I discovered CTCMath I was immediately intrigued. I loved that the concepts were introduced with video tutorials. My son is a visual learner and excels when material is presented in this way.

CTCMath video tutorials are perfect because as my son puts it, “They are S cubed!” Simple – there is no gimmick designed to entertain which he finds annoying (let’s be honest, he often finds ME annoying!), Short – each video ranges between 4 to 9 minutes, andStep-by-Step – the problem solving method is explained succinctly and clearly.

The CTCMath video tutorials also use synchronized audio and animation which harnesses both audio and visual learning styles simultaneously.

He especially likes to skip forward or speed through the concepts he understands. Often, he’ll jump right to the practice problems and only refer back to the videos when he gets stuck.

We have been using CTCMath for a short time and I’m already seeing his confidence grow. Thus far, he has been skipping around and trying out concepts that he is both familiar with (polynomials and simplifying equations) and even challenging himself with higher trigonometry concepts.

Parental Support within CTCMath

I also like the detailed summary report that is provided. It’s broken down by course and can also be download as a PDF if, for example, I needed to provided documentation to a learning partner or charter school.

I like that there is also an optional worksheet that he can download and print out for extra practice. Upon entering his answers into the online portal, the solutions are shown to help him identify where he went wrong.

My son was interested in the Speed Skills activities. Unfortunately, these skills do not exceed level four, order of operations. As he played around with this, he decided it wasn’t as useful as he had hoped.

As we continue to progress, I am excited to try out the tasks (where I can assign specific problem sets). I want him to review concepts he struggled with previously and then also begin to work through the material he will encounter in the college course this fall. I am confident that his confidence will continue to grow and he will rediscover the joy of math he had in elementary school.

Want to try CTCMath in your homeschool?

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August 4, 2016

As a homeschool parent, I want to challenge my children. I want to provide them with opportunities not available to students in brick-and-mortar schools. I spent a lot of time researching and seeking out course work and math curricula that was engaging and challenging.

Years ago, a homeschool colleague shared with me that her 14 year old daughter had taken the college placement exam and had enrolled in Math 111. I immediately wanted to know what math curricula she had used. “Life of Fred,” she replied. “Chloe worked through the Pre-Algebra series and Beginning Algebra on her own.” 

math curricula review

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Each Life of Fred text is written in the style of a novel with a humorous story line. This was very appealing to my oldest, an avid reader. Each section tells part of the life of Fred Gauss,  a five year old who teaches math at KITTENS University in Kansas.  The story shares how, in the course of his life, Fred encounters the need for the math and then learns the methods.

As she progressed through the books, she gradually transitioned away from direct instruction whereby I was teaching concepts to her and began to rely more on her own reading. She became an independent learner.

Never again hear the question which many math students proclaim: “When are we ever gonna use this stuff?” or “Math is boring!”

Life of Fred makes this possible not only through story but with tons of solved examples. Each hardcover textbook contains ALL of the material – more than most instructors cover in traditional classroom settings.

We meet with Fred daily and have really enjoyed his adventures. I thought I’d share our experience with Life of Fred since people often have a lot of questions about it.

What I Love About Life of Fred Math Curricula

I love the story nature of the text and real life problem approach. Fred encounters a need for the math and then uses it, usually within the context of a humorous situation.

It encourages a different approach to attacking a problem. Students are encouraged to think.

Less drill and more complex problems. This lessens boredom and fatigue and leads to increased accuracy.

The texts are non-consumable; I can use them with both kids. I’ve never been a fan of workbooks; I love that they work out the problems on ordinary notebook paper.

The cost is budget friendly. The middle school texts are just $17 and the high school texts start at just $28 at Educents. You can’t go wrong even if you just wanted to try it out.

 

math curriculaLife of Fred Math Curricula for Middle School 

My kiddos had completed the Singapore Math curricula series for elementary and middle school, so this is where we actually started. They were immediately hooked on Fred’s story and have loved to read about his humorous antics.

Once you know:

  • the addition tables
  • the subtraction tables
  • the multiplication tables
  • long division

… you are ready to start Life of Fred Fractions, the first book in the Pre-Algebra series.

Who is it for? 5th – 9th grades

Concepts covered: Savings and Expenses, Sectors, Comparing & Reducing Fractions, Roman Numerals, Least Common Multiples, Improper Fractions, Commutative Law, Decimals, Functions and Inverse Functions, Pi, Sets and Subsets, Union and Intersection of Sets, Rules of Divisibility, Bar Graphs & Pie Charts, Prime and Composite Numbers, Consecutive Numbers, the Goldbach Conjecture, Conversion between Percents/ Fractions/ Decimals, Square Roots, Ratio, Ordered Pairs, Negative Numbers, Elapsed Time, Probability, and more!

Titles in this series:  Fractions, Decimals & Percents, Pre-Algebra with Physics, Pre-Algebra with Biology, Pre-Algebra with Economics

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LifeofFred Math Curricula

Life of Fred Math Curricula for High School 

My kiddos were already familiar with Fred’s style and approach to problem solving as they had previously completed the Pre-Algebra series.  They loved that they weren’t required to do a bunch of drill-and-kill problems. When they struggled with a concept, they simply re-read the chapter.

My daughter is currently using the Advanced Algebra text. When she was about mid-way through the text, she actually made the decision herself to begin it again. We had been doing a lot of traveling and she hadn’t been going through the lessons regularly. Repeating the textbook helped to clarify the concepts that were previously foggy for her or that she didn’t recall from earlier readings.

If you …

  • have finished the Life of Fred Pre-Algebra books
  • have used another algebra program
  • have used Saxon Math Algebra 1 and/or 2

… you are ready to start the first book in the high school series, Beginning Algebra.

Concepts covered: Division by Zero, Venn Diagrams, Cramer’s Rule, Inequalities, Imaginary Numbers, Variation, Laws of Exponents, Four-dimensional Geometry, Non-Euclidean Geometry, Sines, Cosines and Tangents, Conditional Trig Equations, Functions of Two Angles, and much more!

Titles in this series:  Zillions of Practice Problems: Beginning Algebra

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