Addison Wesley Mathematics Grade 1/Student

I have come across many math textbooks for elementary students, some of which are better than others. While many of the current textbooks, including Addison Wesley's, are quite good, this book still wins the award for "best math book of all time" in my mind. I used this book myself when I was in first grade. Given that the book is a consumable textbook I was allowed to take it home with me at the end of the year. I have kept it for years and still like to consult it when thinking of activities for students learning mathematics. It's clear enough that it can be used with anyone, including LS and probably ESL students, and contains a good deal of cumulative exercises and critical thinking exercises for higher achievers. (The previous edition of this book had its own enrichment workbook and I'm willing to bet this one did too). There are also several punch-out manipulatives included in the back as well as a "data bank", which helps students to look at real data and practice their research skills in a field not typically associated with research (although students will find 15 years later that they are actually using techniques such as these when interpreting professional journal articles and other documents including numerical figures). Calculator applications are found from time to time in this book and a few references to the LOGO programming language can be found in the "computer bank". While the computer exercises are a bit out of date (I haven't seen LOGO used in a school setting for some time outside of MicroWorlds, and that was several years ago) and the book fails to include standardized test preparation exercises (due to its age) I still find it to be the best textbook out there. A creative teacher will be able to supplement it with their own materials to "modernize" it. Another positive feature of this book is its good balance of pictures and text. Too many elementary math texts go overboard on pictures and illustrations. This one does not but at the same time is not a "boring" book. The cover is interesting yet simple--I prefer it to the newer covers featuring rabbits, rhinos, teddy bears, and other characters which may not necessarily be embraced by the students. If you can find one of these books I recommend picking it up. Teachers can use this as a supplement, especially if the students need a different explanation on a particular concept. The book is perfect for tutors and parents and can be used effectively with one and often more students (there are some activities better suited for partner work). Until someone comes out with an even better book I will be holding on to this and using my worn 1993 copy as I plan lessons for students studying first grade mathematics.

Workbooks can be so boring, but my daughter loves this one. It comes with punch-out props in the back of the book to help them grasp concepts like money, addition/subtraction and fractions. The pics are colorful and there are ample opportunities to practice concepts before moving on. The book follows our state's curriculum very closely.