Real Math Books!

[querido]

Along with the PEP (People's Education Press) Yuwen I ordered from studychineseculture.com (who don't actually stock it but can get it for you), I received the PEP 1st grade math books (purchased out of curiosity because they cost almost nothing).

Woopee I feel like I've struck gold!

Chapter 1 is illustrations of collections of objects accompanied by the corresponding arabic numeral, OK.

Chapter 2 reveals their ongoing method: an illustration is used to illuminate each concept, and words or sentences (all in Chinese of course) are right there as needed. But it works the other way you see: the presence of the math renders the Chinese crystal clear!

This is the beginning of an extension of the idea I've promoted on this forum, of learning from real Chinese children's textbooks. Find your level, then the road forward is clear and, I see, lovingly crafted.

[trisha2766]

I just now got around to reading this post. I'm curious, do the books teach other methods for multiplication and division of large numbers compared to what is taught in the U.S. (and presumably other countries)?

[imron]

I can't answer that, but if you're looking for a different way to multiply numbers, try "Speed Mathematics".

[querido]

I only have first grade, and multiplication and division aren't covered yet.

This idea, of using real Chinese children's textbooks in *other* subjects of interest, could be a partial answer to the problem of diminishing returns in character-study being discussed in another thread. After a point, let's say after sixth grade (3400 general-purpose characters required, according to P.E.P. Yuwen), one could gradually limit breadth in favor of depth.

This will happen anyway, in life. (edit: at least in the life of anyone interested in anything deep.)

And I repeat: Knowing your level in the educational establishment should make it easy to branch out into the other subjects taught at that level. Isn't *anyone* else here excited by these ideas?

My higher education was in math, decades ago. While I might never go this far in Chinese, I can imagine being able to participate in the mathematics conference (if I were younger), yet not in the gossip at the water cooler. That would be sort of O.K. with me. My first application of this principle was learning a book of Russian chess terminology (Western chess) while in second year Russian. I then read two chess books in Russian. See- I reached much farther into a field of interest, via specialization. End ramble.

[trisha2766]

querido - you know I am interested in using children's books. Those other PEP text books won't be available again until August. If I'm still interested at that time, I might think about the math books too. They don't by any chance have them available free on a web site do they?

[querido]

Of course, I remember.

I don't see them.

[roddy]

Not sure exactly what you're looking for, but a lot of PEP stuff is free on pep.com.cn - here's a random page on big numbers.

[querido]

Ah hah!

Math 小学数学 books: here.

See the menu, upper left, for grades 1-6. e.g., grade 1, vols 1 and 2:

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