I'm a homeschooling Dad who is the teacher for the first hour the day with my son, a first grader. For a part of that hour I spend with my son, I wanted to use a math workbook that would provide a comprehensive overview of the material a first grade student is expected to master by year-end. Quite randomly, I chose the Math Made Easy series workbook. I'm delighted I made that selection!The Math Made Easy provides an incremental, comprehensive approach to teaching math. There are 156 pages -- lessons, if you will -- to work on. Early on, your student learns how to tackle simple math problems, and then those concepts are developed into more complex problems in later lessons. This is an excellent way of learning -- incrementally and progressively. So, rather than learning everything there is to know about reading an analog and digital clock for 10 straight lessons, the easiest concepts of all math concepts are presented early in the workbook, and then those same concepts are presented in more challenging formats (to a first grader, anyway) later in the workbook. That requires the student to recall the earlier learning that was done in the workbook, in order to tackle the more challenging problems that are presented later on. So, for instance, time-telling lessons appear on pages 29, 86, 87, 88, and 116. My son and I generally complete 2 pages in about 20 minutes. Sometimes we do 3 pages, sometimes only 1 page. We started using this workbook in late September, and we'll likely finish our workbook by February -- a complete first grade math education in about 4-5 months!Although we use the workbook for 20 minutes a day, we often spend more time -- up to 30 minutes more a day -- taking a concept presented in the book and developing it more fully on our own. What's nice, though, is if the lesson for the day is on, say, graphing, I can easily come up with ideas for graphing beyond the few problems presented on one page in the workbook.Put another way, the goal for using this workbook isn't to see how quickly you can finish it, rather, it's how well can your student master the material in the workbook. The workbook provides the breadth of what a first grader should know, but you'll need to add depth beyond the workbook if you want your student to fully master the material.The only things I don't like about the workbook is that it is not full-color inside (black and white or grayscale); too often the lessons require the student to draw pictures (it takes a first grader too long to draw them) or hard-to-draw shapes like stars; and sometimes the student is expected to write-out numbers, which is a problem if your student doesn't yet know how to read or write.In contrast, what I like is the comprehensive nature of the book, the interesting presentation of some of the material (the less-than and greater-than symbols < > are fashioned into crocodile heads that always eat the larger number!), the star-sticker reward system for completing a workbook page, and that early lesson topics are revisited in more challenging formats in later pages of the workbook.In a word -- I highly recommend this book! Math Made Easy: 1st Grade Workbook, Ages 6-7
This is the second book in the "Math Made Easy" series. It will help to prepare your child for standardized tests and supports National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Standards.
Not only will the lessons build confidence, all the parental notes and answers are included. You can easily tear those sections out of the back of the book. In the Answer Section with Parent's Notes, you will find all the answers to all the activities in the book. These pages will enable you to mark your children's work or they can be used by your children if they prefer to do their own marking.
The notes for each page will help to correct common errors and problems and will indicate the type of practice needed to ensure your children have an understanding of where and how they made mistakes.
This workbook will provide practice for all the major topics for Grade 1 with emphasis on addition and subtraction concepts. There is also a review of Kindergarten topics and a preview of Grade 2 topics.
Features a progress chart complete with stars so you can stick in a star when the corresponding lesson has been completed.
Contents:
Numbers
Numbers & Pictures
Counting Review 1-20
Counting by 10s and 2s
Halves and Quarters
Adding Animals - counting animals in pictures and then writing in the numbers
Sets
Money
Fun ordering stories - what happens 1st, 2nd and 3rd.
Time - writing time in each box.
Connect the numbers
Comparisons
Days & Seasons
Addition, subtraction, real-life problems, digital clocks, bar graphs, symmetry, matching fractions, shapes and places, odd and even, estimating length, equations, reading calendars, properties of polygons
Measurement problems
3-dimensional shapes.
Puzzles - reading clues to solve the puzzle. "I am a number between 20 and 30. If you
count by fives, you will say my name. Who am I?"
I don't remember school being this fun. :) The pictures are
quite cute in all the Math Made Easy books.
~The Rebecca Review
There are 'workbooks' and there are Workbooks! and I purchased this after reading the reviews below and I have to tell you that it is not nearly as good as I was led to believe.
First, this book can really ONLY used as a supplement to another text. There is no progression in how material is presented nor much in the way of explanation -- a paragraph here and there in the back. So if you were going to use this alone, you would have to come up with explanations yourself.
For example: on page 11, there is the 'sudden' introduction of calculators. On page 159 the authors say (in total): "If children have difficulty with the exercises on the page, suggest to them that they use their fingers or counters to find the answers". THAT's IT. Good luck.
Another example: on page 14, there is the introduction of tens and ones. They have six problems showing a tens-stack (or multiple thereof) plus some one's. Now this was precisely the sort of thing that I wanted assistance in teaching and showing my daughter.
About this the authors say: Make sure that children understand that the `1' in `14' stands for 1 ten, but the 1 in 41 represents 1 one. (Arggh.)
Now I have been using the "Giant Basic Workbooks" up to this point and perhaps I'm spoiled, because I came to expect that material would be introduced and built upon, not just slapped down in front of us. These are first graders, after all.
Three Stars. A Terrible workbook if you are looking for explanations or the slow introduction and building upon of math concepts. (Definitely not good for homeschooling.)
Probably a good book if you desire additional problem sets to work on with your school child. Colorful though crowded pages. - Dk Publishing - Mathematics - Workbook - Homeschooling'
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