11 Plus Exams Forum

which maths word problem solving books would you recommend, my ds is in year 4, he is good at mental maths, but his teacher has said he could do with help in this area.

Try googling, there are all sorts of free resources for problem solving on t'internet. I use themall the time for school

Yes, but it would be helpful to know which books or online resources, specifically, others recommend.

I have recently bought:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0435208659/? ... 0435208659

It's good in that's it's the right amount, in the right format, and DCs' school use it. But any other resources that have helped other people would be useful.

http://www.everyschool.co.uk/maths-key- ... lving.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

for starters

you could also try nrich.org

Practical (real) examples are good too. Adapting recipes, measuring and calculating , working out prices in shops, is it better to buy the large size or 2 small ones, is a special offer really such a bargain?

If something is quoted as 20% off how much is that?
ditto + VAT..how much will the total price be. I use Argos Catalogues and flyers from places like Comet.

The small bathroom and kitchen planners in the back of DIY brochures are really good for scale problems.

I sometimes use timetables for local attractions, there is a lot of maths lurking in there..How long will total journey take, is it cheaper to buy individual tickets or a family ticket? What is the last train I can take to be sure of getting home at a certain time?

You can do a lot of data handling with a tubes of smarties, boxes of Roses chocolates, sort in colours, count with a tally chart, represent as a bar graph, work out mean, mode, and range. Weigh different tubes , do they always weigh same, work out mean weights, range etc. You can then eat the data sample too.

Problem solving ( aka word problems) seem to be a sticking point for a lot of children , make it fun

thats very helpful, i have bought the book you recommended, so will see how we get on.

I have had a look at the link, theres some great resources there, will try a few out.

thanks