Maths Problems & Investigations, Book 1 Lower Primary: Differentiated activities to build students' skills and strategies

Book 1 Maths Problems & Investigations is aimed at lower primary school level. It includes Level 1 problems that are generally solving one-step problems in which students need to use one mathematical operation and the language indicates the required operation. The Level 2 problems involve more sophisticated language and may involve more than one operation. There are also investigations that draw students in to address real-life situations. To solve the investigations they must think and work mathematically, as well as use their knowledge of a range of mental and written strategies.

Greg Purcell began his teaching career in 1974 and is still actively involved as a tutor in primary education at The Australian Catholic University. He has always enjoyed teaching and is now pleased to be in a situation where he can assist aspiring teachers develop the skills, knowledge and understanding necessary to become confident and competent primary school teachers.

Since 1993 he has been primarily a full-time author. As a teacher, he realised the need for student- and teacher-friendly resources that would provide course work that matched the curriculum. He took it upon himself to have a dabble in writing a series of problem-solving books which led to him, along with my teaching colleague Harry O'Brien, to create the immensely successful Maths Plus series - a teachers' favourite since first published in 1994.

That series has been a springboard for a number of other publishing projects that have sought to provide teachers and students with resources that enable achievement of all relevant outcomes in a meaningful and enjoyable context.

In order to keep his mind fresh and thoughts clear, Greg recommends staring every day with a swim or surf at Cronulla.