Monday, April 23, 2012

TOS Review- Critical Thinking- Mathematical Reasoning


"Oh no, another math book."  That's how my fourth grader greeted this newest book for our review- Critical Thinking- Mathematical Reasoning by The Critical Thinking Company.  Luckily, within a matter of a day, the bright colors, short lessons and wide variety of fun activities won him over.  Now he is asking to do more pages!

Mathematical Reasoning, Level F is geared towards 5th graders.  The fun thing about Mathematical Reasoning is that every page is a little different.  No rote facts or boredom here!  Mix that in with a few game-like activities and lots of colors and pictures, and they had my kiddo hooked.  Most activities are pretty self-explanatory, but when a new or harder concept is introduced there is a brief how-to at the top of the page.  If you are used to a curriculum telling you exactly how to teach a new concept, you will have to transition to a slightly different style.  The series is written with a spiral approach, meaning each new page builds on the previous, the same being true of each level.  Obviously, your child may have a slight advantage having done earlier levels, but I think with a solid math background, he or she will easily catch on.

Our favorite part, according to my son-the balance benders pages (just think puzzle like brain teasers that require problem solving skills).  He did one, then immediately went through the entire book finding all of the other balance bender pages.  He has since begged me to purchase the book that The Critical Thinking Company has for just that type of problem.

While I would not use this as our stand alone math curriculum for 5th grade, I do think it is a wonderful resource to use, possibly even for a summer review for a struggling child or just when your child needs a break in the action from their current math program.  We have been doing a few pages every other day as a reward for completing our other math; hey, it works for us!

The Critical Thinking Skills Company is known for its engaging products, and this newest in its lineup will not disappoint you!

From the publisher- "Mathematical Reasoning™ helps students devise strategies to solve a wide variety of math problems. This book emphasizes problem-solving and computation to build the math reasoning skills necessary for success in higher-level math and math assessments. This book is written to the standards of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. "

You can buy Critical Thinking- Mathematical Reasoning here for $42.00, as well as view additional products they offer.

See what fellow CREW mates had to say about this product here.

Disclaimer- I received a copy of Critical Thinking- Mathematical Reasoning in exchange for my honest review.  The views expressed our mine, and were not influenced by the company in any way.

5 comments:

  1. AGB struggles with word problems. Would this be a good supplement to our current math curriculum to help specifically with that?

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  2. I looked back through the book, 413 pages, and yes, there are word problems in it. Not every page, by any means, but a good amount. One thing I like about this book is that it presents math in many different ways...again, not your typical myth book. Because it is very "cortical thinking" geared, many activities seem like puzzles to solve...using math, of course. I think that's why SCP liked it...it made it "fun". Even though the one we have have is 5th grade level, we will use it all summer. You may want to look at 4th grade level as well. If you let them know I referred you, you will get free shipping! :)

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  3. Haven't heard of this one will have to look into it:)

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  4. Can I ask why you wouldn't use this as a stand-alone math curriculum?

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    1. This is a typical workbook experience, so there are not a lot of how-tos. If you are used to a step by step instruction type program, this may not offer enough as far as the teaching of concepts. However, it is a great resource and one we keep coming back to in between levels of other things we use. Are you looking for a fifth grade Math program?

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