Math Monday::Math Start Junior
I have mentioned this book a few times of the last few weeks, so I thought I'd spend a few minutes to share what I think of it.
Math Smart Junior (for grades 6-8) is written to help students understand basic math. We are only on chapter 3, but I would say that it does a pretty fair job.
About the story of three friends (and some talking animals) and their adventures on a hot summer day, students reading the book learn about math along the way. I would probably choose a more direct approach myself, but my two oldest boys really are enjoying this.
This would be a perfect supplement to a textbook. Or maybe summer review for a student to work on independently. We are using it to bring a more systematic approach to our learning- most of the concepts in this are familiar to my boys, but they have not learned them in a structured sequence.
As far as grade level- when we "do math" together, usually all three boys (ages 8,11, and 13) join in. If the concept is familiar for one, that child can join in and help make the learning experience fun for the others. If too advanced for another, that child can join in where he is able. Not so with this book- I found James (8yo) getting very frustrated and not enjoying it at all. We save this now for when he is occupied with other things.
My older two boys, however, find this book an enjoyable way to learn math together. I find that they relate well to the explanations in the book. For example, when learning about order of operations the comparison is made to making a pizza or cake. You wouldn't frost a cake before you bake it, right? We do all the reading together and work through the quiz problems on the white board together as well.
If you are wondering how much time this takes- We have been taking one chapter a week. To read the chapter and work through the problems we meet twice for about 30-40 minutes each time. I anticipate that we might stretch the next two chapters (fractions and decimals) each over two weeks.
It is a little early to give this book a rave review, but for the price (around $6 used), I think it is more than worth it. There is a review appendix (a good place to begin if the student is rusty on his math), quizzes throughout the book, a thorough answers and explanations section, and a glossary to explain any math terms that are not familiar to the student.
I did borrow this book through our library system first, so it may be available there for those would like to preview it before buying.
*One negative note: This may not be throughout the book, but it is one concern I have. When working on things like order of operations, it is my goal to be sure that my students understand that concept, so I would prefer that most of the calculations in the review quiz could be easily accomplished. I want them to focus on the concept at hand- not stressing over a large multiplication or division problem. It was not difficult to adjust the equations, but I thought it was worth mentioning. If this comes up again, I might just let my boys use a calculator.
Math Smart Junior (for grades 6-8) is written to help students understand basic math. We are only on chapter 3, but I would say that it does a pretty fair job.
This would be a perfect supplement to a textbook. Or maybe summer review for a student to work on independently. We are using it to bring a more systematic approach to our learning- most of the concepts in this are familiar to my boys, but they have not learned them in a structured sequence.
As far as grade level- when we "do math" together, usually all three boys (ages 8,11, and 13) join in. If the concept is familiar for one, that child can join in and help make the learning experience fun for the others. If too advanced for another, that child can join in where he is able. Not so with this book- I found James (8yo) getting very frustrated and not enjoying it at all. We save this now for when he is occupied with other things.
My older two boys, however, find this book an enjoyable way to learn math together. I find that they relate well to the explanations in the book. For example, when learning about order of operations the comparison is made to making a pizza or cake. You wouldn't frost a cake before you bake it, right? We do all the reading together and work through the quiz problems on the white board together as well.
If you are wondering how much time this takes- We have been taking one chapter a week. To read the chapter and work through the problems we meet twice for about 30-40 minutes each time. I anticipate that we might stretch the next two chapters (fractions and decimals) each over two weeks.
It is a little early to give this book a rave review, but for the price (around $6 used), I think it is more than worth it. There is a review appendix (a good place to begin if the student is rusty on his math), quizzes throughout the book, a thorough answers and explanations section, and a glossary to explain any math terms that are not familiar to the student.
I did borrow this book through our library system first, so it may be available there for those would like to preview it before buying.
*One negative note: This may not be throughout the book, but it is one concern I have. When working on things like order of operations, it is my goal to be sure that my students understand that concept, so I would prefer that most of the calculations in the review quiz could be easily accomplished. I want them to focus on the concept at hand- not stressing over a large multiplication or division problem. It was not difficult to adjust the equations, but I thought it was worth mentioning. If this comes up again, I might just let my boys use a calculator.
Thanks, Laurie. I like the idea of using it as a summer review book!
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