Reaching Higher: A Problem-solving Approach to Elementary School Mathematics. VHSvideocassette + printed supported material National Council of Teachers of MathematicsReview by: Mary Kay TornroseThe Arithmetic Teacher, Vol. 40, No. 2 (OCTOBER 1992), p. 128Published by: National Council of Teachers of MathematicsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41195276 .

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the symbols and attend to the required opera- tions.

Throughout the book, the author stresses the importance of understanding of the operations. However, most of the activities described and worksheets included appear to me to promote skill in remembering and applying procedures rather than conceptual understanding. Two particularly disturbing examples are imagin- ing the minus sign as a "sort of magic wand" that transforms a positive number into a nega- tive one or vice versa (p. 40) and relying on key words in word problems to determine the op- eration required (p. 1 20). Other activities, how- ever, like paper folding and cutting to represent fractions, are viable ways of promoting under- standing.

Although some interesting activities are in- cluded in the book, most of them are variants of activities that I have seen published elsewhere (e.g., in textbooks and the Arithmetic Teacher). The author's claim to be presenting innovative approaches seems unfounded. - Aldona Kloster, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, ВС V5A 1S6.

Raps and Rhymes in Maths, compiled by AnnBaker and Johnny Baker. 1991,90 pp., $12. 50 paper. ISBN r 0-435 -08325 -2. Heinemann Educational Books, 361 Hanover St., Ports- mouth, NH 03801-3959.

This collection of rhymes, riddles, and stories is delightful. It is not an instruction manual but a starting point for some enjoyable sessions of rapping, rhyming, dramatizing, creating, and exploring mathematics and language with young children. The authors have included the poems and their classes' reactions when these activi- ties were used. The information is certainly sufficient to enable other teachers to get started and begin to feel comfortable with this ap- proach in their own classrooms.

This book is divided into two sections: one for lower primary (ages 5-7) and the other for middle primary (ages 7 and older). Action abounds here as the students stand, sit, click their fingers, clap their hands, create special effects, chant together, and reply to each other in small groups while they refresh their memo- ries and reinforce ideas that have been learned. Moreover, the students are exposed to many activities that encourage them to think up their own solutions to problems and to offer chal- lenges to the rest of the class. My favorite is "One Old Oxford Ox," wherein two groups challenge each other with outrageous allitera- tions. How would you respond to "twelve typo- graphical topographers"? One response was "typically translating types."

This book has more than enough material to entertain and challenge a class for many hours. My students love it. - Ken Harper, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, ВС V5A 1S6.

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Reaching Higher: A Problem-solving Approach to Elementary School Math- ematics. 1990, VHS vidéocassette + printed support material, $39.50. ISBN 0-87353-304- 6. National Council of Teachers of Mathemat- ics, 1906 Association Dr., Reston, VA 22091.

This videotape is designed to support an in- service or preservice program to help teachers of grades K-6 and their supervisors envision a classroom with active participation by stu- dents.

In clips from a primary lesson about prob- ability, vocabulary, experimentation, and rep- resentation are emphasized. A middle-grade lesson about making and spending money re- quires students to listen carefully to oral infor- mation, record it, and use it to solve problems. Students must also validate their thinking. They work in groups with models and calculators; some use a pinch chart to show their answers.

Upper-grade students represent their think- ing about fractions with egg cartons. Most of the questions have many possible solutions, so students are challenged to explore ideas from different perspectives.

Although the "teachers' talk" in these les- sons is considerable, it is apparent that students are expected to work together to solve prob- lems and to explain their thinking. This film is particularly valuable for educators who are not accustomed to such an instructional approach.

The related book supplies the lesson guides and worksheets to help teachers implement these activities in the classroom. - Mary Kay Tor nr ose.

Edited by Janet Bauman-Boatman Hillsborough County Public Schools Tampa, FL 33601-3408 Gillian R. Clouthier University of British Columbia Vancouver, ВС V6T 1Z5

Mary Kay Tornrose Mathematics Coordinator Newtonville, MA 02160

From Other Publishers Facts Master, Jivan Patel. Set of 7, $21.00 or $3.50 ea. chart. Bruce Bakke Public Rela- tions, 2224 Jamestown Ln., Carrollton, TX 75006.

In these times of implementation of the NCTM ' s curriculum standards, educators are looking for activities that highlight cooperative learn- ing, problem solving, connections, and com- munications. Although the standards call for a decrease in drill-and-practice activities, they do not call for the elimination of mastery of the addition, subtraction, and multiplication facts and measurement components. Elementary school teachers are always looking for alterna- tives to flash cards to aid their students in the mastery of these facts. Facts Master is a learn- ing tool to aid elementary school students in learning basic arithmetic facts. Invented by Jivan G. Patel, this set of drilling boards is designed to be used in conjunction with the teaching of arithmetic concepts. A sheet of paper is inserted into the Facts Master drilling- board folder. The student then copies the basic arithmetic tables from the cover chart onto the paper.

Facts Master predicts that students will master the basic facts after six weeks of work- ing once or twice a day for eight to ten minutes at a time. The drilling boards, with dimensions of 8.5 inches by 1 1 inches, contain up to 100 facts, with room for the student to copy the facts in the same area. The limited amount of space allotted to the student to copy the facts raises some concern. The fine-motor skills needed to copy the facts in the space allowed are not generally developed in children at the stage at which they would be learning these facts. Facts Master offers both teachers and parents an alternative mode of drilling basic arithmetic facts. - Pamela A. Halpern, Mathematics-Science Specialist, Lynnfield Public Schools, Lynnfield, MA 01940.

Fun with Money: A Problem-solving Activity Book, Carol A . Thornton and Judith K. Wells. 1991 , teacher's notes and black-line master worksheets, 78 pp., $7. 95 paper. Learn- ing Resources, 151 S. Pfingsten - Unit M, Deerfield, IL 60015.

The problem-solving cards in Fun with Money are divided into four sections: coin identifica- tion and riddles, coin values and equivalents, counting coins, and money sense. Although the format is suitable for center work, that is not the intended approach. The content in the first two sections might best be used as teacher-directed activities in which students solve problems and share their answers with a group or with part- ners. The active-learning situations offer op- portunities for exploring, communicating, ana-

ARITHMETIC TEACHER

REVIEWING AND VIEWING

Etcetera

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