BJU Press’s Pre-Algebra course is slightly more advanced than Saxon’s Algebra 1/2 and significantly more than Teaching Textbooks. The second edition is quite different from the first edition—completely rewritten. Christian worldview and Scripture connections begin each unit and are interspersed throughout the chapters. A “Math & Scripture” page within each unit makes a connection to math but serves even more as Bible study. Aside from the Christian elements, the course takes a standard approach with lesson presentation, examples, then exercises that usually include word problems and practical applications. Cumulative review concludes each set of exercises. It does not spend a lot of time at the beginning of the course reviewing concepts students should have learned previously, in contrast to most other Pre-Algebra courses. It moves quickly into absolute value, exponents, order of operations and scientific notation in the first unit. Subsequent chapters teach algebraic expressions, solving equations, solving inequalities, factoring, operations in bases, ratios and proportions, rational and irrational numbers, consumer math topics (e.g., discounts and markups), the coordinate plane, statistics and probability, exponents and radicals, beginning geometry (including volume of pyramids, cones, and spheres), and polynomials. Some topics covered in this text are not covered in other math series until high school.
Along with the text, you might want to also use the optional, companion Student Activities book. It has additional problems for each lesson, often in different formats, so it is not duplicative of the textbook. This is also where you find chapter reviews and cumulative reviews. A separate Tests book and Tests Answer Key are available, so you are not dependent upon the Student Activities book for tests.
The Teacher’s Edition has reproduced student pages with answers overwritten plus teaching suggestions, extra problems, complete solutions for exercise problems, and suggestions for addressing the needs of students at three different ability levels. A CD has visual aids more likely to be useful in classroom situations plus a math review game.
The homeschool kit includes the student text, teacher’s edition, tests, and tests answer key. If you want the Student Activities book and the companion Teacher’s Edition you will need to order those separately from the homeschool kit.
Although this text was designed for classroom use, explanations are clear enough that I think most students should be able to work independently through most lessons.
