Math Games for Middle School

After reading some of the reviews on this book, I just had to respond with a review of my own. This book reminds me a bit of "The Big Book of Tell Me Why" that children (and adults) love to read. I am a home schooling mom, not a math teacher. I am home schooling an accelerated second grader. For our "normal" math class work, we are use Singapore Math and the "Key To" series. For math enrichment, we are reading "Math on Call", A Mathematics Handbook and this one, "Math Games for Middle School". I find this book to be just what we need for answering my son's "why questions". "Where do numbers come from?" "Why do we use base 10." "Do other people use another base?" "Why do computers use base 2?" "What is base 2?" As a home schooling mom, I love this book for its deep, yet managemable explanations to these questions. Terms are also defined. For example: base, exponent, decimal, decimal dot...both in terms and in examples. We are only on the first chapter (though I have browsed the first several) and my son only grasps some of the layers of the onion, but we are both enjoying the book. Our country relies too much on formulas and not enough on understanding. This book would bring joy to a class as an opening warm up to get them thinking. I wish we had more educators like the author of this book that excited his students to the joy of mathematics and not just to rote learning of rules that seemingly "dropped on us from the sky." The author taught on the faculties of Columbia university for 50 years and Princeton for 5 years. His earliest work was 8 years in his native city on the faculty of the University of Rome. Ph.D. in mathematics and in civil engineering. He has a center (I am not sure if it still exists as he died in 1997 at age 90) called the Salvadori Center that is dedicated to improving teaching in middle schools with emphasis on math and science. His words, "I have dedicated the last years of my life entirely to teaching the young, from kindergartners through high schoolers." Great book.

I teach middle school mathematics and I think the book is great to aid in cooperative learning groups. Using the information and developing work stations will enhance the students' knowledge of the material. As a lesson, the book would require the creativity of the teacher to add other material and/or adjustments to make it interesting. This book is best for reteaching or review of the topics being taught.

As a middle school substitute teacher, I'm always looking for things to use as daily problem to open the class with. This book is GREAT!! Problems are divided by topic so it easy to pick & choose. Answers are completely explained.