ALGEBRA RESCUE

Algebra is just arithmetic with a mystery number. But children who meet it only as rules - "move it to the other side" - often get lost, reading 3n as thirty-something or adding 4 when they should take it away. Algebra Rescue shows why every step works, so the rules make sense.

This picture-led pre-algebra workbook for children ages 10-12 (Grades 5-7) uses a few pictures again and again: the function machine, the mystery bag, the balance scale, algebra tiles and the coordinate grid. A child who can picture a level balance scale understands why you must do the same thing to both sides of an equation - and never forgets it.

START WITH A MAP, NOT A TEST

A short "Where Am I Stuck?" check opens the book. Each part matches one unit, so you can see at a glance which units your child can move through quickly and which need every page.

ONE IDEA PER LESSON, SMALL STEPS

Each of the 24 lessons fits on two pages:

- Learn It: Digit the harbor seal explains one idea, then solves one problem in small steps, with a picture for every step.

- Practice & Check: practice problems, then Quick Check questions that test understanding, not just answers, plus Challenge Star problems.

About 15 minutes a day, one lesson a day, finishes the book in about five weeks.

WHAT YOUR CHILD WILL LEARN

- Unit 1: Number patterns, growing shape patterns, function machines, and finding the rule in an in-out table

- Unit 2: Letters as numbers, writing expressions from words, evaluating expressions, and the order of operations

- Unit 3: What an equation is, solving addition, subtraction, multiplication and division equations, and checking solutions

- Unit 4: Two-step equations, combining like terms, writing equations from words, and inequalities on a number line

- Unit 5: The coordinate grid, plotting points from a table, straight-line patterns, and reading graphs

- Unit 6: Using formulas, writing and solving equations for stories, and explaining number puzzles with algebra

A TREASURE STORY WITH A PURPOSE

In the attic of his clock shop, Grandpa Tomas finds the old sea chest of Captain Marisol, the first harbor master of Seabright Bay. It is locked with six algebra puzzles - one for each unit. Twins Ada and Rafi work through the locks one by one. Rafi is quick but sometimes rushes, so every unit ends with a Fix the Mistake puzzle that targets the slips children make most: reading 3n as 35, doing the same operation instead of the opposite, and working left to right instead of following the order of operations.

ALSO INSIDE

- An Algebra Toolkit page with the balance scale, function machine, algebra tiles, coordinate grid and four golden rules

- An Algebra Helper page that turns words into symbols, shows which operations undo each other, and lists the steps for two-step equations

- 6 Game Time pages: code-breaker jokes, expression wheels, an answer-detective challenge, a same-or-different sort, a treasure map hunt and a think-of-a-number game

- An Algebra at Home page with everyday ways to practice

- My Harbor Map to color after every lesson

- A 19-question Final Test, a Treasure Finder certificate and a complete answer key

Perfect for parents, homeschoolers, tutors and classroom teachers, and an ideal first step into algebra before middle school. Buyers may photocopy pages for the children in their own home or classroom.