This course will cover all of Algebra I and II in one year using an ordering of the topics used in older versions of Algebra (about  75% of Algebra 2 is review).

Originally, Algebra 1 was designed as a terminal course for people who may never take another math course. Algebra II was designed as a harder version of the same material for students who were college bound. But I agree with some independent educators that Algebra I and II can be combined into a single course. This means we start with a more thorough foundation at the beginning.

Pretest
This year I am requesting that every student complete a short test to make sure that they are ready. When you register for the class, the welcome message will send you a video and a document to print. The video will teach an easy new topic. Then the test will ask your student to do a few problems on this topic and some standard problems covering fractions, negative numbers, and easy exponents. In the past, feedback from parents and learners have noted some difficulty when the range of background is too wide. Don't worry if you are signing up at the last minute, I can be flexible with the pretest.

The entire course for the year is broken up into 4 sections, each 9 weeks long. The first section is pay-up-front to prevent double bookings (restaurants do a similar thing) but the remaining 3 sections will allow pay weekly. 

Specifically, we will cover in this first section, week by week, over 9 weeks:
"Laws and Lines"
1) order of operations and the types of numbers;
2) equality and inequality; absolute value; comparing fractions;
3) the algebraic laws: associative, distributive, commutative;
4) converting between fractions and decimals;
5) the solution of simple one-variable equations;
6) laws of exponents, square numbers, cubic numbers, triangular numbers;
7) prime factorization of numbers; greatest common factor, least common divisor; and
8) review and tests

Here is the outline for the rest of the year:
Part Two (from after thanksgiving to mid-February)
"Systems and Graphs"
1) theory of functions;
2) slope-intercept form; point-slope formula;
3) graphing lines;
4) systems of equations: substitution;
5) systems of equations: elimination;
6) solving linear inequalities and absolute value equations;
7) scientific notation;
8) linear programming (which is basic optimization, not computer programming);
9) review and test

Part Three (from mid-February to mid-April, with a flex week to accommodate spring breaks)
"Quadratics"
1) polynomial multiplication and FOIL;
2) polynomial division, the difference of two squares, and the perfect square trinomial;
3) quadratics equations: easy cases; the zero product property;
4) quadratics equations: classification methods;
5) quadratics equations: completing the square and the quadratic formula;
6) parabolas and vertex form;
7) basic conics (including hyperbolas, circles, ellipses);
8) quadratic systems of equations; [flex week, covered over a two week period; the week before and the week after both have flexibility in them too]
9) test and review.

Part Four (from mid-April to mid-June)
"Logs, Radicals, and Cubics"
1) solving radical equations;
2) the imaginary number, complex numbers, and rationalizing denominators; 
3) laws of logarithms;
4) solving exponential equations ;
5) solving logarithmic equations;
6) distance formula, midpoint formula, and graphing cubic and quartic equations;
7) remainder theorem, factor theorem, rational root theorem, and Descartes rule of signs (together these can solve higher order problems);
8) test and review;
9) review and test.

Teaching Style: While I do lecture and work examples, I usually "flip the classroom" and have students work examples for the class, this is the method of teaching used in graduate school and used thousands of years ago in ancient Greece (it is the fastest way to learn math). Part of the method involves students working together (led by me) to work problems on the board as well.

Students should already be good at arithmetic, the basic order of operations, fractions (especially finding a common denominator), negative numbers, and the number line. I realize that different students may have different backgrounds. Learners who find these topics difficult would benefit from a year-long prealgebra course.

While the topics lists seems to be strict, they build upon each other so that the topic in one week is incorporated in the following weeks. For example, they won't be solving linear equations for just one week, but the rules will be laid down in the 3rd week, learned indirectly in the 4th week, learned explicitly in the 5th week, then used almost daily for the rest of the year. 

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. In the past on Outschool, I've been able to be flexible and accommodating to families. Thank you!