Algebra Survival Guide: A Conversational Handbook for the Thoroughly Befuddled - Softcover

Josh Rappaport

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0965911381 ISBN 13: 9780965911382

Publisher: Singing Turtle Press (US), 2000

Synopsis

It’s no secret that algebra gives students the ‘jitters,’ and word problems give them the ‘shakes.’ As a dastardly duo, the word problems of algebra are just about as nerve-wracking as anything in the teenage years. But now there’s a new book that rescues students from this combination of confusion:  the Algebra Survival Guide, Second Edition. Following on the success of the Algebra Survival Guide’s First Edition, written by longtime teacher/tutor Josh Rappaport, the Second Edition takes a hard look at algebra’s word problems and offers time-tested advice for cracking them. With a new 62-page chapter devoted to these word problems, the new edition tackles the ultimate math nightmares of the puberty years: problems involving rate, time and distance, work performed, and mixture formulas, among others. With twelve additional content chapters that explain fundamental and advanced areas of algebra, the 352-page Second Edition guides students to success in pre-algebra and Algebra I. The Guide features a unique question/answer format so students hear their own questions echoed in the text. The book’s answers, written in the voice of a friendly tutor, provide lucid explanation and answers, along with step-by-step instructions with explanations in English right next to the math steps. At the end of each one-page lesson, the book presents practice problems, giving students instant feedback on their grasp of the math. Additional chapter tests provide comprehensive checks for understanding. The new edition boasts an expanded glossary and index, and contains a navigation tool that helps students know exactly where they are in the program. In addition, the Guide is adorned with lively illustrations by award-winning artist Sally Blakemore. These cartoons not only provide well-deserved comic relief for math learners, they also offer a visual way to grasp algebra’s challenging abstractions. (Example:  to illustrate the Reflexive Property of a = a, the cartoon shows a sad ‘x’ variable looking in the mirror while experiencing a ‘bad hair day.’) With all of these features, the Second Edition Algebra Survival Guide is ideal for homeschoolers, tutors and students striving for algebra excellence.  The Second Edition also aligns with the current Common Core State Standards for Math, so it’s ideal for today’s teachers, as well. Its content chapters tackle the trickiest topics of algebra: Properties, Sets of Numbers, Order of Operations, Absolute Value, Exponents, Radicals, Factoring, Cancelling, Solving Equations, and the Coordinate Plane. Loaded with thorough explanations, practice problems and answers, the new Algebra Survival Guide gives students the boost they need in a style they'll enjoy to master the skills of algebra.

About this title

Synopsis

If you think algebra has to be boring, confusing and unrelated to anything in the real world, think again! Written in a humourous, conversational style, this book gently nudges students toward success in pre-algebra and Algebra I. With its engaging question/answer format and helpful practice problems, glossary and index, it is ideal for homeschoolers, tutors and students striving for classroom excellence. It features funky icons and lively cartoons by award-winning Santa Fe artist Sally Blakemore, an Emergency Fact Sheet tear-out poster, and even an 'Algebra Wilderness' board game guaranteed to help students steer clear of 'Negatvieland' - and have fun."The Algebra Survival Guide" is the winner of a Parents' Choice award, and it meets the Standards 2000 of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Its 12 content chapters tackle all the trickiest topics: Properties, Sets of Numbers, Order of Operations, Absolute Value, Exponents, Radicals, Factoring, Cancelling, Solving Equations, the Coordinate Plane and yes even those dreaded word problems.

The Guide is loaded with practice problems and answers, and its 288 pages give students the boost they need in a style they'll enjoy to master the skills of algebra.

About the Author

Josh Rappaport is the author of the Parents' Choice award-winning Algebra Survival Guide, the Algebra Survival Workbook and PreAlgebra Blastoff. Josh is co-author with Trudy Bortz of the Card Game Roundup books. Josh has taught middle school and high school, and for the last 25 years has been president of the Now I Get It! Learning Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he teaches and tutors children of all ages. Josh and his wife Kathy also coach students worldwide to success on the SAT and ACT college entrance exams.

Sally Blakemore, an award winning paper-engineer and book designer www.artyprojects.com, has illustrated for Esquire Magazine, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, Oppenheimer Funds; and books, for Singing Turtle Press, Perseus Press, Western National Parks Press, Gibbs Smith Books, North Carolina Press, Michigan Press, and Texas Press, to name a few. She lives in Santa Fe, NM.

Edition details

• Publisher: Singing Turtle Press (US)
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0965911381
• ISBN 13: 9780965911382
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 288