How Math Works

Fascinating explanations, activities, profiles of history's most noted mathematical thinkers, and experiments introduce young readers to the world of mathematics and demonstrate how math fundamentals are a significant part of every day life.

Gr. 5^-8. With a book jacket statement, "100 Ways Parents and Kids Can Share the Wonders of Mathematics," this large-format compendium offers many activities as well as brief discussions of math concepts and history. Projects include creating a hopscotch game to demonstrate positive and negative numbers, comparing the ratios of objects with their shadows, and making a spirit level. Sometimes an activity's connection to mathematics seems tenuous (making a magic wallet or a pinhole camera). Each double-page spread focuses on a particular subject within one of the seven broad headings: numbers, proportions, algebra, statistics, measurement, shape, and thinking. The pages' bright, crisp colors are crowded with many small, white-background photos as well as experiments, projects, and sidebars. The approach may be scattershot, but some of the projects will hit the target, providing ideas that parents and teachers can use in teaching math to children. Carolyn Phelan