Algebra 1 help that talks and draws.

A live voice tutor for the whole course, on a whiteboard that reads your student's handwriting. The whole first-year sequence: statistics, linear equations, functions, and quadratics.

Start Algebra 1 freeWatch a one-minute session

7 days free, no card charged · typically grades 8–10

7 units

Every unit, in the order it's taught.

These are the unit names exactly as they appear inside SmartWit.

  1. 01One-variable Statistics
  2. 02Linear Equations, Inequalities, and Systems
  3. 03Two-variable Statistics
  4. 04Functions
  5. 05Introduction to Exponential Functions
  6. 06Introduction to Quadratic Functions
  7. 07Quadratic Equations

Lessons adapted from Illustrative Mathematics High School Mathematics, © 2019 Illustrative Mathematics, licensed under CC BY 4.0. The Illustrative Mathematics name and logo are not subject to the CC BY license.

Halfway between the roots.

A student reads the roots straight off y = (x − 1)(x − 5) and stops there, which is where the homework usually stops too. SmartWit asks where the lowest point has to sit. They halve the roots to x = 3, substitute it back for y = −4, and only then does the curve go up on the board with the axis of symmetry dashed through it. The picture arrives after the reasoning, not instead of it.
How the whiteboard works
An Algebra 1 session whiteboard: y = (x − 1)(x − 5) at the top, the student's roots x = 1 and x = 5 below it, the tutor's handwritten question 'the vertex sits halfway between the roots — what is x there?', and the student's working, x = (1 + 5) ÷ 2 = 3 then y = (3 − 1)(3 − 5) = −4 with a green check. On the right the tutor has plotted the parabola with both roots marked, a dashed axis of symmetry at x = 3, and the vertex labeled (3, −4).
“The vertex sits halfway between the roots — what is x there?”

Questions

Does it cover quadratics and factoring?

Yes. Units 6 and 7 are Introduction to Quadratic Functions and Quadratic Equations, including factoring, completing the square and the quadratic formula. Factoring is where the whiteboard earns its keep: your student writes the factor pair and SmartWit checks the expansion with them rather than for them.

Can it help with tonight's homework from class?

Say it out loud, or write it on the board. SmartWit works it with your student inside the course context, so a homework question also moves the mastery estimate for whatever topic it belongs to.

What grade is Algebra 1 for?

Typically grades 8–10, but readiness matters more than grade. If your student is meeting linear equations and functions for the first time, this is the course.

Is this the same sequence as school?

It follows the Algebra 1 course from Illustrative Mathematics, an openly licensed curriculum some US schools teach directly. If your school uses a different textbook, the core topics are largely the same, but the order and the unit names may differ. Unit names on this page are exactly the ones inside the app. We don't claim certification against any particular state's standards.

Also taughtGeometryAlgebra 2 (coming soon)

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