Review - AIMS Area Formulas for Parallelograms, Triangles, & Trapezoids

Aims – Area Formulas for Parallelograms, Triangles, & Trapezoids

Grades:  6^th to 8^th

Cost:  $9.95
Web site: http://store.aimsedu.org/aims_store/essential-math/

There is A LOT going on in this book.  When I first opened it and started thinking about using it with my boys, I was a little overwhelmed.  They have packed all the learning strategies into each lesson.

The book comes with a CD that allows you to show animations for each lesson, print out PDF’s and go through the included comics frame by frame.  What is particularly appealing about the CD is the fact that all the content is printable allowing the text to be used for multiple students rather than being written in and used only once.  As homeschoolers that want to use a text for each of our children, this is a great benefit!  The structure is intended for a classroom rather than a homeschool, but the format works for both.  A co-op would really benefit from this structure as well.

Each lesson has the following components:

·         Investigations – hand’s on exploration of the topic.  In this case, shapes like parallelograms are placed on geoboards or cut up so that the student can understand that they can be dissected into simpler shapes in order to use simple formulas to calculate area.

• Comics – Each comic discusses the lesson in an engaging and fun way that is appealing to students.  There are frame by frame videos of the comics that can be used so that the student focuses on one step at a time.

• Animation and Video – I found the high quality of the animations and videos to be really impressive.  A lot of work went into making the animations and videos clear and engaging.  This was one of our favorite features of the text.

• Problem Solving – Students are given worksheets that provide an opportunity to practice what they have learned and demonstrate their knowledge.  Each worksheet is challenging and thorough.  I found them to be an excellent way to reevaluate if my student really understood the concept or not.

• Assessments – I’m a believer in assessments.  I think as homeschoolers we need to “test” our students to ensure they are understanding the material and to expose them to the concept of testing.  The assessments provided help the student in both of these areas

As I stated initially, there is a LOT going on in this short textbook.  I’m very impressed with the quality of the materials and videos, especially so since this book costs less than $10.  This particular book contains fifteen days or three weeks worth of lessons.  To preview the Table of Contents and the first pages of the text, click here.   I feel that the depth of coverage of the subject matter along with the multiple intelligences approach to learning makes this an excellent investment.

To see additional reviews of this text by members of the TOS Homeschool Crew, click here.

*** I received this text free of charge as a member of the TOS Homeschool Crew in exchange for my honest review.