That's when they learn many fundamental concepts they will need to succeed in all higher levels of math – the building blocks of their math education.
This is where your child dives deep into functions, quadratics, equations and many other key math concepts.
But most fundamentals doesn't mean easiest...
Algebra 1 is considered the most challenging by many students This class is considered the most challenging of all school math, by a lot of students.
“How is that possible?” you might ask “If it's the first one - shouldn't it be the easiest?” The reason is because Algebra 1 is the first class when your child encounters a lot of abstract mathematical concepts.
In later classes, they will be expanding on the topics and building upon this fundamental understanding. But in Algebra 1 class, they are establishing the fundamental understanding. Taking their first steps – that's what makes it challenging.
Algebra 1 concepts are key to your child's math success.
Basically all of math beyond Algebra 1 is based on functions. The most common ones being quadratic functions, used in many concepts such as rational functions, describing movement, rational equations, polynomials, and even angles and polygons! Algebra 1 concepts are used at the end and throughout every single math problem your child will ever do!
That's a great news, your child is learning the concepts they will use for the rest of their math education (and STEM in general).
But on the other side of the coin – there is the biggest problem we see in education in general:
This is the class where many children fall behind and start really struggling. Many children never develop deep (or any) understanding of the fundamentals, and begin slowing down, struggling through and getting frustrated with most problems, and math in general as the lack of their fundamental skills holds them back for months and years.
This is where your child dives deep into functions, quadratics, equations and many other key math concepts.
But most fundamentals doesn't mean easiest...
Algebra 1 is considered the most challenging by many students This class is considered the most challenging of all school math, by a lot of students.
“How is that possible?” you might ask “If it's the first one - shouldn't it be the easiest?” The reason is because Algebra 1 is the first class when your child encounters a lot of abstract mathematical concepts.
In later classes, they will be expanding on the topics and building upon this fundamental understanding. But in Algebra 1 class, they are establishing the fundamental understanding. Taking their first steps – that's what makes it challenging.
Algebra 1 concepts are key to your child's math success.
Basically all of math beyond Algebra 1 is based on functions. The most common ones being quadratic functions, used in many concepts such as rational functions, describing movement, rational equations, polynomials, and even angles and polygons! Algebra 1 concepts are used at the end and throughout every single math problem your child will ever do!
That's a great news, your child is learning the concepts they will use for the rest of their math education (and STEM in general).
But on the other side of the coin – there is the biggest problem we see in education in general:
This is the class where many children fall behind and start really struggling. Many children never develop deep (or any) understanding of the fundamentals, and begin slowing down, struggling through and getting frustrated with most problems, and math in general as the lack of their fundamental skills holds them back for months and years.
Common Challenges To Look Out For
Algebra 1 is the class where a lot of teachers assume that foundational = easy, and don't sufficiently explain the topics, don't give children adequate amount of practice, or don't help children understand the context of math. We have heard too many stories of teachers simply giving out homework and telling children to read the book or “figure it out” (yes, unfortunately, this is a real-life example) As a result, children fall behind, lose confidence and struggle through future math classes without solid foundations.Foundational doesn't mean easy! Foundations are hard – just like the first time driving a car is hard. Most of us can drive a car effortlessly. But the first time on the road was NOT effortless, was it?
Algebra 1 is like that. It's not easy.
It's very important to identify the weaknesses early on to speed up your child's progress and help them study more effectively. Algebra 1 has many concepts, and your child needs to focus their attention on the ones most challenging for them.
Put your child in the best position to succeed
Set your child up for years of thriving, not years of strugglingMost students who struggle in math, suffer to a high degree because of their lack of understanding of the concepts they needed to master in Algebra 1.
Algebra 1 is a great opportunity for your child to establish unshakeable confidence and solid foundations for the future success in math. It is your opportunity to ensure your child continues to thrive in their future math classes.
Algebra 1 “investment” compounds.
When it comes to this level, the mastery of the concepts your child gains now will pay off for years to come. As the concepts they are covering in this class, like linear equations, functions and exponents will be used in every single math problem they will ever do, from Geometry to Calculus BC, taking the time to truly understand, solidify and become fluent in these topics will absolutely set your child up for higher confidence, speed, independence and more.
Develop problem solving skills through Algebra 1
Because of that versatility, your child needs to understand how and why the Algebra 1 concepts are used. And be confident in using these concepts in many ways. Your child needs to think critically to recognize which concepts apply in different scenarios and how to identify the right tools to solve problems. The lack of these problem solving skills is the reason why many children struggle with math!
Develop analytical thinking skills through word problems
So many students never develop good word problems solving skills!
The beginnings of that are often rooted in Algebra 1. Children learn to apply the operations indicated by the chapter.
In the linear equations chapter, they would apply linear equations.
In quadratics chapter, they apply quadratics.
All of that, without thinking critically about what the problem is really asking or why it needs to be solved in that specific way.
Children are often not taught to think about “why” behind what they do in math.
As a result, when the wording is different, or the problem mixes a few different concepts, children get lost, frustrated and often give up.