Numbers are Forever
Reviewed By Janet Mawdesley September 4, 2014
Author Liz Strachan
Distributor:
ISBN: 9781472111043
Publisher: Constable & Robinson
Release Date:
Website: www,allenandunwin.com
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Numbers, numbers, numbers, say that to most kids and they will freak out. If you are a teacher you will know the truth of that statement. But here Liz Strachan in her “Numbers are Forever”, has shown us what every reasonable teacher can do to take the drudgery out of teaching maths and put a lot of effervescence into it. I tried this out on a group of year 5s last week and they loved it.
The number 8 has some fascinating combinations; Liz Strachan illustrates them in a chapter devoted to 8. When I showed the 8 pattern to those year 5 boys they couldn’t wait to get back to class to show their teacher what they had learned.
So, if you are a parent, or a teacher who wants to motivate your kids to get involved with numerical stuff, this is the book for you.
Wow your kids with your genius. Demonstrate your ability to do complex sums in seconds, become an object of awe in your classroom. Pick a topic and get them working while you have the answer at your fingertips ready to flash on the screen. Kids reckon their parents are dumb. No longer!
The book deals only with whole numbers. So no fractions to be waded through.
This one I liked very much, Get someone to choose any 3 digit number but not 999.
Suppose they choose 426, you deliberately choose the same number. Then they are asked for a second 3 digit number, but now you choose the 999 complement of their number. If their second number is 524
you procrastinate a bit while you do a quick subtraction (9-5=4; 9-2=7; 9-4=5) so you choose 475.Now the fun begins, they have to use a calculator or something to multiply their chosen numbers together, then multiply your chosen numbers together, and finally, add the two answers together to get……………
(426 x 524)+ (426 x 47) =223224+202350=425574
In the meantime, while they are wrestling with all that, you munch out the answer in your head………Take 1 from the first number making it into 425 and get the 999 complement, being ….574 and simply join the two together to get 425574. Easy as!!!
Liz Strachan has given a multitude of similar number magic in a single volume.
If I was still a classroom teacher at any level this would be a book on my shelf, or in my case, so that it is always in reach. When you need a bit of magic to put you back in control of that awful maths class this is the book to help you get there.
I loved it, and I found a bunch of kids to try it on, and they think I’m awesome after only 5 minutes. Go do it!!