Prealgebra

Curriculum details

About

With this book, the Art of Problem Solving curriculum transitions from the illustrated comic / storybook format of the elementary grades to a more traditional textbook without illustrations.

This textbook covers the material in much greater depth than a traditional middle-school course, and includes many challenging problems. For this reason, we recommend that you take things as slowly as the student needs and err on the side of completing a small number of problems with full understanding and without overwhelming the student. Aim to spend between thirty minutes and an hour per day, four or five days a week on this book.

Start each new section by watching the free videos for the relevant section at artofproblemsolving.com/videos/prealgebra. Then, go over the example problems together with your child. Finally, work through the problems at the end of the section in the textbook (there is no workbook). It will normally take around two days to complete one section.

Be aware that the textbook includes problems of a wide range of difficulty, and the majority of students (and parents!) are not expected to solve the most challenging ones without help. Use the solutions manual to work through any missed problems together. You may opt to skip the "Challenge" sections and complete only the regular problems if desired.

You may start this book in either sixth or seventh grade, depending on when you have completed the precursor Beast Academy series. Take the time to work through it at the student's own pace. The next book, Introduction to Algebra (Algebra 1), may be started in seventh to ninth grade.

For students who would like to go more in depth or prefer a live class format, Art of Problem Solving also offers challenging, instructor-led online classes at artofproblemsolving.com/school.