Students aren't always ready for algebra. For North Carolina 8th-graders who score a 1 on the EOG, and who need extra help, there's Foundations of Algebra. 

Designed, written, and piloted with North Carolina educators, Foundations of Algebra is a semester-long or full-year course that gives students not just the procedures but the understanding of algebra. The program follows a structured path leading students from:

• Concrete experiences, to
• Reasoning and sense-making discussions, to
• Communication and symbolic representation.

The program comes packaged in an easy-to-use, easy-to-adapt 3-ring binder.  It also contains a CD-ROM containing the entire program on a searchable PDF.  Structure the program as a one-semester course (90 days of instruction, 90 minutes per day) or as a full-year class. Foundations of Algebra has seven units:

1. Different Forms of Numbers
2. Everything Based on Tens
3. Working with Integrers
4. Simplifying Numerical expressions
5. Simplifying Algebraic expressions and Solving Equations
6. Linear Relationships
7. Working with Data

Each unit includes an overview, objectives, Words to Know, day-by-day summaries, materials lists, career connections, unit projects, review of prior learning, and assessments. 

Each day includes direct instruction, guided and independent practice, homework, and hands-on activities.

What makes Foundations of Algebra so valuable?

• It's closely aligned with the North Carolina Mathematics Standard Course of Study. 
• It cross references activities from the Marilyn Burns Fraction Kit and Henry Borenson's Hands-on-Equations.
• Its activities were piloted in Wake County, as part of the NCDPI SIPII Math Grant.

Also see the companion product, North Carolina - Introduction to High School Math.