Activity-Oriented Mathematics: Readings for Elementary Teachers by William E. SchallReview by: Andria P. TroutmanThe Arithmetic Teacher, Vol. 25, No. 1 (October 1977), p. 36Published by: National Council of Teachers of MathematicsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41190249 .

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New Books for Pupils

Edited by Edward C. Rathmell University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, Iowa

First Math Helper (Readiness). Gloria Or- lick. 1976, 48 pp., $1.45.

Second Math Helper ( Number and Nu- meration) . Evelyn Farmer. 1976, 64 pp., $1.65.

Third Math Helper (Addition Facts 1-10). Eva Pollack. 1976,64 pp., $1.65. Book-Lab, 1449 - 37th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11218.

These books are "designed to develop and rein- force fundamental mathematics concepts" for the K-l curriculum. They have been written for one-to-one tutorial situations.

The First Math Helper is a readiness book. It has twenty-two lessons that emphasize (1) identi- fication and discrimination of shapes and sizes together with language for spatial and quan- titative relationships such as more or less, above or below, and so on; (2) sequences and patterns; and (3) one-to-one correspondence. Language experiences are built into the program effectively.

The Second Math Helper has thirty lessons on topics that include matching sets, how many, more, less, counting, numerals (1-10), ordinals, evens and odds, and pennies, nickels, and dimes. The initial activities include models for numbers, but many of the later activities are primarily sym- bolic. The thirty lessons in the Third Math Helper are devoted to addition facts with sums to ten.

Each lesson has two pages; one page has direc- tions for the tutor, the other has activities for the student. Objectives and questions and answers are provided for the tutor, and directions are clearly written. This makes it possible for a non- professional, even an older student, to easily use the materials in a tutorial situation.

The books could be used as supplements to the K-l curriculum or in remedial situations with students who need more work on these topics. The material in each of these three Math Helper books is standard content and the activities are typical. Teachers will find these inexpensive ma- terials useful because of the structure that is in- cluded for the tutor. Almost anyone who can read could effectively tutor using these books.

Practice in Mathematics: Skill-Building Puzzlers, Book A and Book B. Claudia Grif- fin. 1976, 20 pp. ea. The Instructor Pub- lications, Dansville, NY 14437.

Each of these books consists of duplicating mas- ters to provide reinforcement or practice of com- putational skills. Each activity is placed in the context of a puzzle, a maze, a secret message, or the like.

Book A includes four pages of addition and subtraction facts, six pages of addition and sub- traction, four pages of multiplication and divi- sion facts, two pages of mixed practice on the basic facts, one page of expanded numerals, two pages of money activities, and one page of multi- plication. This book could be used in the middle grades.

Book В includes two pages of addition and subtraction, eight pages of multiplication and di- vision, one page of expanded numerals with ex- ponents, six pages of fractions, one page of mak- ing change, one page of multiplying decimals, and one page of computational review. It could be used at the upper grades.

Each book provides twenty masters that could be used with little teacher input. Nonduplicating answers are provided. The books are not in- tended to provide developmental work for these topics; however, teachers who would like to have extra reinforcement activities readily available will find the books useful.

The Maximum from Your Mini- calculator. Glen D. Vannatta. 1976, 63 pp. VAN COM Publications, P. O. Box 680, Car- mel, IN 46032.

This book includes a large variety of examples and problems involving different ways to use a minicalculator. It is intended to provide a "useful and lucid guide to using your calculator." The topics include (1) a section on recommended fea- tures for a calculator; (2) basic operations on whole numbers, decimals, and fractions; (3) con- stant and chain operations; (4) the percent key; (5) everyday uses of the calculator; (6) using the calculator for mathematics problems; and (7) conversions to and from metric units.

One interesting feature is the use of Key and See tables to show examples. Sequentially placed .under Key are the entries, and the display for each is recorded under See. There are two or three tables on nearly every page.

This book provides a wealth of practical prob- lems together with numerous examples of how the calculator can be used to solve them. Roughly the first half of the book is appropriate for the upper grades. The entire book could be used with junior high students.

The book is literally a guide in the sense that different types of problems are presented and examples are shown to take you step by step to the solution. For that reason the book might not hold the interest of all students. Also some of the topics such as depreciation, simple and com- pound interest, income tax, and so on, will not motivate young students as much as they will adults.

New Books for Teachers

Edited by Andria P. Troutman University of South Florida Tampa, Florida

Activity-Oriented Mathematics: Read- ings for Elementary Teachers. William E. Schall, ed. 1976, xii + 481 p., $8.95 paper- back. Prindle, Weber & Schmidt, 20 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02116.

This is a valuable collection of readings covering a wide range of topics in mathematics education for elementary school teachers. The collection is convenient because it is compiled from many sources that may not be readily available to the teacher. It is useful because it offers a wealth of easily digestible ideas that can be applied directly in the classroom. The book is divided into eight sections, each exploring a specific aspect of ele- mentary school mathematics education. An in- troduction that provides background informa- tion and identifies pertinent issues precedes each section. To provide the reader with some idea of the book's coverage, the titles for the sections are included here.

Part 1: Goals for Elementary School Math- ematics

Part 2: Number Systems and Operations Part 3: Data, Size, and Shapes Part 4: Let's Solve It Part 5: Beads, Buttons, and Things (This sec-

tion includes articles that describe ma- nipulative teaching aids and labora- tory techniques.)

Part 6: Correlations and Inspirations (This section includes articles that consider mathematics in relationship to other areas of content.)

Part 7: Providing for Individual Differences Part 8: The Wrap Up (This section includes

articles that discuss the status of the elementary school mathematics pro- gram, the role of the teacher, and ap- propriate direction for curriculum re- form.)

Although this book includes several fine arti- cles describing trends in and future perspectives for elementary school mathematics, the volume is not as current as it could be. Recently occurring events have influenced and will continue to in- fluence the elementary mathematics curriculum: the "return to the basics" movement, the pro- liferation of inexpensive calculators, and the de- cision to convert from the customary to the met- ric system of measurement. Many well written articles are currently available that discuss these events and their implications for elementary school mathematics. This valuable book would have been even more valuable had it included some of these articles.

36 Arithmetic Teacher

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