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Resources for Family MathFamily Math for Young Children: Comparing Unicorns are Real: A Right-Brained Approach to Learning Coates, Grace Davila, and Jean Kerr Stenmark. Family Math for Young Children: Comparing. Berkeley, CA: Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, 1997. This is the first volume of the Family Math books for families with young children from 4 – 8 years of age. The series is designed to help educators and families acquire methods and materials to make mathematics more accessible to all students especially those from groups that are not well represented in mathematics: students of color, girls, children from low-income families, and those from language minority groups. The book details establishing a mathematical environment in which children and adult family members can share their thinking about problems. Activities are presented which use active learning methods to cover a broad mathematical curriculum. Each activity is presented in an easy-to-follow format that explains what the activity is about, what materials are needed, how to do the activity, and what insights will be gained. (back to top of page) Control Your Money. Syracuse, NY: New Readers Press, 1997. This book is intended to help the reader control his or her money. Ideas are presented to manage money well so that both short- and long-range financial goals can be met. Chapters present basic math principles involved in assessing income and expenses and making a Spending Plan. The book provides an overview of money matters from basic banking to credit, handling debt, and planning for the future. This is an excellent reference written in easy to understand language. (back to top of page) Johnson, Virginia. Hands-On Math. Cypress, CA: Creative Teaching Press, Inc., 1994. This text is a resource book of manipulative math activities designed to supplement any K-1 math program. Its foundation is the belief that children learn math concepts best through hands-on experiences with concrete objects. Manipulative activities involve the student in the learning process and give him or her a sense of discovery and empowerment. Chapters contain 9 – 14 activities focused on a specific concept presented in increasing order of difficulty. Helpful supplemental materials include sample parent letters for each concept covered and reproducibles for some of the activities. (back to top of page) Plumo at the Zoo (CD Rom). Canada: Micro-Intel, Les Jeux GB, 1997. "Plumo at the Zoo" is a delightful CD Rom with thirteen educational activities designed for 3 – 6 year olds. Plumo, an engaging parrot, guides children in activities that develop the child’s cognitive skills such as observation, discrimination, counting, logic, etc. Plumo speaks the instructions for each activity, provides encouragement for the child’s answers, and helps the child reach the learning objectives. (back to top of page) Stenmark, Jean Kerr; Thompson, Virginia; and Ruth Cosey. Family Math. Berkeley, CA: Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, 1986. Like Family Math for Young Children (see Coates, et al above) this text is one in the series from Lawrence Hall of Science focused on making mathematics more accessible to learners. In the activities presented, parents and children (Kindergarten through grade 8) will have the opportunity to develop problem-solving skills and to build an understanding of mathematics with hands-on materials. Topics included fall into the categories of arithmetic, geometry, probability and statistics, measurement, estimation, calculators, computers, logical thinking, and careers. Each activity is presented with a rationale for doing it, a description of and detailed directions for the activity, and ideas on how to extend or adapt the activity. (back to top of page) Vitale, Barbara Meister. Unicorns are Real: A Right-Brained Approach to Learning. New York, NY: Warner Books, Inc., 1982. The author begins her work with an explanation of the functional differences between the two hemispheres of the brain and the learning preferences associated with these. Following chapters present learning strategies that are right-brained in their approach, that is, which use characteristics or skills associated with the right brain to introduce the concept. These supplement the strategies generally used in education which are predominantly left-brained. Learning strategies for simple addition, column addition, carrying, and subtraction are among those presented. (back to top of page) |
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