Elementary Algebra

This book, together with the teachers' guide is a great resource for teaching algebra to middle- and high-school students who struggle with math. I found several good ideas in this book and highly recommend it.

This is an excellent book to use for tutoring middle school students learning beginning algebra. The book is well written and is easy for the student to read on their own. There are large numbers of problems for each topic and if they are solved they provide a great opportunity to insure that the material has been properly understood by the reader. It would have been better if solutions for all the problems were provided for those students trying to learn the material on their own.

I homeschool my kids. My teenage son has Asperger's. He is brilliant at math, but has been terribly frustrated by Saxon. Saxon Math is good for kids who can learn the new concept of the day, as well as handle a large dose of daily review. For my son, who has limited working memory, it had been nothing but frustration.

Enter Jacobs' Elementary Algebra. Jacobs gently teaches each new concept, and it's done conversationally. He gives clear examples. His exercises relate perfectly to the lesson. He offers some algebra review with each lesson, but it is just enough to keep skills fresh - no overkill.

My son is proud that he is succeeding in algebra. I never thought it would be possible! I am SO grateful for this curriculum. I recommend Jacobs' geometry text as well. I tutor another Asperger's teen who has always hated math, and he is doing great with geometry. His parents think it's the tutor (!) but I know the success is coming from this exellent text.

We are homeschooling a bright word oriented student. Some of the other math texts available use rote repetition to bring home the concepts. Using them, our student was ready to quit math all together.

Harold Jacobs explains how things work and why they work, and thereby reduces the boredom of endless repetition. The questions are interesting and get you to think and use problem solving skills rather than just memorize a formula. It was a boon to us and made Algebra tolerable and sometimes fun. It also brought in straight A's.