Numberline Lane
Numberline Lane is a set of 10 story books - one for each number from one to ten. The set is subtitled “Teaching and Learning Maths through Stories”. All the books are in A5 format, 18 pages long and have full colour pictures on every other page . Each one has a central character such as Walter One, Clive Five and Jenny Ten. There is also Gus Plus and Linus Minus. The whole thing is a brilliant idea.
However, the stories themselves range from quite good to pretty feeble. The author claims that “the stories teach different objectives related to the National Numeracy Strategy.” Each is divided into a ‘problem’ and its resolution which does provide a superficial introduction to the mathematical objective. Each book comes with an A5 sheet of notes containing questions and ideas for developing the maths. The associated web site has more material. There, there are quizzes, activities and worksheets there to go with each story.
The stories were enjoyed by children KS 1 who found the illustrations fun. They could be used to introduce a topic if the book was read as far as the problem, or used as a plenary. However, ‘real books’ can also often be used to introduce and reinforce mathematical ideas. Probably the best use for the books and associated material would be by a Teaching Assistant working with a group of Reception/Foundation Stage children.
Jenny Murray – Independent Maths Consultant – Suffolk.
Tracy Clinton – KS 1 teacher – Snape Primary School, Suffolk
Numberline Lane
Fiona and Nick Reynolds
Fonant
10 books £24.99 or £2.99 each
<< numberlinelane.co.ukReview Sections
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