The Star Wars Question &Answer Book about Computers by Fred D'IgnazioReview by: Adele NeubergThe Arithmetic Teacher, Vol. 31, No. 9 (May 1984), p. 32Published by: National Council of Teachers of MathematicsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41192414 .

Accessed: 14/06/2014 14:08

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extendaccess to The Arithmetic Teacher.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.20 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 14:08:04 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

speeds at each level are too small to notice. In spite of these problems, I do recommend

Telling Time for youngsters in grades 1-5 who have been instructed in the concepts of telling time but need additional practice. - Barbara Signer, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77004.

New Books for Pupils Edited by Judith E. Jacobs George Mason University Fairfax, VA 22030

Anno's Mysterious Multiplying Jar. Masaichiro and Mitsumasa Anno. 1983, $10.95. ISBN 0-399-20951-4. Philomel Books, a div. of Putnam Publishing Co., 51 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10010.

Any person with a knowledge of basic multipli- cation facts will enjoy this latest brief and simple book written by artist-designer-teacher Mitsumasa Anno and his son. This beautifully illustrated book entertainingly teaches the con- cept of "factorials" in mathematics through the use of a fantasy.

The story begins with a jar containing water that becomes a sea. In the sea is one island, on the one island are two countries, in the two countries are three mountains, and so on, up to ten jars in each of nine boxes. The question posed is, "How many jars are there in all?"

The whimsical illustrations and the authors' afterword on factorials and their importance in the world around us (e.g., how many ways can you arrange five persons at five desks in a classroom?) help the reader to imagine easily how numbers can grow to enormous size in a short time. Creative use of the rectangular- array model for multiplication helps show how the product increases. Understanding large numbers and seeing their relationship to small numbers are concepts not often illustrated in standard textbooks. This book should supple- ment classroom instruction in grade three and up.- Carolyn G. Smith, Arlington Public Schools, Arlington, VA 22207.

MathlibS Grades 3-4 and 5-6. Black- line masters. Carole Greenes, George Immer- zeel, Linda Schulman, and Rika Spungin. 1983, 32 pp. ea., $4.50 ea. Dale Seymour Publica- tions, P.O. Box 10888, Palo Alto, CA 94303- 0879.

This is a collection of problem-solving experi- ences in mathematics and language arts for grades three through four and five through six. For grades three and four, three brief, incom- plete stories (mathlibs) and a word list are found on each of thirty-two pages. The items in

the word list are to be used to complete the story - realistically or imaginatively - depend- ing on the students' choice. Students then solve the problem presented in the story using one of the four basic operations of computation; com- putation is not intended to be difficult for this age level.

For grades five and six, word lists are not always given; the choice then belongs entirely to the students. Computation is extended to include monetary amounts expressed as deci- mals; all multiplication problems have single- digit multipliers, and all division problems have single-digit divisors. The last sixteen pages in- volve two-step story problems.

The back covers of both books list the con- tents and the answers. The book for grades three and four includes the specific computa- tional level for each page; the book for grades five and six separates one- and two-step prob- lems.

The combination of language arts and mathe- matics provides an opportunity for students to experience applications of mathematics in an innovative way. Because the emphasis is not on the difficulty of the computation but rather on the problem solving itself, children can develop problem-solving skills in an enjoyable way. They can personalize their stories and, conse- quently, become much more motivated and interested in solving "their own problems." Although the stories can vary, the answers remain consistent, making follow-up by the teacher convenient. - Adele Neuberg, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030.

The Star Wars Question & Answer BOOk abOUt Computers. Fred D'lgna- zio. 1983, 61 pp., $4.95. ISBN 0-394-85686-4. Random House, 201 East 50th St., New York, NY 10022.

This book teaches about computers to students in the upper elementary school grades. R2D2 and C3PO show what a computer is and what is inside it.

The book addresses such diverse topics as computer games, the history of computers, robots, and the use of computers by handi- capped people. A description of how one "teaches" a computer by programming is giv- en, along with examples of how computers are used. The book demystifies the computer by answering such questions as "Are Computers Smarter than People?" (no) and "Can a Whole Computer Fit on a Chip?" (yes).

The Star Wars theme and the colorful illustra- tions and photographs make this book most appealing. With the question-and-answer for- mat, this book lends itself to both reading aloud and reading by individual children. It can serve as a delightful introduction to computers and can be used by those who do not have access to a computer. - Adele Neuberg.

Those Amazing tables: Teaching Multiplication through Patterns and Color Strips. Joe Lieberman. 1983. Man-

ual, product finder board, and set of colored strips, grades 3-8, $8.95 (set of 10 boards and sets of colored strips, $15.00). Cuisenaire Com- pany of America, 12 Church St., Box D, New Rochelle, NY 10805.

This sixty-four-page book abounds with activi- ties that shed light on interesting patterns and designs in the multiplication tables. The author claims that students using this material will learn the concept behind the multiplication ta- bles, the place values on which our number system are based, and the relationship between multiplication patterns and many other mathe- matical topics. Although the book is recom- mended for students in grades three through eight, students who use it need a firm founda- tion in one-digit multiplication.

The pages of this book serve as black-and- white masters, with permission granted for lim- ited reproduction for classroom use. The book is divided into five sections: "Reading Tables," "Table Designs and Patterns," "Tables and Rectangles," "Color Tables," and "Table Ad- ventures." A heavy product finder board and nine colored plastic strips (1 x 14 cm) are included for use with the "Color Tables" sec- tion. A "Comments and Answer" section is included to guide teachers in using the book.

The colored strips and product finder enable the student to focus on the place value of numbers in the same way zeros are used in base ten. One-, two-, and even three-digit multiplica- tion problems can be performed so that the place value of each partial product is identified by color.

The material supplements the standard pa- per-and-pencil approach to the teaching of mul- tiplication facts and patterns. The first three sections (twenty-eight pages) are appropriate for use with small groups or with the whole class. The "Color Tables" section would be more appropriate for individual work with stu- dents or with very small groups. Additional product finder boards and colored strips would be necessary if the teacher works with more than one student at a time.

If you are looking for interesting ways to work on multiplication problems, this book will provide you with numerous activities. The claim that the book helps children learn the concepts behind multiplication tables and place values is too ambitious. The book requires considerably more teacher direction than the "Comment and Answers" section indicates. -

Carolyn G. Smith.

New Books for Teachers Edited by Jerry A. Mclntosh Indiana University Bloomington, IN 47401

32 Arithmetic Teacher

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.20 on Sat, 14 Jun 2014 14:08:04 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions