Math for Your First- and Second-Grader: All You Need to Know to Be Your Child's Best Teacher (Family Learning Series) [Paperback]

Steve Slavin (Author)

Book Description

Series: Family Learning Series | Publication Date: May 30, 1995

Make sure your child gets off to the right start in math! Help your child become more comfortable and confident with numbers Discover which mathematical concepts first-and second-graders should learn Enjoy helping your child master key math skills You can teach your child the basic skills that will lay the foundations for future success in math and science. Based on standard math curriculums, this book covers all the math that your first- and second-graders should be learning and gives you dozens of proven techniques for teaching these crucial skills. Steve Slavin, an educator with a special gift for math instruction, shows parents how to teach the fundamentals--counting, addition, subtraction, fractions, simple word problems, even the beginnings of multiplication and division--plus "new math" principles such as grouping. Simple activities build these skills in a fun way, step-by-step. All concerned parents, including home-schoolers, will applaud this confidence-building guide.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Offers an easy way to be sure children master addition, subtraction, multiplication and division by showing parents how to be effective as teachers, including instructions on when to repeat a concept. Based on the math curriculums of states across the country, it covers the fundamentals, plus "new math" principles such as grouping. Includes simple activities which reinforce each concept and a mastery test for each grade level.

From the Back Cover

Make sure your child gets off to the right start in math! Help your child become more comfortable and confident with numbers Discover which mathematical concepts first-and second-graders should learn Enjoy helping your child master key math skills You can teach your child the basic skills that will lay the foundations for future success in math and science. Based on standard math curriculums, this book covers all the math that your first- and second-graders should be learning and gives you dozens of proven techniques for teaching these crucial skills. Steve Slavin, an educator with a special gift for math instruction, shows parents how to teach the fundamentals—counting, addition, subtraction, fractions, simple word problems, even the beginnings of multiplication and division—plus "new math" principles such as grouping. Simple activities build these skills in a fun way, step-by-step. All concerned parents, including home-schoolers, will applaud this confidence-building guide.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (May 30, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471042420
• ISBN-13: 978-0471042426
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #62,714 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Steve Slavin, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Economics at Union County College, Cranford, New Jersey. He has written over 300 newspaper and magazine articles, and is the author of four other books, including All the Math You'll Ever Need: A Self-Teaching Guide and Economics: A Self-Teaching Guide, both published by Wiley.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

59 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Review of "Math for Your 1st and 2nd Grader", July 20, 2005

By 

Pam Tee "Busy Mom" - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Math for Your First- and Second-Grader: All You Need to Know to Be Your Child's Best Teacher (Family Learning Series) (Paperback)

I took a look at this book (Math for Your 1st and 2nd Grader) at the library and now I am going to order it.

I have a 5 year-old that I am presently working with, and although I have a workbook, I am not entirely sure that I am presenting the soundest explanations of various concepts, and so I have come to Mr. Savin.

Pro's: Stephen Savin's writing is very clear and straight forward with plenty of examples in how to teach and verify that your child understands the material.

Possible Con: I do not know if this book is in current compliance with the NCTM standards. This book was written in 1995 and I know that the national standards have changed considerably since then.

That said, I made my decision to purchase based on the table of contents and 'where we are now' rather than some artificial standard: i.e. if this book covers what you are interested in teaching, then buy it.

Having said that, I have to point out that publishers are nuts to not put the entire table of contents on the Amazon "Search inside this book" feature. This book, like so many others, only has page one of the contents listed. Ridiculous.

Without writing out ALL of the 39 mini-lessons, I will write out the major chapters topics (with subsections where meaning is not clear) so that you might have an idea of what you are purchasing.

Chapter Titles:

For FIRST-GRADE MATH
====================
Counting
Adding Single-Digit Numbers
Subtracting Single-Digit Numbers
Building Math Skills
--Translating Words Into Numbers
--Intro Of The Concept Of Zero
--Filling In The Missing Number
Addition and Subtraction Drills
Addition Into Double Digits
Counting Money
Word Problems With Single-and Double-Digit Numbers
Introduction To Telling Time
Double-Digit Addition and Subtraction
Word Problems With and Without Money
Counting Pennies, Nickels, and Dimes
Ordinal Numbers
Introduction To Fractions
Counting To 100

First-Grade Final Exam
First-Grade Final Exam Answers

SECOND-GRADE MATH
Counting and Writing Numbers up to 200
Mathematical Symbols
Grouping Numbers in 10s and 1s
Adding Three Numbers and Double-and Triple-Digit Numbers
Subtracting Single-, Double-, and Triple-Digit Numbers
Word Problems in Addition and Subtraction
Regrouping, Expanded Notation, and Graphing
Addition with Carrying
Subtraction with Borrowing and Review of Carrying and Borrowing
Adding and Subtracting Money
Word Problems in Addition and Subtraction
Telling Time
Advanced Counting
--Counting from 1 to 1000
--Filling in the Missing Numbers
--Counting by 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, and 10s
Introduction to Multiplication and Division
Shapes and Measurements

Second -Grade Final Exam
Second -Grade Final Exam Answers

Index

Five Stars. Writing is very clear and the lessons are not overly long, which fits the temperament of most young math explorers.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars very good book, November 19, 2005

By 

Nancy Taylor (Arizona, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Math for Your First- and Second-Grader: All You Need to Know to Be Your Child's Best Teacher (Family Learning Series) (Paperback)

A very good book on the first grade math topics. It provides sound and clear explanations seldom found in other books. Essential math concepts and skills are introduced with many excellent examples. I enjoyed it very much with my son.

The book is ideal for first graders even with the "2nd grade" part. Second graders may find it too easy. If you want to know what other kids are learning in schools, there is a nice web site at http://www.beestar.org. It provides free math practice every week based on school curricula nowadays.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for Homeschoolers!, July 26, 2008

By 

Teri Ann Berg Olsen "KnowledgeHouse.info" (Arizona) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Math for Your First- and Second-Grader: All You Need to Know to Be Your Child's Best Teacher (Family Learning Series) (Paperback)

This book wasn't actually written for the homeschool market, but every homeschool family should have this book! The author describes all of the basic math concepts so that they are easily understood. First and second grade math skills are built upon step-by-step, in fun but informative lessons that are just the right length for young children. Practical guidelines for parents explain how to verify that a child has learned the material. First- and second- grade final exams are included. It's a great bargain for such a solid foundation in math! If you have your child write the answers in a notebook, you can re-use this book with more than one child. It's also a great preparation for Saxon Math. We have used this book with all three of our boys, and by the time we finished they were easily ready for Saxon 3 and even skipped ahead to Saxon 5/4.

~Teri Ann Berg Olsen, author of Learning for Life: Educational Words of Wisdom