This book is the first of two books for students working at Level 3 of the Mathematics and Statistics Curriculum.
It helps students to use basic addition and subtraction facts, and place values, to solve problems. They should recall most of their multiplication facts and will be developing their multiplicative thinking. There are new chapters covering Geometry and Measurement topics.
Mathematics is all about solving problems and not about doing pages of sums, so this book provides plenty of opportunity for students to put their mathematical knowledge to work in real contexts across all the strands.
Pearson Mathematics
There is a very good philosophy behind the new Mathematics and Statistics curriculum. The aim of Pearson Maths is to bridge the gap between that document and classroom practice. The series emphasises real situations for using and applying mathematics. Two major features of these books are the mini projects and the challenges.
Mini projects
These are open-ended mathematical applications. Teachers need to be able to stand back and behave as facilitators rather than controllers. Children need to be allowed to make mistakes; trial and error is a recognised problem-solving strategy. Likewise the ability to communicate in mathematics is important and the mini projects allow for a variety of ways of communicating. They allow the children to apply their mathematical vocabulary, signs and symbols.
Challenges
These are an added motivation for generally, but by no means exclusively, the more able students.
