This is a post by Maria Miller, author of the Math Mammoth curriculum. She describes in great detail what to look for in an algebra curriculum and why those features are needed.
In a nutshell, I recommend for most homeschooling parents to use a textbook along with some video instruction.
Why a textbook? Because it is good for students to learn to use a regular algebra textbook at this stage of their studies. It helps prepare them for any further studies (whether college or vocational) where they need to learn on their own, reading a textbook.
Also, good textbooks include not only basic exercises but also challenging ones. If you decide to go with some online algebra curriculum or video instruction, a regular textbook can act as a reference and as an additional problem "bank" for those challenging problems. You can also use it to check that your student is really getting instruction in all the typical algebra 1 topics.
Why videos? Because those replace the component that is present in regular classroom: the teacher explaining concepts and ideas. Learning algebra from a textbook alone might be too difficult for some students. If the parent cannot explain the math, videos will help bridge the gap. In today's world, there exist MANY free websites with algebra videos that can be used. And, some companies provide videos tailored to a specific textbook.
In this article, I first explain some basic options for algebra 1 in a homeschool setting. Then, three textbooks are described in more detail. The article also lists free algebra video websites, algebra online curricula, and gives a link to algebra tutorial website list.
For the rest of the post, go here:
Homeschool algebra 1 curriculum - recommendations for home schooling high school math
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