Concepts and Skills Math Curriculum for Grades 8-12

When your students absolutely must pass! The Concepts and Skills program is committed to meeting the needs of all learning levels by providing an accessible approach that helps prepare students for success in the algebras and geometry. Built-in learning support helps students master fundamental concepts one at a time. The texts include visual learning strategies, easy-to-follow examples, and help notes for homework, vocabulary, and problem solving.

Teachers can count on flexibility and manageable pacing. A variety of teaching tools and the differentiated presentation of material help meet the needs of a variety of learners. Teaching notes and management tips are included in the teacher’s material.

Numerous exercises reinforce concepts and ensure that your students are ready for assessment success. Practice problem gradually increase in difficulty. Guided practice targets specific skills. Teacher and student editions and resources are available in print, online and mobile, providing the kind of anytime/anywhere access to resources that today’s teaching environment demands and today’s students deserve. No other math program empowers students to develop the core skills they need for graduation like Concepts and Skills Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2.

Why?

Features

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Why?
Builds a Solid Foundation in the Fundamentals of the Algebras and Geometry

Each course focuses the most critical content for that course. Built-in learning support helps students master concepts one at a time. The texts include visual learning strategies, easy-to-follow examples, scaffolded exercises and help notes for homework, vocabulary, and relevant problem solving. This series also enables sensible pacing for students The Concepts and Skills series is organized with a manageable number of chapters . Chapters include a manageable number of lessons . Lessons include carefully paced examples, with concepts delivered in smaller chunks. Scaffolded practice of skills and problem solving gradually increases in complexity. The clean, predictable design sets up students for success!

Features an Accessible Approach to Instructional Design

The Pupil’s Editions provide lessons that focus on a single goal and integrates Concept Activities and Technology Activities to help students develop understanding of important content. Lessons are developed through a variety of examples that model thorough explanation of concepts and procedures. Additionally, interesting applications help students understand the importance of geometry in their world. The Activity Generator includes editable investigations for every lesson. The On Core resources provide additional Common Core Standards based investigations. It also includes a strong student help strand. The Concepts and Skills series provides support for prerequisite skills. Each Chapter Study Guide includes a diagnostic test and relates lessons in the Basic Skills Handbook. The @HomeTutors include full lessons and practice for prerequisite skills. There is also strong support for students throughout lessons. Helpful margin notes include Study Tips and Reading and Vocabulary Tips. Checkpoint Exercises follow examples and provide formative assessment through the lessons. Exercise sets are correlated to examples making for easy reference. The texts also include ongoing skill maintenance with integrated algebra and arithmetic review. Brain Games, Puzzlers, and You Be the Judge questions help students earn math in fun and motivating ways.

Focuses on Mastery with Abundant Practice

Numerous exercises reinforce concepts and ensure that your students are ready for assessment success. Practice problems gradually increase in difficulty. Guided Practice focuses on vocabulary, concepts, and skills. The Practice and Applications sections include skill work and problem solving. A strong Visualize It! strand flows through each lesson in Geometry. Standardized Test Preparation, Challenge exercises, and Mixed Review is included in every lesson. Additional practice is available in the Chapter Resources, on the @HomeTutors, and through the On Core Deluxe 6–12 ExamView^® Test Generator.

Provides Flexibility for Teachers

A variety of teaching tools and the differentiated presentation of material help meet the needs of struggling learners. Teaching notes and management tips are included in the teacher’s material. The Teacher’s Edition includes student edition pages with overprinted answers. Chapter Planning Pages provide Math Background Notes, Universal Access teaching strategies, and Planning, Pacing, and Assignment support. Lesson side column notes include Warm-Up Exercises, Essential Questions, Key Questions to Ask for Examples, Leveled Assignment Guides, Quick Homework Checks, Daily Homework Quizzes, and Differentiated Instruction strategies.

ExamView^® is a registered trademark of eInstruction Corporation.

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- Try us out
  
  Try us out!
  Concepts and Skills helps you reach all students with a variety of conceptual activities, leveled resources and technology tools for Algebra 1, Geometry and Algebra 2. Preview this leading-edge math program below.
  
  Samples
  
  Download a Concepts & Skills Algebra 1, Geometry or Algebra 2 sample now
  
  Catalog
  
  Take a peek into Concepts & School Algebra, Geometry, or Algebra 2 p. 56-57
- Authors
  
  Meet the team that’s made Concepts & Skills Algebra, Geometry, and Algebra 2 the most up-to-date and relevant math program focused specifically on meeting the needs of students and teacher while preparing your students for graduation.
  
  Dr. Ron Larson - Program Author
  
  Ron Larson is Professor of Mathematics at Penn State Erie The Behrend College. He is one of the pioneers in the use of multimedia to enhance the learning of mathematics. He has authored multimedia programs that range from Grade 3 to calculus. To help with the development of multimedia programs, Dr. Larson founded Larson Texts, Inc.
  
  Dr. Larson is the winner of the 2010 Textbook Excellence Award ("Texty") for his latest textbook, Big Ideas Math®, which he coauthors with Dr. Laurie Boswell. His Interactive Calculus text received the 1996 Texty Award for the most innovative mathematics instructional material at the college level.
  
  Dr. Larson is coauthor of Big Ideas Math®, McDougal Littell Math; Holt McDougal Larson Pre-Algebra; Holt McDougal Larson Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2; and Holt McDougal Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2: Concepts and Skills.
  
  Dr. Larson received his B.S. in Mathematics from Lewis & Clark College, his M.S. in Mathematics, and Ph.D. in Topology from the University of Colorado.
  
  Dr. Lee Stiff - Program Author
  
  Lee V. Stiff is Professor of Mathematics Education at North Carolina State University, a position he has held since 1983. He has been recognized for his work via the Reginald V. Blackmon Award for Excellence in Teaching, the W. W. Rankin Memorial Award for Excellence in Mathematics Education, and a Fulbright Scholar Award to the Department of Mathematics of the University of Ghana. From 2000 to 2002, Dr. Stiff served as president of NCTM. Dr. Stiff has served on the Boards of Directors of the Benjamin Banneker Association and NCCTM. He has been a member of the Mathematical Sciences Education Board of the National Research Council and the Education Advisory Committee of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Since 1989, Dr. Stiff has been a co-author of elementary, middle grades, and high school textbooks in mathematics.
  
  Dr. Stiff is coauthor of Big Ideas Math, Holt McDougal Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2 Concepts and Skills; Holt McDougal Larson Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2; McDougal Littell Math; and Holt McDougal Larson Pre-Algebra.
  
  Dr. Stiff received a B.S. in mathematics from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and his Ph.D. in mathematics education from North Carolina State University.
  
  Dr. Laurie Boswell - Program Author
  
  Dr. Laurie Boswell is a mathematics teacher at The Riverside School in Lyndonville, Vermont. A recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics Teaching, Laurie has taught mathematics to students at all levels—elementary through college. In addition, Laurie was a Tandy Technology Scholar and served on the NCTM Board of Directors from 2002 to 2005. She currently serves on the board of NCSM, and is a popular national speaker.
  
  Dr. Boswell is the winner of the 2010 Textbook Excellence Award ("Texty") for her latest textbook, Big Ideas Math, which she coauthors with Dr. Ron Larson.
  
  Dr. Boswell has been coauthor on many textbook series including, Holt McDougal Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2: Concepts and Skills; Holt McDougal Larson Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2; McDougal Littell Math; and Holt McDougal Larson Pre-Algebra.
  
  Dr. Timothy Kanold - Program Author
  
  Timothy Kanold is a Past President of NCSM and was the Superintendent at Adlai E. Stevenson High School District 125 in Lincolnshire, Illinois for six years, where he also served as Director of Mathematics and Science for 17 years. He currently serves as an adjunct professor with Loyola University Chicago, and as the Director of Common Core Mathematics–and PLC Learning. Tim is a coauthor of mathematics textbooks for Grades 6–12 and has published numerous school leadership articles for the Journal of Staff Development, Phi Delta Kappan, and the NCTM Yearbooks. His most recent books include The Five Disciplines of PLC Leaders, (2011), What Every Principal Needs to Know About the Teaching and Learning of Mathematics (NAESP, 2011) and a five-book series Common Core Mathematics in a PLC at Work™ with Solution Tree and NCTM (2012).
  
  He is the 1986 recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics Teaching, the 1994 recipient of the Outstanding School Administrator Award from the Illinois State Board of Education, and the 2010 recipient of the prestigious Damen Award for school leadership from Loyola University, Chicago. Tim is an internationally recognized presenter and motivational speaker on issues of effective school leadership as well as mathematics education reform.
  
  Dr. Kanold is coauthor of Big Ideas Math, McDougal Littell Math; Holt McDougal Larson Pre-Algebra; Holt McDougal Larson Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2; and Holt McDougal Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2: Concepts and Skills.
  
  Timothy Kanold obtained his B.S. in education with a major in mathematics and a Master’s Degree in mathematics from Illinois State University. He has received his Ph.D. in educational leadership and counseling psychology from Loyola University.
  
  Big Ideas Math® is a registered trademark of Larson Texts, Inc.
Features
The Concepts and Skills series is designed to meet the needs of struggling learners by providing an accessible approach to content that helps support students as they study algebra, geometry, and advanced algebra. With Concept and Skills, students cover all the important topics they need to be successful in high school mathematics courses. The Concepts and Skills series is also ideal for use as a companion text in alternate courses, such as second hour support classes or credit recovery courses. The series design:
- Engages students in active learning
- Builds confidence with easy-to-follow examples
- Supports a variety of learning styles with built-in help
- Integrates assessment and test preparation with instruction.
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- Student and Teacher Editions
  
  This program makes the algebras and geometry understandable to all students through instructional diagrams and many graphics. Investigations, activities and numerous examples also enhance the learning environment. The Teacher’s Edition includes teaching ideas, leveled pacing, assignment guides and reteaching suggestions. There are also resources available to make the texts viable for a two year course, including diagnostic chapter and end of course tests with review and practice. The student editions and Teacher’s Editions are also available in fully functional online and DVD-ROM editions.
- Note-taking Support
  
  The Notetaking Guide provides students with a framework for reading each lesson’s key concepts and helps the student to prepare for tests with guidelines for recording the key concepts for each lesson. The Notetaking Guide Teacher’s Edition provides pages with annotated answers that are useful for assessing student study skills as well as providing valuable handouts for students who have been absent from class. Transparencies of the Notetaking Guide are available for teachers to demonstrate notetaking strategies as students take notes at their own pace.
- Practice and Assessment
  
  Consumable workbooks are available to provide students with more practice, for every lesson. The Chapter Resource Books provide three levels of practice worksheets (A, B, C) and a Challenge Worksheet for each lesson. These Resource Books also contain Study Guides, Cumulative Reviews and much more! There is a Remediation Book that contains practice based on students’ progress on diagnostic and benchmark assessments. Practice can also be found in the Notetaking Guides.
  
  The ExamView^® Assessment Suite CD-Rom, enables you to create customizable tests and practice worksheets that can be printed or posted online to your own network.
  
  ExamView^® is a registered trademark of eInstruction Corporation.
- Online Learners
  
  Concepts and Skills offers a fully functional online book as well as a DVD version of the textbook. The DVD version is a convenient and versatile way for students to access all of the programs core content. The online version of Concepts & Skills allows students to explore mathematical concepts through interactive features.
  
  Students can also access Classzone.com and all of the online resources there. Classzone.com is a complete companion website that features real-world and career links, as well as homework help with examples and problem-solving tips. An EasyPlanner DVD is available with all of the print resources included on an easy to access DVD. The Activity Generator DVD helps you guide your students from the concrete to the abstract with easily customized, leveled hands-on activities. The @Home Tutor helps students master skills and concepts through animated examples and instruction, self-scoring exercises and personalized progress reports.
  
  The only choice when your student must pass algebra 1, geometry or algebra 2!
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