GCSE books for 11 and 9 yr old

[Carolinemaths]

My DD11 and DS9 are in gifted and talented maths at school and have also completed most of the Kumon worksheets up to GCSE level.

We've talked to them about sitting the GCSE Maths exam in 2 years or so time, the Kumon work they've done so far covers them up to about an A or B for Number and Algebra and they've both done some Bond workbooks up to a year ahead of their ages.


I want to order a GCSE text for them. Back in the day, I was a maths teacher and taught using the Heinemann GCSE books but surely nowadays there are more child friendly books (or websites)

We don't live in the UK at the moment so I can only browse Amazon before ordering online. I'd want a book which has plenty of examples. I'm not planning on "teaching" them!

Any ideas

[snorkie]

what does their school suggest? I'd be a little cautious in forging ahead too much in maths as you can end up with nowhere to go later on which isn't good for mathematicians apparently. So it's worth thinking (even at this stage) what you plan to do after GCSE and A level & so on. Of course if there's a defined path for able mathematicians where you are then fair enough, otherwise you might be better off looking at less mainstream maths like number theory and geometry and going sideways instead.

Most textbooks these days seem to be much more child friendly and pictoral than I remember textbooks being in the distant past and some of the revision guides look quite clear too imo (& good at highlighting common mistakes too).

[minimathsmouse]

Hi Carolinemaths, I have a son 9 yrs who is starting to work towards GCSE although at the moment I am going over 11-14 Key stage 3 and consolidating what he knows. He's a bit bored with this at times. He's rather sick of my check lists now!

Any way we use conquer Maths on line, it's £15.00 per month and includes lessons, notes, tests and assignments. Its easy to use. I'll have a look through the resources/books I have for GCSE and come back.

There is only so far sideways you can go-I started introducing basic knot theory, which was great fun but my DS wants to focus on number and algebra and doesn't actually want to always apply it. I love topology so introduced some of the basic concepts-but although its fun, you can't really progress without a thorough grounding. So I have concluded that we need to steer a straight course and head down the usual academic route.By which time he will have the maths on board to apply to any area he chooses to study later.

[Carolinemaths]

Thanks for your quick replies!

snorkie,

We haven't talked to the school yet, but browsing around this forum I can see that some students have moved on to do A level in 3 years then the Cambridge Step exam. I've also found a wonderful lady in the US who runs maths clubs and is setting up a website to provide activities for families to explore (will post details here once I get more info on that.)

Minimathsmouse,

Conquer maths looks good, (and is even better value with 2 students). It's good to hear from someone who has actually tried it for their (relatively) young child! I'll get my 2 to try the free trial. Printing out worksheets seems like a bit of a hassle but lets see.

I remember the CGP books looking very child friendly so I might order a set to try but any other suggestions are welcome!

[minimathsmouse]

Hi Carolinemaths,

I have had a look over the books I have bought for my DS1. The most child friendly, colourful, clear and interesting seem to be the Letts Revise GCSE Complete study and revision guide, this gives really clear instructions and is easy to follow ISBN 978-1-84315-632-1

I also have the CGP work book higher level, which seems clear and straight forward to follow. (although we won't be tackling it very soon) We have the CGP course book though this seems a bit daunting! More in terms of how it's set out.

The letts study guide we have is very good, very clearly set out and seems easy to follow. Lots and lots of practice questions as well as clearly written advice. We will be using all of the above plus I have a very dog eared copy of Task Maths which covers GCSE and AS. It is full of really practical experiemental stuff, where they can work in a more self guided way to solve problems. Youv'e probably seen them before and I'm sure they turn up on amazon.

At the moment we are using the longman Key stage 3 books which are very good and letts K3 book which is very good.

In the past we have used rising stars books for English so I bought the maths books, I can only say avoid, terrible. The style in which they are written is confusing.

I would be really interested to hear about the website, having two maths mad boys who are also computer mad I am always looking for ways to combine fun into their learning.

[snorkie]

On the subject of websites: nrich is good...

If you do A level & STEP young, then you are left with either going on to university young or taking a break from maths & doing other stuff & then going to university at (or near) the usual time after a break from maths (not always a good thing) - or after doing lots of extra A level type maths but which is outside the usual maths & f. maths A level syllabus while you wait to go to university (& this sometimes can destroy the love of the subject). I know some people do do these things early, but I think it's sometimes better to focus on other things (languages & music perhaps?) & slow the maths up a bit (or as much as you can). There isn't really a right answer though - and children are all individuals so what's right for most won't be right for all. It's probably worth seeking advice from people in the know as to what usually works best though - maybe UKMT or Millenium maths project people?

[Carolinemaths]

Minimathsmouse,

Thanks for the resources! I wouldn't have thought Letts were child friendly after using them when I was a kid, so it's good to get your recommendation.

The lady with the maths clubs ideas Maria Droujikova, has a website Natural Math and also runs a google group of the same name and does webinars about extending kids maths learning.

Snorkie,

I do like nrich (I'm actually an ex cambridge pgce student) and will check out UKMT and MMP as well. I like your idea about focussing on languages as well.

I guess we'll start looking at all these ideas and see where they take us!

Will report back once we're on track!

[minimathsmouse]

Carolinemaths,

Thank you for the weblink. I have just had a brief look and I will go back to it later.
Snorkie, I will also look at finding out some info, I do despair about what to do. My son was so bored at school so we are now doing home ed. We had a private tutor who assessed him working beyond level 5 in year 4! I don't want to push him too far forward which is why I have started to tutor him again (I teach KS1 maths)Maths clubs. I felt the school had expectation too low and simply would not engage with his situation and the tutor was too keen to push forwards.
However after just 6 weeks of KS3 work to consolidate his learning, he is bored again.

Its frustrating also when any new concept is taken up so easily, because you just don't know what to offer next.All new concepts are learnt so quickly and he hates repetition and practice. The time his eyes light up are when he encounters new challenges. Ho Hum! I am off to look at UKMT and millenium Maths project too. The very last thing I would want is a child too immature socially to access higher education but needing to nonetheless.