No-Nonsense Algebra -- my REVIEW

Disclaimer: I received a FREE copy of this product through the HOMESCHOOL REVIEW CREW in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way.

Okay, so let me begin this review by saying that I LOVE algebra :). You can basically make sense of the world using algebra. I understand that this is an unpopular view, but seriously...it's amazingly powerful.  Anyhow, I had the opportunity to review a math program through Math Essentials called No-Nonsense Algebra. My kids are beyond basic algebra by this point, but I do tutor in algebra and have seen a wide variety of algebra curricula and definitely have opinions on them!

The No-Nonsense Algebra program consists of both a physical book/workbook and video lessons which are available online.  The book is non-intimidating in its size and font size and has 10 chapters and 95 lessons. The lessons are grouped into thematic chapters (like polynomials, rational expressions, etc.) and there are video lessons that teach the student the information in almost every lesson.  
Each lesson has a small review section of problems, and at the end of each chapter there is a review of the concepts in the chapter which includes problem types from each of the lessons in the chapter. There are also little helpful insets interspersed between chapters (I especially liked the one entitled, "What about the problems I get wrong?" which encourages students to be careful and figure out how to look for mistakes--and then how to learn the material better if the topic was not fully understood.)

Each lesson is two pages -- introduction to the topic, helpful hints for solving that type of problem, and examples.

I really appreciate this note about examples that the author put into the introduction:

I agree that it is so important to write down the problem and physically work through it guided by the example explanation -- then jumping into the actual problems is much more familiar. 

There are around twenty problems per lesson, which is pretty short. Lessons focus on one skill with a few review questions at the end. I think that the book is written with the thought that the student will work the problems in the book, but I would recommend doing the problems on other paper, because although there is room to work the problems on the book page, often the student needs extra space to work the problem (at least in the way that I teach it--writing out every step as you go). 

The video lessons that go along with each of the lessons (most of them) are available online and they are great explanations of the concepts that are covered in each lesson. The lecturer uses a board as well to write out the problems as he talks through them. It is very helpful for the student to view in addition to reading the introduction to the lesson in the book.

I feel like the range of topics that are covered are appropriate for a first-level algebra course. I do prefer a bit more review and the one thing that I did not really like was that word problems are not covered until the end of the book, in the last chapter. Doing algebra for math's sake is good enough for some students, but other students like to see the application of the concepts right away...and I do believe that using the concepts in a word problem type setting throughout the course makes it more natural to be able to translate word problems into math equations.

The answers to the problems are in the back of the book, so you can check your answers.

I like this book, this teaching style. It's clear, clean, concise, and the videos enhance the learning process. I think that a parent who does not feel strong in algebra could utilize this well to teach their students algebra. I believe I will use this book with one of my tutoring students and will recommend it to others as a starting algebra book. I do think that the postponement of word problems is not really doing any favors, and would recommend adding them in throughout the course. But all in all, this is a quality math instruction course.

If you'd like to read other people's thoughts on this book, please check them out here.  This same company ( Math Essentials)  has several other products that our group is reviewing. Last year I reviewed one of them ( Math Refresher for Adults) . If you click on the graphic below, you can read other folks' reviews on the No-Nonsense Algebra as well as the Math Refresher for Adults and Mastering Essential Math Skills Book 2 Middle Grades/High School.