Two beginning mathematics books

BAR GRAPHS;TALLY CHARTS; Vijaya Khisty Bodach; Manakato, MN: Capstone, 2008; 32 pgs. each. Non-fiction

Tallying is such second nature to most of us it is easy to forget it as a mathematical principle,

but in Vijay Bodach's excellent beginner's book, children are taught first through tactile means (placement of pickup sticks by players' names) and then by physical objects translated into

tally sheets, this easy way to keep track of things. Similarly in Bar Graphs, children place toy animals of different sorts in lines to discover how many of each they have. The animal numbers are than transferred to a bar graph. Other examples follow. Each of these excellent book concludes with pictures of items which their young readers are allowed to transform into a tally sheet or a bar graph on their own. Text and pictures are bright, easy to understand, and inviting. Each book is also linked by number to the Facthound website which will take children, parents, and teachers to online exercises.

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