This course is a complete middle and high school pre-algebra course teaching concepts and skills necessary for success in subsequent math and science courses such as Algebra 1 and Geometry. This full-year course is designed for students who have completed a middle school mathematics sequence but are not yet ready to begin Algebra I. This course reviews key algebra concepts and skills from middle school mathematics and introduces basic Algebra I work with appropriate support. Students revisit concepts in numbers and operations, expressions and equations, ratios and proportions, and basic algebraic functions. Upon successful completion of the course, students are ready to begin a more formal high school Algebra I study.
To be successful in this course, students should already have a solid understanding of the following concepts:
If your child does NOT have these basic skills, I would strongly suggest them taking “Preparing for Pre-Algebra” with me on Thursday mornings at 9:00 am ET. For advanced math, they MUST have these skills.
Students can learn math, have a good time doing it, and come away with an appreciation of its value as a tool for science, business, and everyday life. This class will help students to reach a deep understanding of math by encouraging them to investigate interesting problems and practice using problem-solving skills to make tough problems manageable.
This class will prepare students for further study in math, science, as well as standardized tests.
Students should expect to spend approximately 5 hours per week on homework- approximately one hour a day.
Textbook: Glencoe Pre-Algebra – Fifth Edition – Publication Date: 2003 version
NOTE: This class must reach the minimum of five students by August 20th to run. If we dod not reach this minimum, parents will be notified via email.
History. This was definitely not my strongest area as a homeschool mother. I knew to provide my kids with what they needed, I had to look at outside resources. Taking a leap of faith, I registered both my 7th and 8th grader for U.S. History with Jonathan Meola.
Learning history through simple short stories using. “A History of US,” has been fun to read-a-loud. With a subject I once disliked myself, I’ve been able to power through, and engage with my children learning to love the past. Mr. Meola is a phenomenally fair instructor, and has allowed our kids to use their creativity for the semester project. The kids have enjoyed this area most about the class. Seeing their creations from the past come to life is a gift in itself. Thank you, Jonathan! You have lit a fire for history within my children!
We have absolutely loved Jonathan’s Ancient Civilizations class this year.
He is so organized, and his classes are expertly taught – my son usually makes me leave the room but I will often go back and listen to the recordings and watch some of the videos because they are so interesting.
We are thrilled that OTA is now a vendor with our charter school, and since Z will be in middle school next year, we plan on signing up for a lot more classes.
Keep up the excellent job and thanks for making homeschooling so much easier for us parents!
What a fantastic course combining hands-on STEM & Social Studies.
I loved watching my children learn about key landmarks around the world with such eagerness and curiosity.
They dove into the history, architectural marvel, geography, and engineering in an engaging fun way.
Mr. Meola is a wonderful teacher and this class is highly recommended!
During our family new year’s celebration, everyone completed a year-in-review questionnaire. One question asked, “What are you most proud of that you accomplished this past year?”
Without hesitation, our daughter blurted out “I learned to write a five-paragraph essay!”
Our daughter, who up until this past semester would only write science lab reports, should be proud of this accomplishment. She willingly dedicated days to completing required essays, and we owe this success to Lights! Camera! Action! class.
Mr. Jonathan’s enthusiasm, instruction, encouragement and feedback all generated a newfound level of confidence within our daughter. Plus, the course spurred everyone in our family (including grandparents) to watch incredible movies, which normally would not be in our Netflix queue. Mr. Jonathan’s impact reached beyond our daughter.
I would like to say thank you. My daughter, Laura, was so inspired by OTA’s Lights! Camera! Action! class. She WANTS to improve at writing instead of shying away from the process that she finds so difficult. She is putting her heart and soul into trying. I am seeing improvement and I am seeing enthusiasm that just were not there before. You have no idea how joyful that makes me. This latest essay was really, really hard but a bit less overwhelming than the prior two. Slowly the elements that Laura is learning in class are sinking in. I appreciate all that you do for the class! Thank you!