Mad Math for Primary Students Book 2

The activities are often fun ... mad even, but the basicunderlying principles are sound.

Ordering these activities according to difficulty isextremely hard to do because student readiness for problem solving reliesgreatly upon their previous experiences and how the material is presented in theclassroom. Similarly, it is hard to classify these books according to yearlevel. Basically, Book 1 is framed for primary (Grades 1 - 3), Book 2 forIntermediate (Grades 3 - 5) and Book 3 for Grades 6 - 7 students. These levelsare not prescriptive, thus materials should be selected to suit the student,group or class.

The aim of Mad Math is to develop problem solving skillsrather than other, more mechanical number skills. Any aid which assists ingetting the problem solved is to be encouraged as the process is much moreworthwhile than the answer in this case.Calculators, blocks, counters, squaredpaper, pieces of paper to draw on and indeed anything that helps the process ofproblem solving should be encouraged and made available.

To get the best out of Mad Math

Each Mad Math page has three parts to it:

1. The ProblemRead through the problem with thestudent, group or class you are using it with.Whilst reading for meaning is a veryimportant skill, major emphasis here is problem solving skills,
not reading. So, ensure that all students understand and are fully aware of theproblem presented.Discuss the problem before progressing tothe questions, perhaps developing your own questions
before moving on.

2. The QuestionsEnsure that all the students understandthe question and its context before they tackle the
answer. The benefits flow from the process not the answer. In fact many studentswill have
difficulty in framing a form of attacking the problem. Discussing the questionshelps overcome this.

Independence will develop with experience.

3. Madness ... The ExtensionThe final task adds a further fundimension to those on the page. These activities may not be
totally math orientated but they lend an enjoyable end to a math session.The ‘Madness’ boxes are intended to beoptional.

AssessmentIn assessing these activities it isessential to consider more than just the answers."Did the student understand theproblem?" is probably the most important question to be asked andevaluated. Questions about computational accuracy are of secondary importance... but important nevertheless.Do not forget to evaluate your ownpresentation of the material ... using materials such as this as ‘busy work’may indeed cause more work than was intended.