Teaching Textbooks
Finally! A math program designed from the ground up for homeschoolers...
Teaching Textbooks is so strong that, for 7th grade and up, we have decided to forego listing any other program (where they compete) in our print catalog.
Why? Because you are virtually guaranteed success with minimal knowledge, skill or oversight
on the part of mom or dad.
Each Teaching Textbooks course (Pre-Algebra and up) offers:
- A remarkably clear, non-consumable 8 1/2" x 11" spiral-bound textbook (complete with all necessary instruction, plus practice problems and "homework" exercises);
- 8 1/2" x 11" perfect-bound collection of reproducible chapter tests and a "final-answer-only" answer key (for all textbook practice and exercise problems plus chapter tests);
- CD-ROM based "whiteboard" lectures and step-by-step explanation of how to solve every practice problem—taught by a tutor who has been teaching homeschoolers for years, since the days he tutored probability and statistics at Harvard, and...
- CD-ROM based "whiteboard" solutions guide that works every step in every homework
problem, so you see exactly how to solve each problem... and why you want to use the methods your instructor (or, more accurately, personal tutor) uses.
All programs come with a 30-Day "No Questions Asked" Guarantee.
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Due to restrictions by the publisher, Teaching Textbooks materials do not qualify
for any discounts.
Strengths
- Having been developed from the ground up for
homeschoolers, and as a result of the authors'
years of experience teaching homeschoolers...
- Teaching Textbooks include far more and
far more effective explanations than any
other programs on the market (bar none).
[No other program on the market provides
even half the explanation that Teaching
Textbooks do. Even DIVE CDs provide
explanations for only some of their practice
problems, not full explanations to all
the homework problems.]
- The text and CD tutorials are presented in
an exceptionally friendly, conversational
style that is sensitive to the concerns of
conservative homeschoolers.
- The authors include the kind of friendly,
light humor that homeschooled students
(and parents!) appreciate. Makes the
program more enjoyable and "invites
you in."
- Teaching Textbooks ensure that all students
who have any capacity to learn will succeed,
because the programs...
- Explain every principle and problem beginning
from its rudimentary foundations
to its ultimate conclusion.
- Work on a multi-sensory base: You'll follow the "spiral" or "review" method
in which problems associated with principles
taught in one lesson show up many
times over in future lessons. You don't
"learn it and forget it." You're encouraged
to gain long-term mastery.
- They appeal to all types of students, advanced
as well as struggling.
- The print textbooks teach each lesson clearly
and succinctly. If you "get" it, you move on.
But if anything is unclear, or if you think
you might like some dynamic visuals and
auditory input to help you understand better:
slide in the CD, watch and listen. And
no one will think the worse of you if you
replay a portion of a lecture or study a
problem solution several times over.
- The CD lectures cover the exact same lesson
content as taught in the textbooks, plus they
provide detailed solutions to all practice problems.
That means students who strongly prefer
written text can skip the audio-visual recorded
lectures if they understand the concepts from
the written text alone, but "the rest of us" can
get as much help as we need, as well.
- Unlike any classroom teacher I have ever seen,
the CD lecturer demonstrates, in writing, exactly
what he is doing in entirety. Thus, for
example, when first explaining how to solve an
equation in which there are x's on both sides:
2x +10=1.5x+15
He doesn't merely "explain" that he will
subtract (or is subtracting) 10 from both sides
of the equation. No. He shows exactly what he
is doing as he does it:
"We have to subtract the same value from
both sides of the equation. Therefore . . .
2x +10-10=1.5x+15-10
"Ten minus ten is zero. Therefore . . ."
2x=1.5x+15-10
"And fifteen minus ten is five. Therefore . . ."
2x=1.5x+5
And he does this for all new problem types.
He writes everything out completely, explaining
along the way. And he doesn't do this
just once, but he does it numerous times . . .
before he begins to show "shortcuts" and
"easier ways."
(The textbook includes all the same problems,
but does not go into as much of the rudimentary
detail each time.)
Beyond the fact that the lecturer's explanations
are unusually thorough,
- The dynamic visual and auditory presentation
permits you to both see and hear all instructions
plus observe changes to equations as they are being made, thus appealing to visual and auditory learners. Moreover,
- I found it fascinating how minor side-comments
the lecturer gave added depth of understanding.
- Just one simple example: When working
with the equation 7x +15=8x+14, he
said, "Since 8 is bigger than 7, if I move
the 7x to the right, it will become negative,
and if I combine the x's, I'll have a
positive x [8x-7x=1x] instead of a negative
x [7x-8x=-1x]. That's one of the good
ways to figure out which side you want to
move an x to: figure out which side will
make the x positive. If you don't like to
work with negative numbers, that makes
it a little easier."
- With its nifty Macromedia interface, the program
is set up for fast, easy, and flawless use.
- Instead of "Fast Forward" and "Rewind" buttons,
the lectures come with a slider bar control
so you can get to absolutely any point in
a lecture in a matter of seconds. [Totally different
from competitive programs' DVD-based
lectures designed to be shown on your TV
screen.]
- Because the lectures are produced in "whiteboard"
form, where you see every step of the
problem; and because the lecturer presents
every highlighted phrase from the printed
text itself onscreen; as you drag the slider
bar through the lecture, you can immediately
identify at what point in the lecture you want
to break in. None of that frustration you experience
with competitive programs where you
have to fast-forward and rewind and, based on
a slightly unique gesture the lecturer may have
made, hope to guess where in the lecture you
want to begin playing again.
- Unlike one of the longtime favorite homeschool
programs that is touted for helping students
get good scores on standardized tests,
not only can you be sure Teaching Textbooks
will give you the good scores, but it will actually
teach you to think mathematically, to pursue
strategic solutions to difficult, multi-faceted
problems, the kinds of practical problems you
bump into in everyday life.
- The thorough animated "whiteboard" explanations
for every problem means students have
the opportunity to get a better education than
they could receive in any other way:
- With its slider-bar controller, you can fast-forward
the explanation to the exact spot where
you got stumped, then listen to the explanation.
- You can back up (of course) and play it again.
- You always have your (CD) "tutor" available at
the exact time and place when you most need
him, when you've tried your hand at a problem
and failed, i.e., when you're frustrated and
most ready to learn.
- Teaching Textbooks is unique among the math
curricula you're going to find because of its
practical, application-oriented teaching concerning
the kinds of problems business people,
scientists, and regular citizens face every day.
Put another way, this program is filled with
practical "word" or "story" problems.
Weaknesses
- The programs have no glossaries or indexes
and no search function to locate whatever subjects
you may want to find.
Beyond that one glaring deficiency, there are
only two additional potentially negative observations
I'd want to make.
- If your children are absolute whizzes at math,
they may find some portions of the lectures
move "too slowly" and spend "too much time"
in the basics. For these kids, of course, there is
a simple "solution": "fast forward" through the
"extraneous" material (but just be sure it really
is extraneous! Don't let them think so highly of
themselves that they skip sections from which
they would really benefit). "But what if they always understand everything
upon first written presentation and really don't want to listen to a whiteboard presentation?"
We strongly urge you to buy the entire program anyway. Even your whiz kid will benefit from the thorough, step-by-step explanations of the solutions to each chapter's sample problems
(available only with the lectures) and at
least the occasional step-by-step solution to
various "homework" problems. Think of the
CDs as your inexpensive tutorial backup. You
won't have to worry that your son or daughter
will demand something of you for which you
will be unprepared. Don't hesitate: pay the money and get the complete
program. You will not be sorry!
Minimum System Requirements
PC:
- A CPU of 133 MHz or faster
- Windows 98 or later
- 4x CD-ROM drive
- Speakers
Mac:
- CPU of 211 MHz or faster
- OS 9.0 or later
- 4x CD-ROM drive
- Speakers