Want all the comment bank files emailed to you?

Please click here and send me a small donation for a new school project. I plan to use the money to buy a class set of Kindles for my small Romanian school, so they can read more English language books. Every little donation will really help!

In return, I will email you the zipped file, containing all the files for you to share with your school friends.

Welcome to Freeducation - the Home of Free Teaching Resources

Think Like a Maths Genius - by Arthur Benjamin and Michael Shermer

I can say outright that I love this maths book and that it has provided me with a completely fresh and exciting outlook on how I teach maths.

This book is all about how to take the subject of maths, and break down the mental calculations so that it can be done quickly and efficiently in your head. As far as I could see there are no misprints and the examples in every case were simple and easy to follow - so simple in fact that I have introduced in my Year 3 class (7 - 8 year olds) a special opening section on most days where the children learn a new mathematical trick which they can use to impress the world!

When I read this book - there were 2 strong responses in my mind.

1) For the simple stuff like adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing - I kept feeling really happy that I was now teaching along the same lines as a Maths Genius, and it cleared my own thinking - hence my own explanations to the children of why we did different things in different ways.

2) For the more complex stuff - such as finding the square route of any number - I remember the soul destroying method of trial and error - and I now discover there was a really easy way to do it all along, and this makes me a tad angry as I just wonder... ‘Why was I not taught this at school?’ - and it could be because no one knew about it, or could explain as clearly as Arther Benjamin and Michael Shermer, who are clearly very brilliant mathematicians in their own right (how many other children work out how to square any number they like, while taking a bus ride?).

The book also has a really useful paper and pen section, where you learn about how to check your answers in amazingly easy ways, such as simply adding up the digits of the sums and the answers and seeing if they match

Who is this book for? I think it is now safe to say that I would personally love it to be on every single book shelf in the world (as I am sure the author would!). It has been too long that being bad at maths was some sort of badge of pride - and with this book offering an easy escape, while making anyone who reads it, and practices a little bit, a wonder at office parties, it is also an excellent book for anyone thinking of looking for a book for a teacher who teachers maths, any parent wanting a complete guide in the most efficient maths techniques, or of course any students from Year 3 upwards who are looking for a brilliant way to revise for their exams.

Let me know what you think of this book!