The Really Useful Maths Book ─ A guide to interactive teaching

'A rich resource which will help a teacher who likes to take risks to enable, inspire and support.' - TES magazine

The Really Useful Maths book has been written for all those who want children to enjoy the challenge of learning mathematics. It presents teachers and students with exciting and varied ideas for introducing mathematics to children. With suggestions about the best ways to use resources and equipment to support learning, it describes in detail how to make learning the easy option for children.

This accessible and comprehensive book covers both the practical side of mathematics and the theory and practice of mathematics teaching. Packed with ideas and activities, it is the perfect tool to help you to improve your teaching strategies. Topics covered include:

• numbers and the number system
• what teachers need to know about interactive teaching
• calculating
• consolidating new ideas and developing personal qualities
• shape and space
• measures, statistics and data handling
• consolidation and practice for accuracy, speed and fluency.

Fully updated to take into account changes in mathematics teaching and curriculum, this new edition offers a host of new ideas for teaching, new topics, a glossary of mathematical terms and an activity matrix for easy navigation of the book’s practical activities. It is the perfect tool to support training and practicing primary teachers, subject specialists and mathematics coordinators in schools.

Tony Brown was until recently the Director of ESCalate, the UK Centre for Education in HE at the Graduate School of Education, University of Bristol, where he is now Visiting Fellow. He is an Associate Tutor at the University of Plymouth. Tony taught in several primary and secondary schools before working as a curriculum advisor for Cornwall and then as a teacher educator in a number of UK universities. In addition to mathematics, he has published several papers and book chapters on psychoanalysis and education.

Henry Liebling led Primary Maths Education at University College Plymouth, Marjon for 16 years, writing Getting Started, a guide for NQTs (1999), and co-authoring The Really Useful Maths Book with Tony Brown in 2005. Prior to this he helped introduce Agricultural Science into the Zambian Secondary Curriculum in 1970, leading science and the school farm at a local secondary school. Returning to the UK with a growing interest in self-help, community and sustainability, he helped set up an Oxfam group and shop, chaired a Parish Council and taught for 10 years in an urban Primary school, introducing science, technology and early IT.