This isn’t a list of textbooks for teaching mathematics. It is a list of fantastic books I have read that have increased my own confidence in and enjoyment of teaching mathematics. I hope they can do for you what they have done for me.
Alex’s adventures in Numberland – Alex Bellos
The story of mathematics is the story of curious people trying to understand the world its patterns, bringing a sense of order and understanding amongst what can often feel chaotic. At its best, mathematics is a fascinating subject full of mystery and wonder. Not knowing is the beginning of mathematics and there is nothing wrong with not knowing, but often it doesn’t feel like this. This book explores the wonderful world of numbers through interviews with people on the cutting edge of understanding numbers and mathematics. It is truly fascinating and if you struggle to understand how mathematics can be fun and interesting, you should read this book. You can’t teach students to have fun with numbers if you don’t have fun with numbers. Stoke your own curiosity and watch it grow in your students.
This isn’t a book designed for primary school mathematics teachers and yet I think every primary school mathematics teacher should read it.
No Calculator? No Problem – Art Benjamin
Art Benjamin is a fantastic mathematician and you can find plenty of him online. In this audiobook, he takes you through his process of figuring out addition, subtraction, multiplication and more. He gives you plenty of practice questions and opportunities to work your own brain and put his ideas into practice. He teaches you a variety of great strategies depending on the kind of problem you come up against. This book can really help you to develop confidence in calculation and a better understanding of the strategies at your disposal for calculating (not to mention how those strategies work).
Tackling Misconceptions in Primary Mathematics by Kieran Mackle
I have read many books on primary school mathematics teaching and this is by far my favourite and the one I would most recommend for others. It takes a great approach that I think other authors in the education field could learn from. It focuses on the misconceptions that teachers and students make in primary school mathematics and addresses them. With so many books I read in education, I find myself saying ‘duh,’ since they start with the obvious introductory matters and get progressively more detailed and complicated. This book starts with what the author thinks you are most likely to get confused about, mess up, teach badly and so on. Doesn’t it make more sense to start there in a way?
Perhaps you will appreciate an example. In the book, he talks about how teachers often say that when you times a number by 10, you put a zero on the end. While this is procedurally correct, it is completely wrong in terms of what is happening in the underlying mathematics and will not lead to an excellent understanding of place value. The reality is, when you multiply by ten, you are shifting all of the digits to the next place towards the left so a 1 in the ones place will become a 10 since the 1 is now in the tens place. The zero indicates that there is nothing in the place to the right. I promise that the explanation in the book is much better…
Elephant in the Classroom by Jo Boaler
I have enjoyed using activities from the book called Mindset Mathematics and when I saw this book I was very curious about it. It is an easy-reading overview of mathematics in the classroom. It gives you an overview of what maths is, why we do it, why people are so afraid of it and why they don’t need to be. Especially worth a read if maths isn’t your strongest subject (but still worth it regardless).
Conclusion
I hope that these books will help your own enjoyment of mathematics and so improve the quality of your teaching!
