Geometry, Seeing, Doing, Understanding
by Harold R. Jacobs
Reviewed by Martha Robinson
Purchase details: Geometry, Seeing, Doing, Understanding by Harold R. Jacobs. Third Edition. Published by W.H. Freeman and Company. Student text (780 pages, hardbound) and Teacher's Guide (600 pages, paperback). To buy the Teacher's Guide, you must phone the publisher at 1-888-330-8477 and choose the prompt to place an order for high school. Please support HomeschoolChristian.com by buying the text and test bank from our Amazon affiliate link.
Harold R. Jacobs' revised text Geometry, Seeing, Doing, Understanding, combines interesting historic and nature-oriented tidbits with Euclidean geometry, an outstanding way to improve a student's logic skills.
The book begins with an introduction to Euclid, the famous mathematician of ancient times, inductive and deductive reasoning. Euclid's materials appear in most of the following chapters as proofs of theorems are emphasized in a thorough study of geometry.
Concise introductions begin each chapter. The topics addressed are brought to life by relating them to sports, sea creatures, movies, and art. Color diagrams, color pictures, and cartoons also bring interest to the text. Ninety-four lessons are broken into sixteen chapters with a review at the end of each. A final review ends the book. Three sets of exercises are included in each chapter, and answers to a sampling of exercises end the book.
In the Teacher's Guide to Geometry, Seeing, Doing, Understanding, Mr. Jacobs discusses his goal to bring motivation to the student by relating math to the world around him. He offers a few tips, but the majority of the book is dedicated to the answers to all the exercises and a notes section co-authored by Peter Renz. The notes include miniatures of transparencies to be used in the classroom environment and suggestions on how and when to cover the lessons. Teachers are encouraged to contact Mr. Jacobs or Mr. Renz if they have a question that is not answered in the notes or text. The final section is for "Sketchpad Projects," which appear not to be applicable to homeschoolers.
Improved Test Bank for Geometry by Harold R. Jacobs. This paperback book includes sixteen chapter tests, a mid-year exam, and a final exam. An answer key completes the book.
Recommendation: Geometry, Seeing, Doing, Understanding provides a gentle, step-by-step introduction to Euclidean geometry. Mr. Jacobs meets his goal of bringing geometry to life with problems that include both classical proofs and practical problems to which students can relate.
Martha's Experience: As I read through this text, I found myself transported back to ninth grade when I took geometry. The heart and soul of that course was proving theorems, and I spent hours scratching my head over the more difficult ones; however, my sense of reward at earning good grades in the course was awesome. Your student will not regret the time spent to hone his logic skills with a Euclidean geometry course!
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