Self-paced course! Complete at your own schedule. Open and go design. 45-minute lessons. 62 lessons with discussions and activities. A discord community for questions outside of class. Engaging activities to explore the ideas with classmates. Quizzes and Tests for each unit. Optional practice assignments in both paper format and online. Using the interactive Desmos Middle School Curriculum. Covers learning standards from grade 8 and half of grade 7. Optional paper notes for each lesson summarizing key ideas. Common core algined. Students completing this course are ready for PreAlgebra. Each purchase licenses the curriculum for one student. Long-term access. Family discount available.
Math Dad and Science Mom smiling and standing back-to-back.

Pre-Algebra with Math Dad

Join Math Dad and Science Mom for a hands-on journey through prealgebra.

The course can be completed live or at your own pace. The live sessions run four days per week: Mon-Thu at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time (10:00 a.m. Pacific). Fridays will often have a quiz or review activity to be completed before the next class.

Each live class session runs for 40-45 minutes, Monday through Thursday, Jan 16 - May 12, 2023

The full course consists of 2 semesters that can be purchased individually or as a bundle.

Curriculum

We will be using the Desmos Middle School curriculum for our lessons. Each day will have interactive lessons. Some days we will have a paper-based lesson, but most days, the student will need a device to work on.

In semester 1, we covered four topics:

Unit 1: Rigid Transformations and Congruence

Unit 2: Scale Drawings, Dilations, and Similarity

Unit 3: Writing and Solving Equations and Inequalities

Unit 4: Linear Relationships and Systems of Equations


In this course, we will complete the end of Unit 4 as well as five smaller topics:

Unit 5: Functions

Unit 6: Associations in Data

Unit 7: Volume and Surface Area

Unit 8: Exponents and Scientific Notation

Unit 9: Pythagorean Theorem and Irrational Numbers

FAQ

Why is the full year math course broken up into two semester-long courses?

  • We want to include families that can't financially commit to a full year initially.
  • We want to provide a point of entry for families to join the class at the halfway point if that is best for their learning.

Should we start with semester 1?

Yes, you should start with semester 1 unless you have covered the first semester topics using another curriculum. The topics from semester 1 are a mix of common core standards from grades 7 and 8.

What if we need help outside of class?

Our class will have a moderated discord community where you can post and answer questions.

What platforms will we use?

Your child will need access to a web browser for the youtube video feed and a web browser for the activities. If you have a second device or a second monitor, then they won't have to switch back and forth between the lesson video and the activity.

A tiny screen could make it challenging to interact with some Desmos activities. A touch tablet could work, though the interactions will go more smoothly with a keyboard.

What if we have multiple children who want to take the course? Does this registration allow them all to participate?

No, not really. We don't have a problem with multiple people sharing an activity screen and working through the challenges together. However, the student who is completing the work will be the one who learns the most. We will be paying for student licenses from the curriculum creators (Desmos) so each student will have to get their own license for the activities. You can contact us about getting a second or third license if you have additional children who want to participate.

What is the expectation of parents?

Ask your child to teach you the topic of the day and to show you their work. They'll be completing some pretty cool tasks, so this is your chance to cheer them on.

How much homework will there be?

Most lessons will have practice problems to complete (less than 30 minutes on average). If you feel like your child doesn't need the additional practice, then you can be the hero parent who tells them they can skip the problems.

There is no class session on Fridays, but there will often be assignments to be completed on Friday or over the weekend, such as review work or possibly an exam.

What is the next course?

This course covers all the 8th-grade common core standards as well as some 7th-grade standards across both semesters 1 and 2.

After completing both semesters of Pre-Algebra, a student is ready for Algebra 1.

Can I pay for the entire year at once?

Yes. Purchase the Pre-Algebra Bundle to buy the curriculum for the entire year.


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