Math Resources...

I'm not going to lie, I'm a little skeptical about using textbooks to teach or learn. Through my entire schooling (including university), textbooks were far too heavily relied on. Don't get me wrong, there have been phenomenal textbooks with important and beneficial information, but I don't think they were used adequately, or to serve the greatest purpose. In terms of resources in mathematics, I think there are many resources, outside of textbooks, that are available to provide better stimulation and motivation in a generation that functions almost electronically. The textbooks should almost be used as a back up plan, or to provide teachers with sample ideas of what could be taught in their classroom. Maybe I'm biased, but as a person who grew up being assigned questions in textbooks almost every single math class, I like the idea of authentic, hands-on learning, or practicing math using interactive math games online that reinforce important math concepts.

On the other side of it, I was happy to see that within the resources there was plenty of organization/connection between grades. For instance, if patterns was the first chapter in grade one, it would be the first chapter in grade two, or three. As a teacher, I think this feature and consistency would be quite useful.

Something else I noticed, along with my classmates, was the immense difference between the appearance of the textbooks in primary grades versus elementary grades. In the primary grades, the textbooks were bursting with colorful images, pictures, stories, and so on. As the grades increased, the textbooks became black and white, and almost boring. When we get older, do we not like color anymore? If I don't find the elementary textbooks to be very engaging, how are students going to find it engaging?

Bring on the color!          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fCMTQXzoXo 

Overall, I have mixed emotions about the textbooks. I'm glad that they are available to use, but at the same time I think there may be more beneficial ways to teach without them... ways that are more meaningful and interactive.

For example...