Key to Percents: Workbooks, Answers and Notes, and Reproducible Tests for 1—3 by StevenRasmussen; David RasmussenReview by: David J. WhitinThe Arithmetic Teacher, Vol. 36, No. 5 (January 1989), pp. 42, 44Published by: National Council of Teachers of MathematicsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41194442 .

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ume, and graphs and statistics. Three review test chapters and a final exam chapter are included. According to the teacher's guide, answers to the exercises, review tests, and a final exam are included in the guide, but I did not find them.

Each chapter has four sections and is ar- ranged like a lesson plan. Section 1, "Getting Started," previews the content of the chapter and furnishes needed review material; section 2, "Examples," applies the five-step method to examples; section 3, "Practice," allows the student practice on the topic of the chapter; section 4, "Checkout," is a multiple-choice chapter test.

This textbook does not offer any new ap- proaches to teaching problem solving. In fact, the teacher's guide states that the five-step method is currently used in all textbooks. The book's purpose is to make problem solving "easier for the many students who have trouble solving word problems" by using a simple, carefully explained and demonstrated method. It can be used as a supplement to the classroom text or by itself. Most problems require previ- ously learned skills. For example, to work problems in the chapter on fractions, a student must know equivalent fractions, common de- nominators, and adding, subtracting, multiply- ing, and dividing fractions. Many of the prereq- uisite skills are beyond the knowledge of most average students in grades 4-6; they would also be too difficult for below-average students in these grades and in grades 7-9. Students who have the prerequisite skills could use this text-

book with no problem. - Eva Lightner, East Arcadia School, Riegelwood, NC 28456.

Weighing and Measuring, Annabel Thomas and Nigel Langdon. 1986, 32 pp., $3.95 paper. ISBN 0-86020-921-0. Usborne Publish- ing, 20 Garrick St., London WC2E 9BJ, En- gland.

The book is divided into sixteen minisections or chapters. The first section identifies the purpose of the book, which is measuring and weighing using two main systems of measuring, metric and Imperial. The different monsters who do all the activities are introduced and the content is summarized in the first two pages.

After the initial introduction, the book is divided into two main parts. The first part explains measuring length, height, and dis- tance. The second part discusses what weight is and how to measure it. Other concepts, such as temperature, volume, calculating the surface of an object, and measuring slope, are also ex- plained in this part. All this material is ex- plained through colorful illustrations of the Monster Gang involved in various activities and puzzles. A measures chart is included for both the metric and Imperial systems. The final pages consist of answers to the puzzles and activities.

At first glance the pages appear to be ex- tremely busy, challenging the reader as to what should be read first. But after careful observa- tion this reviewer found the layout of the pages

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to be more organized than at first glance. Be- cause numerous activities are presented on each page, a parent or teacher may need to offer guidance to some children. - Toi K. Creech.

Weighing and Measuring Work BOOk, Helen Davies. 1986, 32 pp., $1.95 paper. ISBN 0-86020-9253. Usborne Publish- ing, 20 Garrick St., London WC2E 9BJ, En- gland.

This workbook is based on the instructional book published by Usborne (see preceding re- view). The book follows the same outline and the minisections bear the same titles as in the instructional book, thus making it easy for a child to refer to one or the other. A brief review of the concept to be practiced is given at the beginning of most minisections. Characters of the Monster Gang are used consistently in the activities to explain instructions or to clarify the materials needed to do the activities. Answers to all puzzles and activities are found at the end of the book.

This reviewer felt the workbook comple- mented the instructional book nicely. Both books would be useful sources of information for the classroom. Parents may choose to use these books with their children, but some addi- tional explanation may be necessary. - loi к. Creech.

For Pupils

Key to Percents: Workbooks, An- swers and Notes, and Reproducible TeStS for 1-3, Steven Rasmussen and David Rasmussen. 1988, Workbook 1, 45 pp., $1.70 paper, ISBN 913684-57-0; Workbook 2, 45 pp., $1.70 paper, ISBN 913684-58-9; Workbook 3, 45 pp., $1.70 paper, ISBN 913684-59-7; An- swers and Notes, 33 pp., $1.85 paper, ISBN 913684-61-9; Reproducible Tests, 22 pp., $8.95 paper. ISBN 913684-95-3. Key Curriculum Press, P.O. Box 2304, Berkeley, CA 94702.

Percents are an integral part of commercial arithmetic. These three student workbooks, ac- companied by an answer key, notes, and repro- ducible tests, attempt to address the various uses of percents. Book 1 presents concepts involving percent and emphasizes mental com- putation. Book 2 gives examples of how to solve various types of percent problems using equal fractions. Book 3 teaches children how to solve basic percent problems using decimal multiplication and offers practice in using per- cents in various applications. Some of the situ- ations include rounding off in retail transac- tions, figuring tax and savings, and determining a restaurant tip.

These books include many important fea- tures. They emphasize mental computation, since most work with percents is done without paper and pencil. They encourage children to reflect on the reasonableness of their results. This emphasis is particularly important, since the books nicely integrate the use of calculators

42 Arithmetic Teacher

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in various exercises. However, these books do not comprise an entire program for teaching percents. The authors indicate that their pro- gram presupposes extensive work with manip- ulative materials. It would also be important for children to bring to class examples of percents and to have opportunities to discuss the real-life uses of percents. - David J. Whitin.

A Mathematical Mystery Tour: Higher-thinking Math Tasks, Mark Wahl. 1988, 256 pp., $19.95 paper. ISBN 0- 913705-26-8. Zephyr Press, 430 S. Essex Ln., Tucson, AZ 85711.

A Mathematical Mystery Tour is an imaginative trip through mathematics history and discovery based primarily on the Fibonacci numbers and the golden ratio. This trip includes exercises in design, writing, geometrical constructions, bot- any, zoology, astronomy, and philosophy. The entire program can be completed all at once over three to seven weeks, or it can be spread over the year by unit or activity.

These materials are well suited to small- group discussions of methods and results; group members would benefit from a coopera- tive problem-solving effort. I recommend that these groups be limited to four members and that social cooperation be taught along with the subject matter.

Each activity includes a supply list and con- cludes with a teacher's guide. The lessons are reproducible and clearly illustrated. The author

recommends that students keep their work in a folder or notebook so that they can refer back to papers as they proceed through the tour.

Other features include extension and home tasks for many activities, bibliographical refer- ences, integration of several different subject areas with a mathematics focus, practice in calculations, and a wide variety of activity modes. - Barbara C. Blackburn, Asheville Jun- ior High School, Asheville, NC 28804.

Math Games for the Young Child, Agnes Azzolino. 1985, 83 pp., $10. Mathemati- cal Concepts, 85 First St., Key port, NJ 07735- 1503.

This small book is packed with games for children from two to seven years of age. Par- ents and teachers can use it with young chil- dren; it calls for active participation by all players.

The games are arranged in sequential order and are rated by level of difficulty. The difficulty ranking is found on a chart at the end of the book along with the topic chart listing the games and the various mathematics strands covered by each game. An additional chart, also located at the back of the book, suggests an order of play and notes which games can be played by more than one person.

The author makes important points about playing the games. Some suggestions come from her personal experiences of playing the games, which she developed with her son. The author highlights these points: one plays a game to have fun; free play with game pieces may be necessary to prepare for a game; the adult and child play as equals; and games are for enjoy- ment.

The games are grouped by five topics: count- ing and counting games; travel games; card games; board games; and games and activities with other things. The introduction to each topic explains the items of particular impor- tance to that group of games and compares the games to previous topics and games. The au- thor offers helpful hints to make playing the games as enjoyable and valuable as possible.

The writing style makes the book easy to use for both parents and teachers. Since young children seem naturally to enjoy games, this book should provide many enjoyable experi- ences for practicing such important mathemat- ics skills as counting and number concepts, addition and subtraction, problem solving, and geometry. - Dana S. Adams, New Hanover County Schools, Wilmington, NC 28403.

Play and Learn Numbers. 1987, w pages, $39.95 cloth. Fille, 421 S. Ogden Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90036. Play and Learn Numbers is made of heavy flannel sewn together like a book. The numbers 1-10, made of similar materials of contrasting blue, are sewn on each page. Each number is represented by colorful cutouts of familiar ani- mals, insects, and objects, such as turtles, butterflies, kites, and apples, which are attrac- tively embroidered and reinforced around the

edges. Pieces of velcro are used to make the objects stick to the numbers being represented. A pocket is sewn at the back of the book for storing the cutouts if desired. The material is a very colorful and versatile tool for teaching counting, adding, and subtracting. The children enjoy manipulating and grouping the objects. Since the objects are not permanently attached to the page, perhaps Play and Learn Numbers is better classified as a manipulative material rather than a book. According to the publisher, it is washable and safe. However, the light yellow color may be soiled very easily, partic- ularly if it is used by a large group of children.

Play and Learn Numbers is an excellent manipulative material for an individual child in a family. It would make a nice birthday gift. The parents of several nursery school children who have seen it during a trial period have asked for information on ordering it. - Paz I. Bartolomé, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Wilmington, NC 28403.

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Etcetera

Math Comes Alive: Activities from Many Cultures, Claudia Zaslavsky. 1987, reproducible book with 64 activities, $15. J. Weston Walch, P.O. Box 658, Portland, ME 04104.

This set of reproducible worksheets is centered around the culture, history, and background information of countries of the world. It in- cludes the origin and history of games, numer- ation systems, and everyday practices involv- ing mathematics. This material can be used by students from middle school through senior high school.

The six chapters include calculations, appli- cations (including calculator and computer ac- tivities), geometry and measurement, probabil- ity, statistics and graphs, and problem solving for fun. Applications to art, sports, communi- cation skills, and social studies are included. The format of these activities lends itself to cooperative learning in that problem solving and critical thinking are important features of each activity.

Ten basic skills are addressed, and a chart indicates which skills are addressed in each activity. The difficulty levels range from com- puting with whole numbers to determining alge- braic expressions for patterns of numbers. One activity involving patterns may be frustrating to students. The title, "Can You Find the Pat-

(continued on page 27)

Edited by Ann Neaves Boling Jackson Public Schools Jackson, MS 39225-2338

44 Arithmetic Teacher

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