Math Mammoth Grade 4-A Worktext, Canadian Version

Book excerpt: Math Mammoth Grade 4-A worktext (Canadian version) is the student worktext for the first half of the 4th grade math, and part of Math Mammoth complete curriculum for fourth grade. This book starts out with a review of addition and subtraction, patterns, and graphs. We illustrate word problems with bar diagrams and study finding missing addends, which teaches algebraic thinking. Children also learn addition and subtraction terminology, the order of operations, and statistical graphs. Next come large numbers-up to millions, and the place value concept. At first the student reviews thousands and some mental math with them. Next are presented numbers up to one million, calculations with them, the concept of place value and comparing. In the end of the chapter we find out more about millions and an introduction to multiples of 10, 100, and 1000. The third chapter is all about multiplication. After briefly reviewing the concept and the times tables, the focus is on learning multi-digit multiplication (multiplication algorithm). The children also learn why it works when they multiply in parts. We also study the order of operations again, touch on proportional reasoning, and do more money and change related word problems. The last chapter in the 4-A worktext is about time, temperature, length, weight, and volume. Students will learn to solve more complex problems using various measuring units and to convert between measuring units. Features Math Mammoth focuses on conceptual understanding. It explains the "WHY", so your children can understand the math, not just learn "HOW" to do it. The curriculum is mastery-oriented. This means it concentrates fairly long on a topic, delving into its various aspects. This promotes conceptual understanding, as opposed to spiral curricula that often tend to jump from topic to topic too much. There is a strong emphasis on mental math and number sense. It requires very little teacher preparation, which is a big help to most parents.: ) The curriculum has no separate teacher's manual nor is it scripted. The introduction to each chapter has some notes for the teacher concerning the material in the chapter. All the instruction is written directly to the student.