Course description: we will cover the concepts of arithmetic in each sequence with stress on practical application, deriving concepts, as much as possible, from real-life examples, and reasoning things out. We will make sure students know how and why something is true. This is critical for higher mathematics, science, finance, accounting, household calculations, and more. We will cover addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and more, as appropriate for the age group.
Although I can work from any text book here are two that I recommend:
1. Ray’s Arithmetic by Joseph Ray, available online through various sources such as Amazon.com, Mott Media, or free on sites such as Google Books
Course description: we will cover the concepts of algebra with stress on how we know things and on practical application, which are the more important things to get out of algebra. Learning derivations and explanations of algebraic concepts teaches us how to reason and gives us confidence in our ability to understand; not learning the derivations and explanations short-circuits the mind, keeps students from developing the ability to think critically, intelligently, and imaginatively, and stifles their self-confidence. We will cover the real numbers, algebraic expressions, linear equations in one and two variables, systems of equations, inequalities, polynomials, functions, exponents, powers, roots, quadratic equations, rational expressions/equations, radical expressions/equations, and graphing. Time permitting, maybe also other topics like the conic sections, exponential functions, logarithmic functions, probability and statistics.
Possible texts:
1. Introductory Algebra By Keedy & Bittinger, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, (c) Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc.
2. Elementary Algebra by Larson & Hostetler, Houghton Mifflin Company, (c) Houghton Mifflin Company
3. Algebra: Structure and Method by Dolciani, Brown, Ebos & Cole, Houghton Mifflin Company, (c) Houghton Mifflin Company
Course description: We will cover the concepts of algebra with stress on how we know things and on practical application, which are the more important things to get out of algebra. Learning derivations and explanations of algebraic concepts teaches us how to reason and gives us confidence in our ability to understand; not learning the derivations and explanations short-circuits the mind, keeps students from developing the ability to think critically, intelligently, and imaginatively, and stifles their self-confidence. We will cover the real numbers, linear equations, systems of equations, matrices, inequalities, polynomials, functions, rational expressions/equations/functions, exponents, powers, roots, quadratic equations, complex numbers, graphing, the conic sections, exponential functions and logarithmic functions. Time permitting, maybe also other topics like sequences, series, and probability and statistics.
Possible texts:
1. Intermediate Algebra By Keedy & Bittinger, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, (c) Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc.
2. Algebra 2 by Hall & Fabricant, Prentice Hill publishers, (c) Prentice-Hall, Inc.
3. Intermediate Algebra by Cynthia Young, John Wiley & Sons publishers, (c) John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
4. Intermediate Algebra by Larson & Hostetler, Houghton Mifflin Company, (c) Houghton Mifflin Company.
Course description: we will cover the concepts of geometry with stress on how we know things, on proof, and on practical application, which are the more important things to get out of geometry (more important than just memorizing formulas or doing algebra). They teach us how to reason, which is something we can and should take with us in all areas of life. Formulas we can look up in books or on our computers. Of course, we cannot learn the “how” or learn proof without knowing any content. We will cover all the elements of classic geometry: triangles, parallel and perpendicular lines, polygons, area, perimeter, circles, arcs, proportion, similarity, trigonometry, axioms, constructions.
Possible texts and workbooks:
1. Geometry by Jurgensen, Jurgensen & Brownm, McDougall Littel publishers, (c) Houghton Mifflin Company
2. Geometry for Enjoyment and Challenge by Rhoad, Milauskas, and Whipple, McDougall Littel puslishers, (c) McDougall, Little & Company
3. Polygons by Steck-Vaughn School Supply (Harcourt Publishers), ISBN 0-7398-2931-9
4. Solids by Steck-Vaughn School Supply (Harcourt Publishers), ISBN 0-7398-2932-7
5. How To Succeed in Geometry by Teacher Created Resources, ISBN 978-1-57690-958-4
6. Measurement & Geometry by Steck-Vaughn School Supply (Harcourt Publishers), ISBN 1-4190-0437-9
Course description: we will consider precalculus for what it is: a development of algebra and geometry, and we will learn derivations and explanations of concepts to teach students how to reason and to give them confidence in their ability to understand. Not learning the derivations and explanations short-circuits the mind, keeps students from developing the ability to think critically, intelligently, and imaginatively, and stifles their self-confidence. The course will include functions, graphing, trigonometric functions, applications of trigonometry, trigonometric identities, trigonometric equations, polynomial functions, inequalities, exponential functions, logarithmic functions, polar coordinates, conic sections, matrices, sequences, and series. Time permitting, maybe also other topics like probability, statistics, three-dimensional vectors, matrix transformations, and limits.
Possible texts:
1. Precalculus by Foerster, Key Curriculum Press, (c) Key Curriculum Press
2. Precalculus Mathematics by Demana, Waits, & Clemens, Addison-Wesley publishers, (c) Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc.
3. Advanced Mathematics: A Precalculus Approach by Ryan, Doubet, Fabricant & Rockhill, Prentice Hall publishers, (c) Prentice-Hall, Inc.
4. Trigonometry by Smith & Hanson, Word Book Company Publishers, (c) World Book Company
5. Trigonometry Refresher by Klaf, Dover Publications, (c) A. Albert Klaf
Course description: we will develop calculus from its geometric and physical bases. Calculus is a very practical subject — it was developed to solve problems in physics and astronomy — and should be taught accordingly. This can be taught as a one or two year course, depending on the depth and course content one wants to cover. The course will include (depending on scope and content needed) limits, continuity, derivatives, integrals, exponential and logarithmic functions, transcendental functions, techniques of integration, indeterminate forms, improper integrals, infinite series, analytic geometry, plane curves, polar coordinates, vectors, solid geometry, vector-valued functions, partial derivatives, multiple integrals, vector calculus, differential equations.
Possible texts:
1. Calculus by Swokowski, Prindle, Weber & Schmidt publishers, (c) PWS Publishers
2. Caculus by Larson, Hostetler, & Edwards, D. C. Heath and Company, (c) D. C. Heath and Company
Course description: we will start from the inductive basis of statistics and work our way into statistics proper. Satistics is based in induction and categorization, and hence we should start there. We will cover statistical measures of data, statistical description of data, probability, graphing, distributions of random variables, discrete and continuous probability distributions, the normal distribution, sampling theory, experiments, estimation of parameters, confidence intervals, tests of hypotheses, regression and correlation. Time permitting, maybe also other topics like analysis of variance, chi-square tests, and nonparametric statistics.
Possible texts:
1. Elementary Statistical Concepts by Walpole, Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., (c) Ronald E. Walpole
2. Introduction to Statistics by Walpole, Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., (c) Ronald E. Walpole
3. Intro Stats by DeVeaux and Velleman, Addison-Wesley publishers, (c) Pearson Education, Inc.
4. The Practice of Statistics by Yates, Moore, & McCabe, W. H. Freeman and Company publishers, (c) W. H. Freeman and Company