Has anyone used this Japanese math program?

[stripe]

I saw this organization (grades 1-6) that is selling an English translation of a Japanese math textbook series:

Tokyo Shoseki's Mathematics for Elementary School (Grades 1 to 6)

 

http://www.globaledresources.com/

 

Has anyone used it? They have a small number of sample pages of both this book and a workbook on their website, and other materials available for download, but I can't find much of anything online about anyone having used it (=this translation, in the home).

 

Thanks.

Edited October 21, 2008 by stripe

[Ummto4]

OH NO !! A new math curriculum again ???

 

Dian

(try to cure 'the grass is greener at the other side' syndrome)

[Spy Car]

:lurk5: Looks interesting

[dawn of ns]

Maybe I'm too much of a Singapore chick but it looks really cluttered and busy.

[Spy Car]

I've got (like and use) Singapore and Miquon for my little one, but I like the look of this program too...so I ordered the Year One textbook and the two workbooks.

 

Thanks for bringing this to our attention stripe :001_smile:

 

Someone has to be a guinea pig :tongue_smilie:

 

Bill

[Spy Car]

So nobody, huh?

 

Am I really going to be the first to give this a whirl???

 

Bill (who's not sure if he feels bold or reckless :D)

[stripe]

From what I can tell, the most interesting looking aspect of it, to me, is the study of geometry.

 

I came across an article where the founder of SingaporeMath.com said one reason Singapore math took off more than Japanese math texts was because they were already in English (no need for translation).

 

I found Liping Ma's book on Chinese and American math teachers to be fascinating (depressing) in general, and especially for the comment about the Chinese math program taking time for the students to study and understand numbers below 20. This struck a chord with me.

 

Let me know what you think when it arrives!

[Spy Car]

From what I can tell, the most interesting looking aspect of it, to me, is the study of geometry.

 

I came across an article where the founder of SingaporeMath.com said one reason Singapore math took off more than Japanese math texts was because they were already in English (no need for translation).

 

I found Liping Ma's book on Chinese and American math teachers to be fascinating (depressing) in general, and especially for the comment about the Chinese math program taking time for the students to study and understand numbers below 20. This struck a chord with me.

 

Let me know what you think when it arrives!

 

You know, I read Liping Ma's book years back and it really made a deep impression on me. It is directly because of reading her book that I've taken the chance on adding these Japanese books to our math mix.

 

To me it seems all to the good to hit concepts from a variety of angles.

 

I will let you know what I think when the materials arrive next week.

 

I wonder, how did you happen to hear of this program?

 

Bill

[Sarah CB]

You know, I read Liping Ma's book years back and it really made a deep impression on me. It is directly because of reading her book that I've taken the chance on adding these Japanese books to our math mix.

 

To me it seems all to the good to hit concepts from a variety of angles.

 

I will let you know what I think when the materials arrive next week.

 

Bill

 

I'd love to hear how these work with your kids. I thought the teaching of the concepts looked very clear and thorough despite the fact that there is a lot more on the page than in a typical Singapore lesson.

 

There's a professor in my province who recommends Singapore for elementary - she helps schools transition to using the program, but when I asked what she recommends after Primary Mathematics she said that she likes a Japanese text best. I ordered the grade 7 and grade 8 texts. They were published by the University of Chicago but they don't have answer keys so we're back doing NEM. I really like the look of the Japanese books and the ones I ordered have a very simple layout.

[stripe]

I wonder, how did you happen to hear of this program?

 

I have a high opinion of Japanese elementary schools. Also, I was talking to my husband about Singapore math and he asked if there were Japanese math books. I had no idea, but I liked the idea; when I ran a quick internet search, I found the Global Education Resources website but wasn't able to find much more about those particular textbooks. (I did find things about the lesson study approach discussed on the website, at various American universities.) While I am comfortable with math, I don't have the advantage of the "lesson study" approach, of detailed collaboration between teachers -- and that strikes me as unfortunate.

[Mamagistra]

Thanks for posting, Stripe. :001_smile: I like the look of these.

 

Spy, would you be kind enough to report back once you receive your copies? :001_smile:

[Amber in AUS]

We LOVE the Kumon workbooks which originated in Japan so i am off to check this out now. Thanks for the info.

[momto2]

Thank you so much Stripe for posting this.

Spy please keep us updated about how it goes.

I am an Asian, and for me Asian math makes so much sense.

From looking at the sample pages I agree there are too much problems in one page.

But look how they teach regrouping for addition with remainder. I think it will lay out a clear idea about number concept and how numbers relate to each other when doing the operations.

I am definitely going to give it a try

[Spy Car]

I'll report back to this thread once the materials arrive. I'm actually quite excited to receive them.

 

One thing that might help people "preview" for themselves in addition to the "sample pages", is in the "Resources" section you can download an answer key for the Kyoiku Dojinsha Mathematics Workbooks that supplement the main textbook, and these give a pretty fair overview of these workbook materials.

 

http://www.globaledresources.com/resources.html

 

Bill

[stripe]

I also found the teacher manual for the tool kit to be interesting.

[Spy Car]

I also found the teacher manual for the tool kit to be interesting.

 

back to the web-site :001_smile:

[stripe]

Also, they've put two chapters on their website as "replacement units" due to the different counting systems between English and Japanese (large numbers). They've made them with American city names. Anyhow these give you several pages from the books to look at.

 

I must say, I don't really perceive the book as being busy.

[Jumping In Puddles]

The one think I noticed was many of the pages in the math tool kit - grade 1 looks a lot like RightStart level A.

 

I haven't looked very closely at all the material but it does look interesting.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I've used the non-translated books from a few years ago (the cover and some of the pictures are different). I read Japanese so I just translated it myself. Personally, I like Singapore better. But the Japanese one is a close second. I do find that Singapore is not as good on the geometry. But the Japanese word problems, while superior to the ones in the American math books that I've used, aren't quite up to the Singapore multi-step problems. Some of it depends on what you do outside of the workbook. The Japanese ones in the lower grades are best if done with games and activities to explain the concepts (so is Singapore) but I found that I could get away with just the workbook more with Singapore.

[stripe]

Thank you, Jean -- that is really helpful.

 

My CD with the PDF of the teaching guide arrived. (It's about 100 pages long.) I wanted it to get a better idea of the contents and emphases of the program. They included a flyer on each of their book series (the text and the workbook), similar to what's on the website.

[Spy Car]

Thank you, Jean -- that is really helpful.

 

My CD with the PDF of the teaching guide arrived. (It's about 100 pages long.) I wanted it to get a better idea of the contents and emphases of the program. They included a flyer on each of their book series (the text and the workbook), similar to what's on the website.

 

 

So you got the teacher's guide but not the materials (as of yet)?

 

I'll be curious to know what you make of the teacher's guide. I did not order it. Perhaps I should have?

 

Bill

[stripe]

Yes, I just ordered the CD. Since the shipping was a flat 10%, there's no advantage to my purchase of multiple materials at one time. The text is more an overview of the goals and content of the program, by grade level, than a "how to" of various calculations. The CD lists the goals of each grade and the topics studied, which I thought would be valuable. Is this already on the website? -- yes it is, in a different form. BTW the CD discusses up to grade 9.

 

I haven't read it all, merely browsed it so far, but I did pick up one thing that I hadn't observed by downloading the lesson plans for each grade (because I didn't read all of them) -- grades 3 & 4 have an abacus component. That was interesting. I am still really fascinated by the geometry aspect of the program.

 

I chuckled to see that they have a category called "recycle" which is real-life math applications.

 

Based only on the brochure, the workbook seems a bit overwhelming -- maybe it's the "15 points for the math sentence, 15 points for the answer" notations that is bugging me? And what is with the term "math sentence"? I keep coming across math programs that use that term, and I'm puzzled.

[Amber in AUS]

Maybe it's the asian translation of equation???

 

I have a friend in Japan teaching English and have e-mailed her to see what she thinks of the text.

[stripe]

The books look well-translated, for one thing, and then I've also been seeing English language American programs that use the term "math sentence" (like Making Math Meaningful; and the RightStart program materials make a point of saying they don't say "math sentence")... Maybe someone thinks it's less scary/jargony? It was just that all of a sudden I was seeing this term everywhere.

[Deeke]

I've got (like and use) Singapore and Miquon for my little one, but I like the look of this program too...so I ordered the Year One textbook and the two workbooks.

 

Thanks for bringing this to our attention stripe :001_smile:

 

Someone has to be a guinea pig :tongue_smilie:

 

Bill

 

We use Singapore also and like it a lot. We usually are finished by April, so I may order the workbooks for something to do after Singapore and carry it through the summer. They are a good price also if you order the complete set from 1-6. Years ago I ordered all my Singapore right from Singapore, before the singapore math . com people put a stop to that, can't have us getting it cheaper than what they charged. :001_rolleyes:

[Spy Car]

Yes, I just ordered the CD. Since the shipping was a flat 10%, there's no advantage to my purchase of multiple materials at one time. The text is more an overview of the goals and content of the program, by grade level, than a "how to" of various calculations. The CD lists the goals of each grade and the topics studied, which I thought would be valuable. Is this already on the website? -- yes it is, in a different form. BTW the CD discusses up to grade 9.

 

I haven't read it all, merely browsed it so far, but I did pick up one thing that I hadn't observed by downloading the lesson plans for each grade (because I didn't read all of them) -- grades 3 & 4 have an abacus component. That was interesting. I am still really fascinated by the geometry aspect of the program.

 

I chuckled to see that they have a category called "recycle" which is real-life math applications.

 

Based only on the brochure, the workbook seems a bit overwhelming -- maybe it's the "15 points for the math sentence, 15 points for the answer" notations that is bugging me? And what is with the term "math sentence"? I keep coming across math programs that use that term, and I'm puzzled.

 

"Math sentence" makes sense to me as a term for "write it out as an equation".

 

What I'm perplexed about is the meaning of "lesson study approach".

 

What is "lesson study"?

 

As you browse more, I'd enjoy hearing back if you feel the CD contents are "essential".

 

My son is only 4, so we are doing "math" in a very light-hearted way, like a game. And in small increments. But he loves that time, and asks for me to do it with him. So for now my plan is to glean things out of the japanese math that fits into the mix of what is appropriate from him.

[Spy Car]

We use Singapore also and like it a lot. We usually are finished by April, so I may order the workbooks for something to do after Singapore and carry it through the summer. They are a good price also if you order the complete set from 1-6. Years ago I ordered all my Singapore right from Singapore, before the singapore math . com people put a stop to that, can't have us getting it cheaper than what they charged. :001_rolleyes:

 

I commonly read here that the one slight problem some people have with Singapore is that they either don't have enough practice problems, or they run through the program too fast. So perhaps these materials could be a good compliment.

 

I do like the idea, especially in the earliest stages, of hitting math concepts from a wide range of angles, rather than honing in on "how to" solve problems.

 

Can't wait to get our package :001_smile:

[stripe]

What is "lesson study"?

From what I understand, it's the process of all the teachers in the school working as a group to plan out how they will teach that subject in their classes. In a very detailed form, picking the best examples that will highlight what to be taught while minimizing confusion. (Lesson study is not just for math.) They have links on the globaledresources page such as this Chicago group. That's why I say, I would totally be missing out on this insight from just being a lone homeschooler. I think it's discussed in Stigler's "The Teaching Gap."

 

As you browse more, I'd enjoy hearing back if you feel the CD contents are "essential".

I will.

[Jean in Newcastle]

School children in Japan have half days on Wednesdays. That is the day that the teachers get together for lesson study. Every grade in every school in the nation is studying the same concept on the same day in Japan. Each school will choose their own textbook but the textbooks will all start multiplication (or whatever) on page x at the same time. So the illustrations, games, and word problems will be unique per publisher but the order and concepts taught are nation-wide. Added to which, since all the teachers get together to discuss their ideas for teaching regrouping (as an example) the kids in each school get a pretty uniform education. So - we could have lesson study on the board and pool our ideas!

[Spy Car]

Thank you Stripe and Jean. I think I get it.

[stripe]

I have been looking more at the CD, and I don't think it's an essential purchase just in terms of using the program, but it is valuable because it provides an overview of the idea behind the program and the specific math goals for each of the 1-6 years, and summarizes how the books lead the students to accomplish these goals. The impression I am left with is that both the content and the approach have been carefully considered.

 

The overall objectives for the first 6 years are:

 

To enable children to acquire the basic knowledge and technical skills of numbers and quantities, and geometric figures

 

 

 

To foster ability to think insightfully and logically when they investigate their daily life phenomena

 

 

 

To foster the attitude to appreciate the merit of mathematical manipulation and to willingly make use of it in daily life

 

 

 

 

 

For each grade, more specific objectives are listed and discussed. There are specific content areas for each grade that the manual lists and discusses in a reasonably detailed fashion, falling into these four categories:

 

 

A. Numbers and Calculations

 

 

 

B. Quantities and Measurements

 

 

 

C. Geometric Figures

 

 

 

D. Quantitative Relations

 

 

 

 

Thus we know what specific content area is covered in the books, and in what fashion. For example, we are told that in first grade, that children learn about whole numbers through various activities, and it lists seven, including "counting and ordering a number of objects by sorting according to their colors, shapes, sizes and positions" and "counting substitute objects instead of the actual items."

 

 

 

 

The manual does provide helpful teaching strategies (e.g. how to teach measurement), organized by grade and subject area (by which I mean things like geometry) but is not very closely coordinated to the text (the sort of page-by-page type of teacher's manual that refers to chapter 1, section 2, page 6, paragraph 2 of the text....). The suggestions are helpful, though (an example -- "When addition and subtraction are used in this grade, mainly the following cases should be emphasized so that children understand them concretely:"....)

 

I also want to say that this is emphatically NOT a solutions manual.

 

I bought this CD as a way to get a sense of what the books contain and how the contents develop across the grades, without a purchase of all six books, so I think it's been quite helpful to me.

[Ummto4]

I just had a look at the website. The sample looks good. And the book price is woefully cheap (the all-in-one package). But with RS and Math Mammoth working for my ds, I know I have to put my blinder on.:001_smile:

[stripe]

I found the other Japanese (link1) elementary text (link 2) that has been translated into English, from Gakkoh Tosho; the images shown in that article are from the Gakkoh Tosho books, not from the Tokyo Shoseki series previously discussed in this thread. From the publisher, a one-page excerpt and a tiny amount of information:

http://www.gakuto.co.jp/20050131e/index.html

 

They are supposedly solely distributed in the US by the New York Kinokuniya. I found them in their catalog. Their list price is 980 yen, including tax in Japan. (Kinokuniya has the one-semester text for about $14 each.) They showed up in two different Japanese bookstores that I know of that ship internationally, as well (amazon japan and bk1). Here are the ISBN numbers.

 

Grade 1: 4762509140

Grade 2A: 4762509159

Grade 2B: 4762509167

Grade 3A: 4762509175

Grade 3B: 4762509183

Grade 4A: 4762509191

Grade 4B: 4762509205

Grade 5A: 4762509213

Grade 5B: 4762509221

Grade 6A: 476250923X

Grade 6B: 4762509248

Edited October 25, 2008 by stripe

[Sarah CB]

From what I understand, it's the process of all the teachers in the school working as a group to plan out how they will teach that subject in their classes. In a very detailed form, picking the best examples that will highlight what to be taught while minimizing confusion. (Lesson study is not just for math.) They have links on the globaledresources page such as this Chicago group. That's why I say, I would totally be missing out on this insight from just being a lone homeschooler. I think it's discussed in Stigler's "The Teaching Gap."

 

I will.

 

You might want to contact your local university. Our university has a group (PIMS - Pacific Institute for Mathematical Sciences) that advocate lesson study and actually organize lessons studies throughout the year. If I was closer I'd want to attend and learn from them as well. These are the same people that speak so highly of Singapore and recommend the Japanese texts for grades 7 and up.

[stripe]

That's a great suggestion -- thanks!

 

I realized there's another spot on the Global Ed Resources website that has excerpts from their text. It's here, in the section on geometry. The treatment of geometry in the series looks clever to me.

Edited October 28, 2008 by stripe

[Spy Car]

Our books arrived yesterday, and we started up using the workbooks (1A).

 

I'll reserve making any reviews, but I just wanted to note they'd arrived, and wanted to keep you in suspense :D

 

Bill

[stripe]

Agh! That's not fair!

[Spy Car]

Agh! That's not fair!

 

I can say it inspired some fun games that I made up based on the lessons in workbook, in addition to his enjoying the workbook itself. And that we had hours of fun that I eventually had to shut down because my son wanted to keep going (and going).

 

Initial response: positive :001_smile:

 

Bill

[Amber in AUS]

Great news!

[Spy Car]

Rather than trying to write a real review of this program (which only having the books for level 1 and only having used them for a week) would be more than unfair no matter what I write, I'll just "blog" a little about my first impressions.

 

First there are two separate components to this program.

 

1. The Tokyo Shoseki "textbook" Mathematics for Elementary School.

 

2. There are also separate "workbooks" (1A and 1B) written by Kyoiku Dojinsha to use with the "textbook" called Mathematics Workbook for Mathematics for Elementary School.

 

For sake of ease I'll call (1) "textbook" and (2) "workbook".

 

But then to immediately confuse the issue, the "textbook" for level 1 is largely workbook-style (somewhat like Singapore Earlybird). Are you with me?

 

There is very strong overlap of the workbooks and the textbook.

 

The "workbooks" are nicely printed and colorful, but even more importantly are very "straight forward" in showing the "objective" of the lesson, and seem very well suited to one-on-one (homeschool) use.

 

It was the "workbooks" that immediately caught our attention, and my 4 year-old pre-K son really enjoyed "playing math" with these materials. They elicited exactly the kind of response I most hoped for.

 

We have also been having "fun" with the "Standards Edition of Earlybird Singapore" and elements of Miquon "Orange", as well as a lot of Miquon inspired work with Cuisenaire Rods. We keep this low key, if he wants to "play" we work with him, and he show a lot of joy in the process.

 

The "workbooks" have folded in very nicely with the other materials and (while "different") are similar in spirit, and a nice compliment to Singapore and Miquon.

 

The lessons in the "workbooks" are not "exhaustive". For us this is not a problem, as "exposure" is the goal (for us) and we are hitting concepts from various angles anyway. So, I'd say the workbooks are "fun" and well designed, and perhaps not very intensive (not "drill and kill").

 

The "textbook" I'm still feeling out. It is very glossy and somewhat more "obtuse" to me (as an untrained "parent/teacher). There is very little written instruction to most of the "lessons" (some the parent/teacher has to figure out from pictures) but once done (with some effort) good ideas emerge.

 

Some of these lessons in the "textbook" are "aimed" at classroom or group activities and might need modification for home use. Using the textbook does seem like it will take a little more work than the "workbook" and I get the feeling Japanese teachers must get a fair amount of training and other materials to teach them how to use the "textbook" to its best advantage. But this is probably true of Singapore too, and not (to my mind) a fatal flaw.

 

Not unlike Miquon (or Singapore) I think this program will place some demands on a parent to make up "activities" to bring the lessons to life. If you don't want any demands on you as a parent/teacher this program might not be a good fit. But I've found it inspiring so far, and my son has been highly engaged and desirous of extended time to "play" with these materials, so what more could I possibly ask for?

 

The concepts are clear, engaging, fun and seem to "turn on lights" just as I would hope. At this point, I'm quite pleaded we added these Japanese materials to our mix. I would not give up either Singapore or Miquon to use these materials instead, but at this point I'm really liking the Japanese math as a compliment to what we have already been doing.

 

I hope this helps.

 

Bill

Edited November 3, 2008 by Spy Car

[SonshineLearner]

This looks very good! I just called the company, which is small, and talked to him about the program. I believe that I will order this for first grade, for my son. I really like the abacus component. The man said that it is being used in some US schools and that he used a previous edition while in school. (in Japan)

 

Thanks for reminding me. There are so many good curriculums.....I can see how it'd be easy to be a junkie:-)

[stripe]

This looks very good! I just called the company, which is small, and talked to him about the program.

 

What an excellent idea! :) Seriously.

 

...I get the feeling Japanese teachers must get a fair amount of training and other materials to teach them how to use the "textbook" to its best advantage. But this is probably true of Singapore too, and not (to my mind) a fatal flaw.

 

....I hope this helps.

 

Thank you, Bill, for posting about what you've seen. I'm glad your son likes the stuff.

 

Japanese teachers do prepare thoroughly together on how to present the lesson, so I think this is definitely why the textbook is vague-ish. The teacher's manual might be useful for getting ideas. I do wonder, though, about the strategy of soliciting ideas from different students on how to do a problem, and how this applies to homeschooling.

 

I have been trying to figure out what exactly the Japanese manipulatives are; the math kit they sell does not include everything used in the books (according to the GER website). I found these two Japanese websites (this one, and this one) that show in detail the components of the kit (click on each word to see what each is -- the pictures alone are useful, I thought). I don't think it would be easy to obtain one of these, but I am trying to think of how to recreate some of these that I like.

Edited November 4, 2008 by stripe

[Jean in Newcastle]

I've made the little cards with the red dots on them.

 

And the little flower counters can be substituted by any counters (like bears).

 

I have some 10 - strips that I got here in the states that are sort of comparable to the 10 strips that they have - you could cover up part of the ten with a piece of cardboard or something to recreate some of their subtraction problems.

 

The flashcards are comparable to American flashcards except that they are horizontal instead of vertically written.

 

I found a little clock here at a teacher's supply store that looked comparable to the Japanese one.

 

And I made the shapes out of colored poster board but you can get colored blocks (pattern blocks) that are basically the same.

 

I'd never seen the straw like things before or the other manipulatives (they aren't shown in my older textbook from 10 years ago).

[Spy Car]

I've made the little cards with the red dots on them.

 

 

I made cards with red dots too. And also cards with tally style "numbers" and another set with regular numerals, and my son had a good time lining them up from very mixed-up piles.

 

Bill

[momto2]

thank you so much spy :001_smile:.

 

i have a question.

since the textbook doesn't contain much explanation. can i just use the workbook. or would it be too hard to understand the program.

 

i am thinking of using just the workbook along with singapore. will it work.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Not SpyCar - but I used only the workbook with my son. I sometimes referred to the textbook for myself.

[Spy Car]

thank you so much spy :001_smile:.

 

i have a question.

since the textbook doesn't contain much explanation. can i just use the workbook. or would it be too hard to understand the program.

 

i am thinking of using just the workbook along with singapore. will it work.

 

My feeling is it would be easy to just use the workbooks without the textbook, at least for the first level. It is almost like the workbook is the "homeschool" edition of textbook (where the textbook has more "group" activities and teacher "ideas"). This is an overgeneralization (to be sure) but I don't think we'd be missing much without the textbook. And if I could only choose one, I'd go with the workbook over the textbook.

 

Please note this is perhaps a "premature" judgement on my part, and my use of the "textbook" has been limited compared to the workbook.

 

I also wonder how using the workbook without the textbook (or textbook plus workbooks) would work out beyond the first level. I don't know.

 

I'd hate to sound "definitive" on this question when I basically have the same question you have.

 

What I can say, is these materials (or at least the first year materials I have) made a nice compliment to Singapore Earlybird. Similar enough to seem "familiar" but different enough expand the palette.

 

Bill

Edited November 4, 2008 by Spy Car

[Jean in Newcastle]

One comment - I'm not sure about 1st grade but what I remember of my childhood in Japan is that the workbooks are what the kids took home for homework. The textbook is what they used in class with the teacher.

[stripe]

I just found this on the GER website; so they do have some more teaching materials than the CD I bought, apparently. These are listed as being "downloads."

Research has shown that Japanese curriculum materials are focused, coherent, and rigorous. Now available in English is a new series, Excerpts from Japanese Curriculum Materials, which illustrates how mathematical ideas may be developed across grade levels in a coherent and rigorous manner. The series consists of 4 volumes, each focusing on a major theme of elementary school mathematics: (1) whole numbers & whole number arithmetic, (2) rational numbers & multiplicative reasoning, (3) geometry & measurement, and (4) algebra & functions. Each volume includes sections from Teaching Guide for Elementary Mathematics Course of Study, an elaboration document published by the Ministry of Education, and corresponding pages from Tokyo Shoseki's Mathematics for Elementary School. Teaching Guide segments clearly elaborate what we want students to understand, while textbook pages present concrete examples of how such an understanding may be developed through careful use of problems/activities and representations.

This series is an ideal resource for mathematics content courses for prospective elementary school teachers, content-focused professional development activities, and lesson study groups

 

http://www.globaledresources.com/products/other/2008-japanese-mathematics-curricula.html

[Spy Car]

I just found this on the GER website; so they do have some more teaching materials than the CD I bought, apparently. These are listed as being "downloads."

Research has shown that Japanese curriculum materials are focused, coherent, and rigorous. Now available in English is a new series, Excerpts from Japanese Curriculum Materials, which illustrates how mathematical ideas may be developed across grade levels in a coherent and rigorous manner. The series consists of 4 volumes, each focusing on a major theme of elementary school mathematics: (1) whole numbers & whole number arithmetic, (2) rational numbers & multiplicative reasoning, (3) geometry & measurement, and (4) algebra & functions. Each volume includes sections from Teaching Guide for Elementary Mathematics Course of Study, an elaboration document published by the Ministry of Education, and corresponding pages from Tokyo Shoseki's Mathematics for Elementary School. Teaching Guide segments clearly elaborate what we want students to understand, while textbook pages present concrete examples of how such an understanding may be developed through careful use of problems/activities and representations.

This series is an ideal resource for mathematics content courses for prospective elementary school teachers, content-focused professional development activities, and lesson study groups

 

http://www.globaledresources.com/products/other/2008-japanese-mathematics-curricula.html

 

Interesting. I may call GER and ask them about a few of our questions and about these teacher materials.

 

Side note: Last night the little man announced he wanted to do math, and we broke out the Japanese workbook. Mommy was at a meeting so it was my job to get him to bed on-time. Well, I could not get him to quit with the workbook and we went way past his bedtime. Daddy was "in trouble" :tongue_smilie:

 

My 4 year-old is what I'd call a "boy boy". Bright, but fully capable of either squirming or "having his eyes hurt" (or some other "excuse") if he's bored or otherwise disinterested. But he's been very engaged with the workbooks.

 

I'm only liking them more and more as we use them.

 

Bill