Teaching Textbooks™ is a math curriculum based on 3 easy steps: watch the lesson, do the problems, and watch a tutor explain the ones you missed. Teaching Textbooks™ were designed specifically for independent learners (they focus on teaching/explanations). From the website:
A Teaching Textbook™, with its approximately 700 pages of text and 120 - 160 hours of teacher instruction on CD-ROM, is both a teacher and a textbook combined into one. And the CD-ROM teaching isn’t just abstract lectures either. There are also down-to-earth, audiovisual step-by-step explanations for every single one of the almost 3,500 problems in the book ... [The Teaching Textbook™] introduces proper terminology only after first presenting the underlying concept in plain language.
Website: Teaching Textbooks™
(46 Reviews)
Before investing in any homeschooling resources, please read "How to Choose the Best Homeschool Curriculum."
Contributor Reviews
Reviews are solely the opinions of the contributor.
Cons: Must use grade ahead; not good for real-world math thinking
Grades Used: 4 and beginning of 5
We used TT4 and TT5 for fourth grade. My student mostly used the curriculum alone, with some one-on-one work on arithmetic and word problems.
Struggles to adjust recipes, do measurements for projects around the house, or use critical thinking about time and money made it obvious that there were some gaps even after completing TT5.
At the start of fifth grade, I outsourced math to a teacher. They evaluated my student as being near the end of fourth grade in their math skills.
On the plus side, the curriculum was a good stopgap in a season when FT paid work was a must. Math got done, the work got graded automatically, and record keeping was a breeze since all you have to do is download the grade book. The 3.0 versions mean your student can do math anywhere on a device.
Bottom line: although they market the curriculum as self-teaching, it isn't (almost no curriculum is). The curriculum is a year behind. Do real-world math with your student to supplement. If you have the time/money or have a mathy kid, choose something else.
Cons: emphasis on vocabulary and redundant lessons
Grades Used: 3, 5 and algebra
Know that level 3 of TT is not grade 3. It was never meant to be. The complaint that it's not up to grade level is because people think level 5 is grade 5. Level five is more like most public school grade 4 I think. I think TT can be a way to encourage independence for some math skills but I like working with my kids and talking about what we are doing, so we switched after doing half of the algebra level. I like math that is useful and relevant: I found that starting with vocabulary instead of math skills didn't make sense for mine.
Cons: not up to grade level
Grades Used: 3,4,5,6
When we first started TT in 3rd grade I absolutely loved it. My son didn't mind doing math each day and seemed to be making progress. The self grading feature is nice, and I could work with my daughter and help my son only if he had a problem. He was making excellent grades, which is why the problems with this went undetected for so long.
Once sixth grade rolled around it was becoming obvious that he lacked deep understanding on some topics as they relate to real life. This curriculum is a mile wide and an inch deep - covers lots of topics but does not foster a deep understanding of the concepts. There are far too many fail-safes built in that allow a child to make many mistakes and still get a 95 or 100 each day. Regardless of math program used it's beneficial to make a student retry things that they've gotten wrong, but because this is so hands off for parents it's not always readily apparent when they are falling behind. If you have a child who is definitely not college bound or really struggles with math, this may be an okay fit. For any level of rigor or challenge or even working on grade level, make another choice.
It helped regain my child’s confidence in her math abilities. Sometimes she struggled remembering a formula but with the repeated hints and explanations she soon learned quick! It allowed her to make mistakes and be able to learn from them! Most problems allow you to redo it if you got it wrong the first time. It’s great to a learner as they can make mistakes and learn from it!
I have just finished Teaching Textbooks’ Pre-Algebra. For anyone like me, who has never tried Algebra before, I can tell you, you’ll learn quickly and easily while using this program. Teaching Textbooks was created by two brothers, Greg Sabouri and Shawn Sabouri. They used to run a private school for gifted students. They have created many curriculums from Math 3 to Pre-Calculus.
From my experience while using the Pre-Algebra curriculum, (preparing me for Algebra I) they do step by step in each topic to make sure you actually learn while using their program(s); they even start from the beginning with simple math and slowly get into the curriculum’s topic. In the Pre-Algebra curriculum, there are 139 lessons and 17 tests. For me, it takes 30 minutes to an hour to complete each lesson, but I'm getting faster. If you get stuck on a problem, you can use the hint button to remind yourself about the rules. Another thing is there is a scratch pad you can use to write on with your mouse or trackpad so you don't have to waste paper.
Each lesson has a lecture with a narrator to walk you through the new topic (one thing I’ve noticed is the art and sound effects they implemented into the curriculums). Once you have listened to the lecture, there are 5 practice problems and 20 to 25 problems to work on. While doing each lesson, they review problems from the previous topics, so you will be learning new concepts while practicing the old, so you won't forget previous topics. In the tests; however, there are just problems, no practice ones.
For all the parents out there, you do not have to keep track of your children's grades because they made it self-grading. Each lesson and test gives a percentage on how well your children are doing. You can also view the “Gradebook” to see their scores.
I highly recommend getting Teaching Textbooks for your kid or yourself. So far I am happy with these curriculums that are offered by Teaching Textbooks, and I am happy to recommend them to anyone who wants to learn math.
Cons: not thoroughly thought, leaving the child confused
Grades Used: 7th (pre-algebra)
In the beginning where it was reviewing things she had already learned in previous years, she was doing well. When it started teaching new things, everything went downhill. It would teach things at a ridiculously fast pace and once you move on to the next lesson, she would forget what she learned before. My daughter has ALWAYS gotten straight A's in math but this made her cry and left her VERY confused. She's NEVER cried in math before that. The way it reviews things leaves everything half answered, and for most of the problems she would have to guess and sometimes look up the answer; she would try to go back to the video explaining things yet it still left her clueless. I do not recommend this for older grades especially when thing get more complicated.
Cons: Can't mute the tab, its belittling, hard and confusing to follow, extremely discouraging.
Grades Used: 10-11th
The new system is AWFUL! coming from a student, I quite enjoyed the old program before the 4.0 update. It was clear and straight forward, and I felt like I was learning from it. Now it's confusing, and feels like a program for young children in the 5-6 age range rather than midde school/highschool. if you're considering buying this program for your child, DONT! they will feel belittled, confused, and brought down with every problem missed. It is extremely discouraging and it's a terrible program. I would strongly recommend finding a different program for your child if possible.
Cons: Customer service is very rude and not helpful
Grades Used: 7th, geometry, algebra II
I actually like Teaching Textbooks. My daughter used Saxon from K-6th grade and then used TT for 7th grade. We then went back to Saxon for 8th-10th grade. She really struggled with Saxon. It would take her 4 hours to finish an assignment, which left little time for other subjects. Her grades were not good either. I had every Saxon supplement available. It just wasn’t for her. If I could do it over again, I would use Saxon through 5th grade and then switch to TT for the rest of her school years.
Their customer service is incredibly rude and not helpful. I had been to their website so many times trying to get the Table of Contents for pre-calculus so I could go ahead and get it scheduled. Every single time I clicked on a link it would say that I needed to install adobe flash player. My iPhone can’t get that I guess. It was not in my App Store. So, I chatted with customer service to see if they could just email it to me. She kept telling me to just click on the link. As if I hadn’t already tried that. She flat out refused to email it to me and so I just thanked her and ended the chat.
Cons: The website has a lot of problems
Grades Used: 10th
BUYER BEWARE. We purchased the 3.0 online subscription for Algebra 2 and have had many days where the website didn't even work because of heavy traffic. TT sold more subscriptions than their system could handle. I called asking for them to send me the book and DVD set instead of the online subscription and was told that they couldn't because the cost of shipping was too high. Poor customer service to say the least. Also, the same guy always seems to answer the phone. I mean he says he's "customer service", but I have a feeling he is the owner/manager/customer service all in one. I also have a feeling he doesn't mind that he sold more subscriptions than he can handle.
Cons: Easy for moms to overlook making kids show work
Grades Used: 9-11
Teaching Textbooks has been a Godsend for our second homeschooled teenager. When my kids were little the older one used Saxon and the younger one used Horizons. Both are hands on, challenging, and very thorough and easy to use and I recommend both of those programs up to about 6th grade. After that, it gets very hard to teach Saxon, so my older son began teaching himself using DIVE CD's Art Reed CD's. He was so focused and self motivated that it worked. I only had to insist on good handwriting and properly lining up his work. We did have a few battles over that, but thanks to a well respected Math Club friend, he was finally convinced that was correct. However, when I tried to switch my younger daughter from Horizons to Saxon plus the CD's it was a daily meltdown. Her level of math understanding and her level of focus was not a match for Saxon's very long, very tedious and very black and white pages. We tried numerous co-op classes, but they only met twice per week and were using disjointed Common Core math books. So, we started her on Teaching Textbooks and we have never looked back. She loves the lessons! We do recommend working ahead a little so that they can complete the first 5 chapters of Pre-Calc by the end of junior year. This way your student will really be ready for the SAT's. I also recommend the Khan Academy SAT Practice which raised my daughter's overall score 100 points. Alongside her gentle but firm foundation in Teaching Textbooks she has scored over 87th percentile on the SAT's and we expect another big improvement after her junior year. Here are my two Caveats: 1. I don't really recommend it for the younger grades unless you are seriously overwhelmed with many children. The kids do better with pencil-to-paper practice day in and day out. 2. You HAVE TO really win the "battle" of making your kids show all their work, nice and neat, line by line, for every problem. Don't let them get in the habit of doing in their heads or guessing. Otherwise by the time they get to Algebra 2 they will not be able to work out the long problems. 3. It's not for future STEM majors. I really think that if you have a child who is great at math and planning to be an engineer that you should either get through these early and then switch to community college by 10th or 11th grade, or you should consider Saxon, Prentice Hall Classics, etc. 🙂
Cons: Lack of friendly customer service and high cost
Grades Used: 6, 7, 8, Pre Algebra, Algebra, Geometry, Algebra 2
I have been able to over look the high cost of Teaching Textbooks and the mistakes that pop up from time to time with the curriculum. Sadly, all of that changed about an hour ago. I called TT's customer service number to request help that they have given many times in the past and Ryan answered. Has TT changed the way they help their customers? Greg and Shawn Sabouri, you have lost a customer all due to how Ryan was unhelpful and borderline rude. We will no longer purchase or support TT. I admit I should know how to uninstall the curriculum from our computer to place on another but I will also admit that I am not computer savvy- therefore, I called to ask for help. When I asked to speak to someone else, I was told no one was available. It's truly sad when you honestly just need some assistance, you call the customer service number provided by TT, and get treated and talked to the way I was. Wouldn't it have been easier if Ryan said we can no longer offer that assistance but you can google the directions that explains the steps? Customer service means a lot. Hopefully in the next training courses, customer service and etiquette will be covered.
Cons: Picking one grade up means it finishes in the Junior year. No TT for younger ages.
Grades Used: 3
We are currently using TT3 online for our 2nd grader. He loves it and I wish it was available when I was his age. I might actually have enjoyed math!
Here's what my son says, "I like how they give you multiple tries. What I don't like is the Bonus Round because you don't get a whole lot of time and some times they're super difficult." (He has good scores in the program.)
We plan on using TT for years.
Cons: Is not one size fits all. Does not adequately prepare students for required state testing.
Grades Used: 4, 5, 6, 7th and Pre-Algebra
This program has worked really well for my 15-year-old but not so much for my 13-year-old. We have been using TT for three years. My younger son is halfway through the grade 6 book and scored at the third grade level on his 7th grade test. I can see now that he needs a lot more repetition and a text that teaches to the achievement tests. My 15-year-old tested as well as the average 10th grader but is only halfway through the Pre-Algebra (8th grade) text. However, he has always done well in every subject, even when using less than ideal texts.TT has not been a magic pill for us but I will most likely keep using it for my older child and find something different for my younger.
Cons: None so far, but we are only weeks in.
Grades Used: 5
My 5th grader has been using Teaching Textbooks 5 for 3 weeks now. This is our first year of home school. It has been easy for her so far. I feel like the beginning lessons have been a lot of review from earlier grades. I like that it has built up her confidence in Math because she has easily received grades above 90% and she just completed lesson 14. I have yet to see her really challenged at 5th grade level math with this program. I'm hoping that it builds up to something more on grade level and even a little beyond by the end of the year. As long as she stays on or above grade level, this program has been a very positive experience so far.
Cons: Material not covered thoroughly
Grades Used: algebra
We used TT for algebra for my 8th grader. She liked it and found it easy to use. However, when she finished I printed off an old version of a state algebra test to make sure she had covered what she needed. She totally bombed it and said that she had to guess at 2/3 of the questions.
We will now be re-doing algebra with a different curriculum.
Cons: Passive learning, not thorough understanding
Grades Used: 4,5,6
This program was incredibly easy to use, but I really didn't feel like my kids were actually learning the material. I watched them to see how they were doing: they'd write down NOTHING and throw in an answer. There was a review with the answer, they'd "do it over", put in the correct answer and move on. When I became more involved and required writing the problems, show their work, etc, it wasn't worth it. They had already discovered the sneak and made math miserable without it. They did learn something, but it wasn't a thorough understanding.
Cons: none
Grades Used: 3-8
We have loved Teaching Textbooks! Traditional math papers were overwhelming for one of my daughters but seeing and hearing each problem individually has been very helpful. I love that it automatically grades each problems and can work them through it if they don't understand it. I see this as being even more helpful in high school math! We have started Teaching Textbooks in 3rd grade and will continue to use through high school. The fact that we can reuse it weighs out the price.
When we switched to new computers, I called the company and they reset the pass codes right on the phone, very helpful!
Cons: I really can't think of a con. The price is maybe high for some but well worth it since it's like you have a tutor. Would love to see more math added like Trigonometry.
Grades Used: 4th grade thru 12th
Teaching Textbooks has been the smartest move we made with our three home-school children. We began when it started out as I was moving away from Abeka and finding programs that fit our children's needs, wants and lifestyle. All three were good in math but by high school, I needed to understand what they were learning but at that time, I couldn't help. We started Teaching Textbooks with older two and Math u see with youngest. It too is a great program for my younger son. We loved everything about Teaching Textbooks and soon switched our youngest over. It changed our world. It now offers automotive grading and if you get the problem wrong, you can review it at that moment or wait. One of mine likes to wait and see the solutions after she attempts the wrong ones again. My older son did so well, he took college math for duel credit. My daughter has used it in college to understand a problem not covered well in class. I am returning to school and sit with my son to learn all I had forgotten! It's an incredible program and I wish they offered one in English and even Accounting as well as Computers. We love Teaching Textbooks and they are revising to make them better.
Cons: Not up to state standards, way too easy if child is strong in math, little parent/student interaction
Grades Used: 4
This is one if the few homeschool curricula we've used that has been a complete flop. My son started in 3rd grade using the 4th grade book and it lasted 1 month. It is way too easy if your child is strong in math. He was going over some things he learned with ABeka in 1st grade. (Not review, but new concepts). Maybe this is the right curriculum for some...I would advise checking state guidelines and making sure your child will be prepared.
Cons: None
Grades Used: 3
My son is seriously hating everything about his school work...except Math. He loves Teaching Textbooks and constantly asks me why we can't make everything like math. The concepts are covered in a way that is easy to understand and it has ample practice for him to solidly understand before moving forward. I absolutely love this math curriculum!
Cons: PRICE
Grades Used: 3
One thing that no one has mentioned.... If you had a teacher that you loved in elementary school, that taught to your learning style, with textbooks you enjoyed... and you could keep that same math teacher all the way through high school... wouldn't that have been awesome!?
My son is mathematically-minded (unlike his artsy mommy) but didn't enjoy math... until now. He did not like Math Mammoth (weird common core type math that did not make sense to him, or to me)... so we have been using Life of Fred. We will continue with our "Fred books" because he loves them, and insists that we read them together before bed.
So, Life of Fred and Teaching Textbooks are working very well for our family. The lessons are review, for now, to ensure that we haven't missed anything along the way... and he knows this and agrees. He knows it will get harder, but is looking forward to the high school math! He's 10, and went from hating math to looking forward to the higher-level math! Between Life of Fred and Teaching Textbooks, he has realized that math is all around us and isn't they dry, boring thing that some teachers or curriculum present it as... it's science and life and helpful and sometimes, even funny. It helps us double a cookie recipe or figure out how much we need to save to buy that Lego set. It helps us figure out how many of something we need in Terraria (a 2-D game similar to Minecraft) to buy/make some crazy self-defense weapon to defend against the goblin army. We are now doing math, in life, every day.... and that is a wonderful thing.
My son just started Geometry. So far he loves it. I like that he gets a teacher with the textbook. I like the automatic feedback he gets while doing all the questions. I didn't take Geometry in high school and I was worried about it. TEaching Textbooks has taken the worry away for the higher maths.
I wanted a math curriculum that my son could do on his own and this has been a good fit. It's presented in a fun way and there is a little animated figure that claps or dances when each problem is solved correctly. It not only entertains the student but it has the added benefit of entertaining my toddler for 20 min too! She loves to sit and watch her older brother do his math lesson.
Cons: None
Grades Used: Eigth
We have tried many math curriculums in my daughter's elementary years, but when we got to the pre-algebra and higher math's she needed more explanation. This curriculum gives her the opportunity to review the material more than once. It also lets her do the problem at least two times before it asks if she would like to review the lesson.
Grades Used: Algebra
I wish I had found this years ago!!! My son did algebra this year and he mostly just uses the textbook. He has only asked for help a few times and when watching the teacher, totally understands it.