Best math teaching materials according to redditors

One of my professors, Mohamed Omar, recently published a short book which provides an intuitive introduction to RSA cryptography. I haven't read it myself, but if it's anything like his lectures, then you'll probably find it to be very easy to follow while also being thorough. I believe it assumes no previous background in number theory. Worth looking into if you have $10 to spare.

I do because my son struggles in school and barely stays on grade level (especially when it comes to writing). I use these [Summer Express] (http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Express-Between-First-Second/dp/0545226910) work books because it is broken up into 10 weeks - 1 page per day (front and back) - 5 pages per week. We just make it part of our daily routine and most of the pages take about 10 mins.

We also live in a big city, do summer reading at the library and try to take advantage of all the activities and museums we have access to. We also do a ton of unstructured play so I feel in the end it is a good mix.

This is the textbook my elementary math education methods course used, and it was very good. I think it's a pretty standard text.

Edit: The 7th edition is cheaper and probably not substantially different.

Use number strings or number talks. These are mental math teaching strategies. In number strings you can talk about rounding to friendlier numbers (like multiples of 10 or doubling) for subtraction and then compensating. You can do the same thing for multiplication. After all, when most of us multiply 17 by 19 we don't use the algorithm, we multiply 17 by 20 then we subtract 17 (or -20 and add 3).


This books are useful
http://www.amazon.com/Building-Powerful-Numeracy-Middle-Students/dp/0325026629

And www.numberstrings.com

We can talk via email if you need more ideas. This has been my pedagogical focus. Incorporating numeracy into algebra.

This is a topic that personally I've had a lot of interest in lately. I'm starting to explore it on my own and have considered pursuing it more during the time I am going to be spending in grad school for math education.

Although my knowledge on the topic is still very limited, I've been fascinated by the idea of authority and identity in mathematics and how to apply our ideas and understanding about these topics into classroom practices that benifit students, espeically the ones that usually struggle or feel alienated from math.

I know so many people in my life that have that "I'm not a math person" mentality that flat out makes some of them avoid and shut down when faced with it rather than even trying to think and solve the problem. And it's frustrating to me! Even if you can't get the right answer, you can try, learn, and build your understanding. Yet it's not an easy thing to get people who have been alienated by math so long to see this.

I've been reading a book recently called Mathematical Literacy and it discusses some similar ideas in a much broader sense. It talks about how students build an identity when it comes to math. And in order to build a positive one, we need to foster a sense of being the "creator" of knowledge in a sense.

Students need to move from watching the material being done, to doing the material assisted, to doing it on their own. All while developing skills, language, and confidence to go with this. Taking a very authoritative position in teaching according to the author really hinders this process.

Which I think falls in line a lot with some of what this article was saying.

I'm not sure how I feel about dated models on understanding of knowledge and learning. They have been referenced in the book I'm reading as well, but I hesitate to say that any learning or thought processes can be sorted out into such black and white categories. That and a lot of the gendered math research feels very... weird to me. As a women in math, I've never experienced feel like I've experienced these things that other people say that I supposedly have. And, although I know personal experience is not science, I hesitate to believe strongly in a model that doesn't match my own experiences. At least not until I read more about it.

Anyway, interesting read and thanks for sharing it.

I highly recommend any of the activities from this text as an end cap to an Algebra 2, Geometry, or even Algebra I class.

https://www.amazon.com/Model-Shop-Functions-Geometry/dp/1530290503

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Your library might have this book. It looks legit. A workbook like this might be a good idea, too.

Also, for geometry: https://www.ets.org/s/praxis/pdf/khan_academy.pdf

Good luck! You're awesome in my eyes for teaching math when it isn't your strong suit.

this isn't free, but a good set of workbooks we are using are jump math books. they are cheap too, under 10$ each. (here's the grade 2 books we are doing) http://www.amazon.ca/JUMP-Math-2-1-Book-Part/dp/1897120656

I highly recommend NRICH and Mathematics Explained for Primary Teachers. Also, read Relational Understanding and Instrumental Understanding.

What's going on here is almost certainly what others said about this child lacking the experience with numbers to understand how they relate to one another. Play, play, and play some more!

This book https://www.amazon.com/Designing-Effective-Mathematics-Instruction-Approach/dp/0131192442

Teaches you how to sequence math skills and will help you provide the sort of explicit modeling that is necessary for effective math instruction.

Amazon of course.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1543155413/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_Q3DFzbSKF28BY

They make regular graph, and isometric versions as well.

Definitely Nix The Tricks By Tina Cardone and Math With Bad Drawings by Ben Orlin

As far as procedural teaching, nix the tricks was just fantastic. Read it within a week. Math with bad drawings is really funny, and made me think more about conceptual development and getting rid of these contrived examples we do to explain certain things within mathematics.

I wasn't great at Maths at GCSE (somehow got a C, can't remember most of it) but I did Foundation year of my degree this year which is designed to get people our age caught up to what you need to know to join and be ahead of those in first year. I can lay out exactly what my Maths and Computing lectures have contained this year, but the majority is from GCSE / AS Maths and GCSE / AS Computing (I would assume, since college ICT / CS / Computing has changed A LOT in the past 12 years).

Class | Subjects
-----|--------
Maths (First Semester) | Measurement and Units, Arithmetic (Whole numbers, Fractions, Sig. Figs., Decimals, Percentages, Ratios), Indices and Standard Form, Algebra (substitution and simplification), Algebraic Factorisation and Fractions, Transposing Formulae, Linear Equations, Trigonomic Ratios, Pythagoras, Factorising quadratic equations, Quadratic formula, Simultaneous (linear) equations, function notation, graphing and solving linear and quadratic equations, Straight line equations, Trig functions and their graphs, Trig equations, sine and cosine rules, Differentiation of curves, Exponential functions and logs, Statistics (Averages and Std. Div.) and Probability
Maths (Second Semester) | Dimensional Analysis and units, Algebra (Binomial Expansion), Decimal and Binary, estimation, Surds, Proportionality and Derivation of Equations, Degrees and Radians, trig identities, trig equations, Further logs (changing base), Further Differentiation (higher derivatives), Indefinite and Definite integration, Complementary events, further probabilities, Venn diagrams, Vectors and bearings, Inequalities, Sequences and series
Computing 1 | History of Computing, HTML, CSS, Binary, Binary Addition, Binary Subtraction, Floating Point calculation, Logic Circuits, Algorithms, Graph Theory
Computing 2 | Databases Introduction, SQL, PHP / mySQL, Data Storage, Computer Architecture, Machine Code, Basics of Java and Python
Programming (C++) | Intro to programming, Literals, Variables, I/O, While Loops, For Loops, Program constructs, if/else, Switch, strings, Arrays, Vectors, Functions, Passing by Reference, Pointers, Classes + Objects introduction

If you know most of that you'll be well prepared for first year, if not I can recommend the course text we used for Maths which was really handy and covers 90% of that section.

LF(PDF): Fundamentals of Discrete Structures (2nd Edition) ISBN-13: 978-1256389217
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1256389218?pf_rd_p=d1f45e03-8b73-4c9a-9beb-4819111bef9a&pf_rd_r=V7VPG69K9S6A1A1X6792
Paypal: 15$

My school uses this one and I recommend it. Easy to understand and actually kind of fun.

Try kristy shinn book for maths, it can help you to improve your score in math.
kristi shinn

We often ask our 9th graders to show how to add, multiply, subtract, etc. in more than one way. They often prefer algorithms but they have difficulty making sense with what they actually mean and how they transfer into algebraic thinking. I do have to say over time, they get better at the multiple ways of performing operations.

People who are good at number sense and mental math often don't waste time with algorithms.

I would recommend picking up this book and spending 5-10 minutes a day doing number strings:
http://www.amazon.com/Building-Powerful-Numeracy-Middle-Students/dp/0325026629

You can also pick up "Lessons and Activities for Building Powerful Numeracy" which has handouts/worksheets and sample discussions with students.

You can basically look for anything else that is written by Pamela Weber Harris or Catherine Fosnot.

These are my four favorites that I use to guide my direct instruction:

Strategies That Work


When Kids Can't Read


Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language Skills


Designing and Implementing Mathematics Instruction for Students with Diverse Learning Needs

If you're on the new spec then you need to do statistics and mechanics. The Oxford AQA A level maths text book has all the modules you'll need to cover in it.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/AQA-Level-Maths-Year-Student/dp/0198412959/ref=sr_1_fkmr3_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1506758813&sr=1-2-fkmr3&keywords=a+level+maths+aqa+2017

Here are some activities courtesy of John Van de Walle:

On the board write a collection of 8 to 10 factions. A few should be greater than 1, with the others ranging from 0 to 1. Let students sort the fractions into three groups: those close to 0, close to 1/2, and close to 1. For those close to 1/2, have them decide if the fraction is more or less than 1/2. The difficulty of this task largely depends on the fractions. The first time you try this, use fractions such as 1/20, 53/100, or 9/10 that are very close to the three benchmarks. On subsequent days, use fractions with most of the denominators less than 20. You might include one or two fractions such as 2/8 or 3/4 that are exactly in between the benchmarks. As usual, require explanations for each fraction.

Have students name a fraction that is close to 1 but not more than 1. Next, have them name another fraction that is even closer to 1 than that. For the second response, they have to explain why they believe the fraction is closer to 1 than the previous fraction. Continue for several fractions in the same manner, each one being closer to 1 than the previous fraction. Similarly, try close to 0 or even close to 1/2 (either under or over). The first several times you try this activity, let the students use models to help with their thinking. Later, see how well their explanations work when they cannot use models or drawings. Focus discussions on the relative size of fractional parts.

Draw a picture of a shape with a portion shaded, or a number line with an "x" on it. Have each student write down a fraction that he or she thinks is a good estimate of the amount shown (or the indicated mark on the number line). Listen without judgment to the ideas of several students and discuss with them why any particular estimate might be a good one. There is no single correct answer, but estimates should be "in the ballpark". If children have difficulty coming up with an estimate, ask if they think the amount is closer to 0, 1/2, or 1.

These activities are all from this book: http://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Student-Centered-Mathematics-Developmentally-Appropriate/dp/0132824876/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1458582087&sr=8-6&keywords=john+a+van+de+walle which has been a big help to me when planning math lessons.