Reviews of Additional Resources

Below are reviews on some math resources available on the market. Please note that these resources do NOT claim to be Christian. Be on your guard when you read them and understand that you will have to use your discernment. I have posted these reviews so that you will know what is available and can better decide what will/will not work for your family; it is not my intent to recommend these resources.

We carry the few Christian math resources that we have been able to find--you can view them by clicking here.

We have tried to divide the reviews into categories. However, please use your own judgment on whether the resource would be appropriate for your child.

• Older Students
• Younger Students
• Resources Parents Have Submitted
• Curriculums (Note: this list only includes curriculums reviewed since the writing of Beyond Numbers. Please see Beyond Numbers for the majority of curriculum reviews).

Please share with us what resources you have found helpful or ones which you would like us to review. Send an email to info@christianperspective.net.

Older Students

For All Practical Purposes

Note: This series has been removed from the website listed below. However, you may still be able to obtain it at some libraries (particularly university libraries), and can still purchase used copies of the printed version.

Available for FREE at http://www.learner.org/resources/series82.html

This series of 26 half-hour videos does an excellent job presenting math's practical uses in a fun and meaningful way. A far cry from a boring classroom presentation, these videos make math both interesting and exciting through real-life examples and footage. I loved how the series made complex concepts simple, enabling the viewer to learn without even realizing it. One or two of the videos have very brief sections that discus evolution from the wrong perspective, but on the whole the videos stayed clear of the topic of origins and focused on math's practical uses. Since these videos were produced in the 1980s, a few videos feature rather archaic computers; however, the principles the videos present about math in action have not really changed.

This series is great for high-school students (or younger with assistance). The series is available for free at http://www.learner.org/resources/series82.html (you can also easily find this website by searching Google for "For All Practical Purposes."

The company that made this series has also produced a full sized high-school/college textbook by the same title. I was able to purchase one through AbeBooks (http://www.abebooks.com) for $3.99, including shipping. A great bargain, and well worth every penny!

Science Projects About Math

Robert Gardner

I was so excited when I read the title of this book. I have examined so many science books that simply tell the child the science concept without showing them that it was math that helped us discover that aspect of God’s creation. I was delighted to find that here, at last, was a book that explained the math behind science in a fun and interactive way. Although this resource does not claim to be biblical, it does an excellent job giving fun science experiments that put math into action. For middle-school aged children.

How to Lie with Statistics

Darrell Huff

This is by far the best book on how statistics can be twisted that I have found. Most books tend to give crude or unnecessarily bad examples, but this one was written back in the 1950s and uses useful, clean examples, although it is by no means perfect or biblical. Written in a clear, fun style with plenty of humorous illustrations. Upper elementary school on up to adult.

Younger Students

Let's Investigate Series

Marion Smoothey

Let’s Investigate Ratio and Proportion is a useful book for those looking for a simple explanation of ratio/proportion and their uses in real life. The book begins by introducing Sue and Shelly’s wooden caterpillar business and having the reader discover the ratios between the different color wood segments the girls need to make up their caterpillars. It then continues to demonstrate ratios in recipes and knitting before officially introducing ratios and teaching its symbolism. The second half of the book focuses on proportion, tying it very nicely back to ratios. While I really liked the practical and simple way this book presented the concepts, I did not care for one page that talked about a Hag (they used a Hag’s recipe as their recipe example). Other than that, the book seemed like a useful resource on ration/proportion.

Note: There are numerous other books in the “Let’s Investigate” series. Two of my favorites are “Maps and Scale Drawings” and “Circles.” Many of the books contain a lot of useful real-life examples and present the concepts well for elementary/middle school children; however, be aware that occasionally a book will contain an offensive example. I found this series at the local library, so you might check yours to see if they carry it.

The Science Book of Numbers

Jack Challoner

I loved how this book provided hands-on projects related to math. Instructions are given for making a digital dial, abacus, slide rule, weighing and music machine, counting wheel, sundial, and more. The instructions for each project are in full color and take up two pages. Hardly any explanation is given about the math concept; however, these are great projects to help use and solidify concepts as you learn them. Children will learn about math without realizing it—especially if you point out how the project uses the math concept you have just learned. These projects would probably work best for younger elementary students with parental supervision.

Using Math to Solve a Crime

Wendy and David Clemson, Kev Pritchard, and Dr. Allison Jones

Using Math to Solve a Crime makes math come alive for elementary students by actually allowing the student to become a detective and solve a crime. Students use numerous math concepts (including addition, graphing, analyzing, recognizing shapes, code cracking, and many more) as they walk through the detective process. Along the way, students learn interesting facts about forensic science and crime investigation. I was thoroughly impressed by the way this book intertwined math and science. I have read so many books that simply mention how math is used; this book made the student use math. While many books tend to oversimplify concepts or add wordproblems as afterthoughts, the math problems in this book are both realistic and an integral part of solving a crime case, making the problems meaningful and exciting to solve. I also really liked the way the book forces the student to to think through a simulated real-life situation and to put various math concepts to work (which teaches him to think mathematically). A great resource to help show your children that math is a useful tool. Could take anywhere from a day to a month or so to work through, depending on how fast you go. I was a little disappointed at the book's pricetag ($18.50). If the price makes it unaffordable for your family, consider seeing if your library can order the book through interlibrary loan or give it as a birthday/special gift to your child--they will love it!

Thanks to my Aunt Marie Ferreira for telling me about this resource. Part of the Mathworks series by Gareth Stevens Publishing (www.garethstevens.com). The series also contains the following titles: Using Math to be a Zoo Vet, Using Math to Conquer Extreme Sports, Using Math to Create a Movie Stunt, Using math to Fly a Jumbo Jet,  and Using Math to Win a Grand Prix. 

Mathematicians Are People, Too: Stories from the Lives of Great Mathematicians

Mathematicians Are People, Too: Stories from the Lives of Great Mathematicians by Luetta and Wilbert Reimer is an easy-to-read book on the lives of great mathematicians. The book is written in a story-book style, making it both easy to read and enjoyable, especially for elementary children. The authors did an excellent job showing how mathematicians developed many concepts in an attempt to solve the real-life problems of their day. While the book does not go into depth on the philosophy of the different mathematicians, it touches on it here and there, opening the door for you to discuss/explore further what was right/wrong with the mathematician's beliefs and practices and where this led. A good resource to use to start exploring math's history with your younger children, although it does not approach the subject from a Christian perspective.

Resources Parents Have Submitted

Below are listed some resources that have been submitted to us and that sounded helpful, but which we have not personally reviewed.

Measure Up with Science Series

By Brenda Walpole
Series includes books on Counting, Seed, Distance, Size, Time, Temperature. Published by Gareth Stevens Publishing

Back to math page

Math Curriculums

Note: This list only includes curriculums reviewed since the writing of Beyond Numbers. Please see Beyond Numbers for the majority of curriculum reviews.

Math on the Level

General Info:

Publisher: Family Lifestyle Learning
Grade Level(s): pre-K through pre-algebra
Price: $370 for a complete set that can be used with all the children in a household for pre-K all the way through to pre-algebra. Smaller sets are available.
Website: http://www.mathonthelevel.com/
Date of Review: September 2007

Content:

Does the curriculum make the student use math practically? Yes! I really liked the way this curriculum strove to integrate math with every-day occurrences. For example, one of the books lists ideas of how parents can reinforce eighteen different math concepts while cooking!

Does the curriculum include applications in science or other disciplines? Not really. While the curriculum shows students how to use math in their own lives, it doesn’t really stress how math applies on the job/in an industry. However, the format is such that parents could add this information to their presentations (see format section below).

Does the curriculum incorporate history in the math presentations? No. The presentations just focus on the techniques used today. Again, though, the format lends itself to modification.

General Content Notes:
I found the general way this curriculum integrates math with real-life extremely refreshing. I don’t believe I’ve seen a grade-school curriculum that does as good of a job of presenting math as something useful in real-life. And, because it was written with homeschool parents in mind, the ideas are all doable in the family context. The curriculum does not, however, include any history or science, which are really important elements in demonstrating that our current way of writing things is just one way of recording quantities, not a self-existent fact. Users may want to purchase Exploring the World of Mathematics or some other book that touches on math’s history to use as a supplement while they teach.

Format/Ease of Modification

Does the format lend itself well to modification? Yes! This curriculum takes a very different approach to learning math than what you’d typically find. The curriculum essentially guides parents through custom-designing a math program for their child based mainly on real-life experiences, while at the same time providing relevant written review and a record-keeping system. The parent gets to choose a topic to teach from the list (a suggested order for topics is given, but parents can go out of order if they like). For each topic, the curriculum offers teaching ideas and explains the concept, so that even parents who aren’t good at math can confidently present the concept to their child. Since the parent is essentially creating his own curriculum with guidelines and doing all the presenting of each concept, the parent could modify the presentation to reflect a biblical perspective.

How much parental involvement is required? Since this curriculum is based around the idea that math should be taught as a part of life, parental involvement is essential. Parents present all the concepts (the book offers ideas on how to present them) and assign “5-A-Day” homework problems specifically for the child (see next section). However, parents may discover that in the long run they actually save time over traditional methods. Because the child is progressing at his/her own pace, parents should find that they won’t have to sit down as often and spend hours trying to explain a concept that their child just doesn’t get. Also, parents might find that the time it takes to assign the “5-A-Day” problems is no more than the time it would normally take to grade the 30 problems other curriculums require. But don’t expect to just hand your child a textbook—this curriculum guides the parent in teaching math.

Is the curriculum manipulative based, textbook based, both, or neither? Although this curriculum combines some of the elements from both the manipulative and textbook approaches, its approach doesn’t really fall in either category. The student is not given a textbook, but, at the same time, he is given five problems a day to solve. These problems are selected in such a way that the child gets continual review of all concepts he’s been taught and gets extra practice on ones with which he struggles. This “5-A-Day” system allows for review of concepts without creating meaningless busywork often found in a textbook approach. As for manipulatives, the curriculum is not manipulative based in the sense that not every concept must be taught with manipulatives. At the same time, the program utilizes simple manipulatives made out of household items to help present or reinforce various concepts.

General Format/Ease of Modification Notes:

If you enjoy unit studies/exploring and growing outside of a “textbook,” then you will really enjoy this curriculum’s approach. The things I found nice about the format were:

• The parent does all the presenting, which means that the student won’t have to      sift through humanistic textbook presentations (provided, of course, that the parent presents the concept biblically),
• Students only have to solve five problems a day instead of twenty or thirty, helping the child see math as a real-life tool instead of a monotonous, textbook exercise, and
• The format is flexible, meaning parents can feel free to take a few days to look at the math they find in other unit studies/subjects without feeling like they’re falling behind in math.

Summary

An excellent choice if you’re wanting a guide that will let you explore math with your child but still give you structure and a record of what you’ve covered. This is a brand new curriculum with a brand new approach to math. I found it’s practical approach, flexible format, and 5 versus 20 or 30 problems a day very refreshing, and was excited to see this sort of curriculum available on the market. For more details on how the program works, check out the review on the Eclectic Homeschoolers website.