MBrown

This text set is aimed at a typical high school algebra class. For the college-bound student this is probably 9th grade but for other students, this could be 11th or 12th grade. In my text set I tried to find a variety of texts that would still be accessible to the the poorer students but still have some interest to the better students. **A. Print Resources:** **McKellar, D. (2010) //Hot X: Algebra exposed//. New York, NY: Penguin Group**
 * Context for using the text set:**

**McKellar, D. (2008) //Kiss my math: Showing pre-algebra who's boss//. New York, NY: Penguin Group**

**McKellar, D. (2007) //Math doesn’t suck: How to survive middle-school math without losing your mind or breaking a nail//. New York, NY: Penguin Group**

I don’t know if these are books 1,2, and 3 or 1a, 1b and 1c (I’m treating them as A, B and C). The excerpt is from //Math Doesn’t Suck// but she extends the approach to the later subjects of pre-algebra and also algebra (she also has a book on geometry in the works). These books are a great supplement for students who are struggling with a particular concept or to read from cover to cover. The books are targeted to girls and include some tips on self-confidence and image but even boys can benefit from the math portions.

Excerpt: “As it turns out, though, no head examination necessary! I did in fact develop a love of math through the eighth grade and into high school, and made up tons of cool tricks and ways of remembering things along the way—tricks that I'm now going to share with you in this book! In the pages that follow, you'll hear my adventures as a terrified math student, a confident actress, and everything in between. Best of all, you'll see how sharpening your brain will put you on the fast track to feeling fabulous in all areas of your life. Oh yeah—I'll help you ace your next math test, too.” (2007, retrieved from the website http://www.mathdoesntsuck.com/book/)

**de Klerk, J. (2009) //Math dictionary: Homework help for families//. New York, NY: DK Publishing** This is a reference book with brief definitions of common math concepts in student family terms. This is a book to be kept on hand so students can refresh their memories for a particular term that was covered in a previous unit (or even year). This is a 128 page book so there is no attachment.

**Bellos, A. (2010) //Here’s looking at Euclid: A Surprising excursion through the astonishing world of math//. New York, NY: Free Press** This is a non-fiction book that has a series of essays that can be taken as separate pieces to describe a topic in further depth or the book can be used to give a sample of the topics in math. This is probably for the students that grasp the main concept but want some more information. This is an extra book with more information or maybe as a starting point for an extra credit report. This is a complete book so there is no attachment.

**Dewdney, A. K. (1999) //A mathematical mystery tour: Discovering the truth and beauty of the cosmos//. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.** This is a fictional story that explores the world and the world of math in search of solution to an ancient mystery. The book ranges from Pythoagoras and Geometry in Ancient Greece to England and a computer program. This is also a cross between an in-depth look at certain topics that might only show up briefly in the regular curriculum and a brief review of the history of math. This is a complete book so there is no attachment.

**Stein, J. D. (2010) //How math can save your life.// Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.** This is a non-fiction book that looks at some of the instances that math appears in every day life. Some of the concepts are more adult in nature (like insurance) but there is also a good introduction to logic and how to form a good argument. This is a good source for some information to answer the dreaded question “Why do we have to learn this anyway?” and also has some computational “tricks” that can be useful. This is a complete book so there is no attachment.

**Pickover, C. A. (2009) //The math book//. New York, NY: Sterling Publishing Co.** This is a book with very short essays on different topics in math with some stunning color photographs and diagrams. It is a collection of 250 topics touching on all fields of math. This is a combination of history and application with some pictures that might engage the more visually oriented students. This is a complete book so there is no attachment (but I wish it fit my scanner so I could show some of the pictures).

**Scieska, J. (1995) //Math curse//. New York, NY: The Penguin Group** When the teacher tells her class they can think of almost everything as a math problem, one student acquires a math anxiety which becomes a real curse. (Library of Congress Data) This is a fun book that is almost a picture book but it has plenty of math included. It is an introduction on how to decode word problems and how to make them not as scary (even if the summary seems too serious). This is a great book for a student struggling with word problems to make them more approachable and maybe even enjoyable. This is also a complete book without an attachment.

**B. Media Resources** **Huang, M. and Huang, C. (2010) //The scale of the universe// [swf file]. Retrieved from []** This is an animated shockwave file that shows the scale of different objects ranging from the very small (quantum scale) to the very large (galaxies). It gives the sizes in terms of meters. It is a demonstration of size and scientific notation. This is a great accompaniment to a unit on scientific notation. It’s fine to say there are 1000 millimeters in a meter or 1000 meters in a kilometer, but it’s very hard to picture that. Attachment included at end.

**HoodaMathTutorials (2012) //Interpret Products of Whole Numbers in a Context// [video file]. Retrieved from [|http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV9SCcK9uR4&list=PL3F2CEBEE93502F8C&feature=plcp]** This is a tutorial for interpreting word problems to extract the necessary realtions to solve the problem. The presenter likes to dress in some intersting costumes but the math is helpful to review some topics that might have never been mastered or forgotten. The range in grade levels is 4 to 7 which can still be applied to High School settings especially with ELL students.

**C. Online interactive resources** **Rand, R. E. (2012) //Visual fractions//. Retrieved from[| http://www.visualfractions.com/index.htm]** This page allows students to experiment with fractions in different forms. This is a review for a topic that trips up students at almost all levels. This could be an individual refresher or if needed a unit introduced into the class as a whole. Included on the website are interactive games and manipulatives and PDFs that could be printed and distributed. Attachment included at the end.

**No credited authors (2005) //Math practice//. Retrieved from []** The site is not the best arranged but it has practice exercises in several topics ranging from basic math to calculus. Attachment included at the end.

**D. Instructional Resources** **Freedman, E. (2012) //Professor Freedman’s math help//. Retrieved from []** The website claims to be geared to the Community College adult learner but this can be easily adapted to a high school environment. She has sections on math anxiety and a list of commandments for math teachers. There are plenty sample exercises and on-line quizzes too.

**Using these texts together in the classroom:** These texts are meant to complement the basic text used in class. The topics here expand upon some of the topics for interested students or review the topics for below average students (or present material that was not learned or retained from before).