Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Experience with Algebra before age 10

I recall that it is a developmentally ready issue too. I think someone who teaches algebra can test to see if a child is developmentally ready instead of just assuming readiness or not based on age. I think the readiness age could just be used as a typical guideline.

I would look into what criteria concludes they are ready. Let us know if you figure it out.

I think I figured out where I saw it - the author of Life of Fred books says something along those lines on his website.

I'm wondering if that is why he has the "pre-algebra + biology" and "pre-algebra + economics" books now, in order to slow the progression toward algebra?

Does anyone have any experience with either of these two pre-algebra books.

And just what the heck is pre-algebra technically? I guess I better start studying our school's curriculum again.

Cat

We used Hands on Equation last year and ds8 had a blast! It explains algebra by using pawns and dice. We also got the word problem book, which posted some challenge for him

Exactly, I've never understood that either. One of DS6's favourite games when he was 4 was "secret number sums", e.g. "The secret number is called x and the clue is that x - 4 = 5". He's actually found algebra one of the easier aspects of maths to absorb, e.g., when I look at syllabuses I tend to find that he's done much more of the algebra on the syllabus than of, say, the data handling. And it's a great area to be really secure on. E.g., he's been filling in a percentages gap just recently. The textbook (presumably because the author thinks of algebra as something that might scare readers off) presents each type of percentage problem separately - so that someone following that method has to keep remembering what number goes where in this particular problem type - but DS tends just to write an equation with an unknown for the thing he's looking for and then solve it, which means he only has to know what a percentage is, what the words of the question mean, and how to solve the equation, IYSWIM.

This is a great question. I had a hard time figuring out if we needed pre-alg after Singapore 6B. With LOF, I felt like we could have jumped right into algebra. I have LOF Algebra here, but DS was balking at the format. He really likes the Singapore format. So that led to us starting Singapore new elementary math series (after looking at a bunch of curriculum).

We did use some Singapore word problem books, and sometimes I'd have DS do the problem and I'd set it up more algebraically on the side. At this point, he can do some algebra set up and certainly understands it.

My dad and I went through algebra when I was pretty young, and I understood most of the concepts and operations. I didn't go through prealgebra first, and, frankly, pre-algebra still doesn't make much sense to me in the context of learning algebra. I think the guidelines are just a rough estimate and can be considered your-mileage-may-vary with gifted kids (especially hg or pg)...

My son started learning algebra at age 4, even before starting to learn multiplication and division. I don't believe in the idea that children aren't able to think abstractly enough to learn algebra until roughly age 10. Once you get over a few basic concepts (what a variable is, what an equation is, etc.) you are ready to begin in earnest.

EDIT: OP, I agree with BWBShari, CAMom, and ColinsMum (and you). I think that thinking abstractly is actually one of the most important things to introduce early in any course of study. I want my kids to have an instant reflex for abstraction when they encounter something new.

Just a quick chime-in because I agree that you don't have to wait for a PG child who understands abstract thinking....

DS6 is only at GL 3.5 on EPGY, but I love that they have him practicing algebraic equations and teaching how to substitute equations and solve for the variables. When he started a few weeks ago, he was at 3.0, and it took him all of 5 minutes to figure out that using letters to solve was the same thing as spaces, question marks, part-whole equations, and everything you'd see in other math programs. Now that he's having to solve with multi-step equations, he thinks it's just a fun puzzle. He is having so much fun with the problems that "algebra" is now his favorite part of math!

For elem. children who like mind benders and that sort of thing, algebra seems like a natural extension.

I really don't see a reason why there should be an age limit for starting algebra. DS8 could solve simple algebraic equations at the age 5 without ever being taught the material. A year later he could understand logarithms.

We moved from Singapore directly to AoPS. I originally planned on doing NEM first, but AoPS Intro to Number Theory seemed like such a perfect match for DS8 that we started that instead. It's exactly the type of math he loves. At one of the DYS parent seminars I asked Richard Rusczyk about doing Intro to Number Theory immediately after Singapore and before Algebra and he had no objections.

So far we've been very happy with the AoPS material. DS8 doesn't take the class, but we cover the material as part of our homeschooling curriculum. We will probably start Intro to Algebra next.

One of my kids did high school geometry at eight (per his request) and then algebra at nine. He did exceptionally well on the SAT math portion at 12, and started college math/science courses at 12. He might have been more radically accelerated, but we chose not to have him rush through the typical math sequence. He spent a lot of time doing things like watching Teaching Company lectures and playing around casually with Life of Fred rather than working in a more linear fashion.