Bossy Brocci's Algebra Hits Student Workbook: Solving Equations, Inequalities, Proportions, Shadow Reckoning, Similar Triangles, Percent Word Problems, Pythagorean Problems & Unknown Angle Problems

Chris has done an outstanding job, assembling a workbook that makes it so easy for students to understand the concepts and then do the the calculations without having to draw out or write every single step to get the answer. I am using his worksheets as a supplement to our regular curriculum and text. When I had a question, Chris responded promptly and clearly with easy-to-understand explanations!

I'm one of those friends that 'Solving X in the City' is referring to. But unlike my friend -we'll call her 'Caroline'- I've been teaching math for only 16 years - and my review will be short & sweet. Besides . . . her detailed review is a hard act to follow.So one night I get a call from my friend Caroline. And she's foaming at the mouth about some math workbook series she's discovered. Her level of excitement bordered on hysteria, and caused me stop and ask if menopause had finally taken her.Upon her recommendation I did get the Bossy Brocci Teacher Editions. And I can unequivocally say that they are indeed the best worksheets I've ever used. And, if Caroline had waited just a bit, like I did, she would have got the updated versions of his Numbers & Operations workbook and his Pre-Graphing workbook - both with about 50 extra worksheets!My students are now finally doing most of the work and most of the learning. And my classes are mastering things faster and scoring higher than ever before.I can also say that, after a lot of teasing from me, my good friend Caroline has toned down her groupie or stalker-like review. For a while there I thought the author might one day need a restraining order on her. Mortified, she did remove the part about being `all about the Egg', after I told her just what that might mean coming from a woman and to many women.But she and I are in agreement that Bossy Brocci worksheets just plain work better than anything else.

Anything that claims to be the `Holy Grail' or `Cold Fusion' of math teaching is just begging to be scrutinized.My judgment of any math workbook comes from having a Master's in Mathematics and being a math teacher for 23 years.And as both a math teacher and mathematician, my verdict is that Bossy Brocci workbooks deliver on their promise. The author's worksheets verbally & visually train students to dissect & methodically solve problems better than anything I've ever seen - and makes it a snap for us math teachers to check & grade that work!Mr. Brocci has finally created the kind of workbook that every math teacher -including me- has thought about writing but never had the time. Bossy Brocci's structuring of problem-solving and attention to detail has removed the cognitive limitations my students have historically had, and the complaints we math teachers have always had with standard workbooks and worksheets.While the Bossy Brocci workbook line is right up middle-school mathematics' alley, his books are uniquely designed such that elementary, middle and high-schoolers can all use them and learn from them. Upon my recommendation, I have fellow teachers and friends who are parents successfully using Bossy Brocci worksheets with kids as young as fourth grade and as old as 9th grade. I got about a dozen High School friends and colleagues hooked on using Book #'s 3, 4, 5 & 6 from the list below in their Freshman math classes. And it wouldn't surprise me if Bossy Brocci would work wonders for Adult Ed and remedial math as well.You can get everything your students need in just 1 workbook - the coverage is that thorough. Bossy Brocci workbooks give you more Lessons & worksheets for the buck than you get from standard workbooks - and certainly from those online lesson-selling sites for teachers. In most of his workbooks he includes summative and cumulative quizzes either within or following a lesson or unit.In short, I have to admit that Bossy Brocci workbooks are superior to any workbook I've ever seen - and have been hugely helpful & beneficial - not only for my students but also for me. He's got something that nobody else has. So it's intended as a compliment when I say that Mr. Brocci's math workbooks would be at the top of "Oprah's Bookclub for Nerds" - if she ever had one.And speaking of publicity . . . one of my "criticisms" is that the author doesn't appear to have any. This guy needs to join the modern world: I can't find him on Facebook or Twitter, or even selling his `Holy Grail' on that online hairball that sells lesson plans - at least not yet. All I know is that if I had written such `lightning in a bottle' I'd be aggressively marketing and gouging my fellow teachers so I could retire sooner & richer!My other, more legitimate criticism, is that Mr. Brocci must have assumed potential buyers would use Amazon's `Look Inside This Book' to find his Table of Contents and size up what they were getting for their money (which they can) - but I think the author should have listed such details in the 'Book Info' section, instead of the Promo that is there [for someone whose books 'leave no stone unturned', I was surprised his selling page lacks this detail].But I still have a feeling one day we'll be hearing this guy's name a lot - that's how good & original his workbooks & worksheets are. He's got something here nobody else has or has ever done. [And I think he might have suspected this, because he's got federally-registered copyrights on all of `em - and even trademarked some of it].I own the Teacher Editions of all 14 Bossy Brocci books [yes, I could've saved money by buying a student copy, but the teacher edition gives me both the student worksheets and the teacher keys - which I don't have the time or desire to make]. I'm going to give you just one or two quick faves of mine from each workbook. I will let you know which workbooks are such GAME-CHANGERS that they are worth getting some district or grant money to get a class set of student books. I've also tallied how many different Lessons (L), Worksheets (W) and Assessments (A) you get with each book [the details he or his publisher overlooked on the Amazon page]. Of course, like most math teachers, I grade worksheets as well - so the total number of Grades you get out of each book is WAY more than just the `Assessments.' Here it goes:1) Numbers & Operations: awesome guided, graphic organizers (GGOs) for handling repeating decimals and interconverting decimals, fractions & percents.L: 16W: 50A: 52) Powers & Roots: GGOs for approximation of irrationals is excellent, and Bacteria & Richter Scale apps & graphs of Powers are great.L: 18W: 48A: 43) Basic Algebra: His "Egg Technique" is so simple yet so brilliant he trademarked it - but I checked and you're still allowed to use it verbally & in print - just so long as you don't try to publish or profit from it. I'm torn on whether to call this a Game-Changer. Since his process is more important than the paper, I'm holding off on saying a student copy should be in every kid's hands. It depends on your students: if your students are young (7th grade and below), or are sloppy and struggle with neatly lining their algebra solutions up, then this book IS A GAME CHANGER and you should get student editions for your class. But if your students are a bit older and neater with their work, then just buy the Teacher Edition and photocopy your fanny off!L: 25W: 54A: 64) Pre-Graphing: GGOs for Slope from Graph, Table and Formula - a dream come true all in one book. And Nobody connects Rate of Change with Slope better. For the first time, my students finally conceptually & mathematically understand slope. So you better believe this is GAME-CHANGER Alert!L: 21W: 74A: 95) Graphing Linear Equations: GGOs for interconverting various forms of Linear Equations and Graphs are clever and super thorough. You've never seen anything like these worksheets - how a kid can independently go from equation to graph and from graph back to equation. Hands-down GAME-CHANGER Alert!L: 11W: 52A: 06) Solving Systems of Equations & Graphing Inequalities: One of the biggest headaches for teachers and students alike has been cured. The author created a GGO that allows students to solve a system all three ways - on a single page, and with Substitution & Elimination simultaneously alongside each other! Humongous GAME-CHANGER Alert!L: 7W: 56A: 07) Proportions, Percents Prices & Dilations: GGOs that make solving proportions systematic and easy to do - with no-headache grading!L: 15W: 35A: 48) Pythagorean & Angle Algebra: His GGOs for solving & applying 2-D & 3-D Pythagorean problems are a favorite of mine. GAME-CHANGER Alert!L: 19W: 61A: 59) Algebra Hits: This book has the big parts of Bossy Brocci's Basic Algebra, Proportions & Pythagorean workbooks all in one. So this is a GAME-CHANGER!L: 24W: 73A: 010) Area, Perimeter, Surface Area & Volume: Heavy on Area, light on Perimeter, and a medium-sized dose of Surface Area and Volume. HOLY MOLEY - he's got two different types of absolutely amazing/genius GGOs that help kids calculate and understand the effect of changing dimension - they literally see it! Just these alone make this book a GAME-CHANGER!L: 20W: 54A: 28 (yes, 28)11) Surface Area of Geometric Solids: One of the most difficult and messy topics has been conquered: the author's deconstructive approach and treatment of changing dimensions within a GGO makes it a GAME-CHANGER for any teacher with a curriculum that's heavy on Surface Area.L: 19W: 52A: 1712) Volume of Geometric Solids: GGOs for how change in dimension affects volume are great. If you're curriculum is big on Volume then this book qualifies as a GAME-CHANGER.L: 19W: 43A: 1713) Stats & Data: All those displays and past headaches for teachers - the "picture frame" or scaffold for making bar graphs, histograms, pie charts, line plots, stem & leaf plots, Box-n-Whiskers are all here pre-fab and neatly placed within various GGOs! Need I say more? Plus he's got an excellent system/GGO for handling bivariate data in a 2-way table. This book is hands down a GAME-CHANGER!L: 15W: 47A: 614) Transformations: Translations, Reflections, Rotations & Dilations - they're all here and he hits 'em hard bigtime! All the necessary graphs are included. Plus every Lesson is followed by a final quiz-like 'Analysis' that forces kids to go back, look at what they just did, think about what they just did, and see or deduce the patterns that they're usually oblivious to. His GGOs and quizzes had my kids seeing patterns, deducing rules and exclaiming `oh, I get it.' That's a GAME-CHANGER in any math teacher's book!L: 22W: 65A: 9Yes . . . that's a lot of GAME-CHANGERS (and money for student edition class sets, if you don't like photocopying). But it all depends on what your curriculum emphasizes and what your kids tend to struggle with the most or, let's be honest . . . what traditionally gives you the biggest headache teaching & grading!The bottom line is that Bossy Brocci math worksheets have helped me and my students more than anything I've ever used, because they're better than anything I've ever seen. Trust me . . . see for yourself . . .UPDATE: Some of the younger teachers in my school have informed me that the Author has taken my advice and put his individual lessons on Teachers pay Teachers dot com. And, rather than buy another workbook just to get his updated lessons, I'll fish out his updated lessons from that website. And yes - my friend, 'Plane Jane,' is right: his newest worksheets Numbers & Operations, Pre-Graphing and Powers & Roots are worth the hype and me replacing my old ones.