Homeschool Review Crew Critical Thinking Understanding Pre-Algebra

I was thrilled to get a chance to review Understanding Pre-Algebra from The Critical Thinking Co.™.

Other members of the Homeschool Review Crew got to review some of their other books, so please be sure to click on the banner at the bottom of the review to read what they had to say about these additional books:

Critical Thinking Detective Book 1 

Something Fishy at Lake Iwannafisha 

Critical Thinking Detective: Vocabulary 

Dare to Compare Level 1 

Vocabulary Riddles Book 1 

Who is The Critical Thinking Co. ™ and what is Understanding Pre-Algebra?

for my readers:


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The company has actually been around since 1958 in one form or another, changing its name to represent the main mission of critical thinking in the mid 1970s. The idea behind all of their products is to implement critical thinking into students' learning. In other words, their aim is to help teach students how to think not what to think. One of the results of helping children learn to think for themselves is typically higher test scores and better grades, not to mention that they tend to retain the information longer than simply memorizing answers to what will be on the next test.

Enter the Understanding Pre-Algebra book I received for this review - I received a nice thick paperback workbook style 442-page book that contains 367 pages of instruction examples and workbook questions, reviews, a final exam, and an answer key. This is a complete math curriculum that is intended to span a full school year when you use approximately two pages a day during a five-day school week.

Understanding Pre-Algebra is authored by Terri Husted and teaches math concepts alongside critical thinking skills that will be needed in Algebra and higher level math later on. The idea behind the book is that a student won't be able to problem solve or reason as is required in learning Algebra, until they first understand the concepts that lead up to these discoveries. Once they have this ability to understand the concepts, they gain confidence and the fear of math dissipates. This is what we will be putting to the test with my math-fearing/terrified child... Who also happens to be one of my most logical children. The book is set up to present the math standards needed in Pre-Algebra learning but does so in a logical manner and emphasizes practice along with critical thinking. What it steers clear of is teaching new concepts before the student is ready. Instead, this book presents new concepts clearly and logically and in connection with other concepts. It also includes a nice index of vocabulary that is used and needed in math. The book presents:

• Family of Numbers
• Working With Integers
• Working With Rational Numbers
• Ratio, Portion, and Percent
• Percent Applications
• Algebraic Expressions
• Equations and Solving Word Problems
• Inequalities and Applications
• Understanding Square Roots and Irrational Numbers
• Two Dimensional Geometry
• Understanding Volume and Surface Area
• Graphing on the Coordinate Plane
• Transformations and Congruency
• Understanding Functions
• Probability and Statistics

There are 15 chapters, and each one ends with a review. At the end of all of the chapters, there is a final exam followed by a glossary of terms, a square root reference chart and an answer key (thank God! I love answer keys, because not only does it verify whether or not my student has done it right, but it also makes it so I don't have to figure all of the math problems myself.)

How Did We Use It?

I was very excited to be asked to review this because I have used other products from this company and love what I have discovered. I couldn't wait to get to experience a pre-Algebra book for my math-fearing child who is going into the 7th grade this coming fall so will soon be tackling a full year of pre-Algebra. I was happy to get her a headstart in jumping into the skills she will need to complete higher level math.

What Did We Think?

Benefits of Understanding Pre-Algebra

First of all, we love this company and the way they present all of their curriculum and curriculum supplements that they offer, so I was just as excited, and probably a bit more excited, to check out their pre-Algebra book.

Second, my kids absolutely thrive on pencil to paper workbook style books, so this is right up their alley. It provides the student with plenty of examples whenever a new concept is introduced before presenting the workbook questions. We haven't gotten this far yet, but I'm also happy about how it includes a final exam.

Third, I think this book is amazing and will serve my daughter's needs well as we continue delving into the rest of the book... (If you only knew her terror when it comes to math, you would understand how huge this final point is for us!)

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Read what other members of the Homeschool Review Crew thought by clicking on the picture below:

TOS Review - UnLock Math Pre-Algebra

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I was thrilled to get a chance to review the UnLock Pre-Algebra online learning from UnLock Math.

What is UnLock Math?

UnLock Math is an online math curriculum program. Basically, the student "unlocks" segments of a 5-step process within every lesson. He or she follows the path to the next segment until each lesson and each section of lessons are complete. The lesson steps include:

Warm Up - These are sort of like speed drills but aren't timed. They generate math questions, like adding and subtracting 1-3 digit numbers. There are about 10 questions to complete each time you unlock the Warm Ups.

Video Lesson - These lessons are short, seemed to be about 10 minutes or less per lesson. Sometimes there are fun parodies but are mostly a female instructor, Alesia Blackwood, explaining the new skill to be learned.

Practice Problems - After viewing the lesson, this section presents problems related to the newly learned concept or skill.

Stay Sharp - Similar to the Warm Ups, the student answers about 10 math questions.

Challenge Yourself - This one contains one challenge question that is sometimes in the form of a word problem and is, as the name implies, a bit more challenging than the other problems in the lesson.

Finally, there is a tab that includes the Reference Notes from the lesson that can be printed for review and reference, as it is in a PDF format.

I received access for one year to this online program which included a parent log on and a student log on. Within the parent log on, I was able to assign the Pre-Algebra course to my child and view progress reports, which are also view-able to the student on the Student Dashboard. I could also print the reports for record keeping.

How Did We Use It?

I was asked to use this online math instruction curriculum at least 3 days a week. Since the lessons were directed specifically to a student learning Pre-Algebra, I knew which child would benefit most. I sat down my 13-year-old, who actually should be getting ready to take Pre-Algebra, but instead, just completed a year of this level of math and is ready to take High School Algebra in the fall. So, in theory all of this Pre-Algebra learning should have been review for her. Though, there was some information that even I learned because the teacher on the videos really makes the facts memorable.

What Did We Think?

The way this program is designed is very logical. The student takes part in small segments of learning within each lesson, which I found to be wonderful, because it presents just enough information in one setting to learn a new Pre-Algebra concept but not too much as to overwhelm. As the name of the product suggests, it is as if the student is unlocking each new segment, like a challenge, which I really like. I also appreciated that it allows for printing the Reference Notes. This is a big plus in my book since the child chosen for the review is huge on workbook text style of learning. I really like the way each lesson is presented, almost like a video game with levels to conquer, of course, in a learning style rather than a gaming format. The underlying concept is there, encouraging the student to accomplish each step within each lesson toward success.

Find UnLock Math on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, and Instagram.

Read what other members of the TOS Review Crew thought by clicking on the picture below: