Best place for maths books

FriendlyJ

:hello: Hi
I got some really helpful advice on here last week many thanks guys :T
Just an update went to dd (yr 10) secondary school about the standard of maths education - Her head of year has been great & is trying v hard to find a solution. Unfortunately they cannot change her teacher but they have agreed to move the distruptive kids into another group. It seems that all that class have had a downturn in grades & the teacher thinks that removing the naughty ones will help the others :rolleyes: Time will tell but we will give her the benefit & review after xmas.
Do you have any books to recommend or info on coursework/standards required the examining body is Edexcel. She has dropped to an E but was working to a C/B. We have said we want to purchase the revision book, but they have run out. Any info would be really appreciated
Many Thanks J

eira

Co-ordinating Group do cheap revision books for which there are also workbooks. These are widely used by teachers (even though they might not admit it) Smiths sometimes have them in stock but Waterstones is a better bet-have a look and see what you think. They cost less than a £5-look not just at the KS4/GCSE level but the earlier ones (eg KS2/KS3) because they will have examples of terms and concepts that might not have been covered or explained properly by a less than competent teacher. The big book shops also have books to help new teachers and these can also be useful Also the BBC Education website has good resources on line (Revise Wise and the associated adult numeracy site) and there are books that back it up as well.

eira

Forgot to add that if you go on the QCA/ Standards site they have the standards for Literacy and Numeracy laid out. Also the curriculum framework. You could print it off or look at it and get the school to explain it if you feel the need to do so.

Elliesmum

I recommend the bbc website - www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize etc they have a great section for GCSE maths revision so you can see what should be revised and as the others have suggested look back at earlier years workbooks for support.

The other suggestion is a private tutor - I appreciate they come at a cost, however a hour a week or fortnight support from a tutor on a 1-2-1 basis can be worth it's weight in gold. They should also have the knowledge of where your daughter should be and if they are not - how to get them there!

Good luck................. EM xx

FriendlyJ

Thanks eira & Elliesmum. She is a Bitesize babe at the mo lol its great. Gonna go to waterstones & go back to basics with revision.
J x

alm721

Hi again. Glad things are a little better. If you go to the CGP website you will find that there is a revision book specific for the new edexcel linear course. Its available in higher (A*-D grades) or foundation(C-G grades) You will probably get it elsewhere but I'd look for one that is specific to the course shes doing. Its also not a bad idea to have a look at other general revision books. I would also agree with the previous poster who suggested getting ks3 books to check there are no gaps in her knowledge.
She will be doing either the linear or modular course which basically means that she will either study the course and then take an exam at the end (linear) or study shorter topics and take several smaller exams throughout the year (modular). As there is only one revison book for the new edexcel courses I would imagine that the content of both options is the same or at least very similar but I've not taught either of them so am not 100% certain. Either way I'd find out as it may be that she will have an exam which will count towards her exam sooner than you think if shes dpoing modular.
I'd also look carefully if looking for revison books in the shops as the maths syllabi changed from 2006 so that there are only 2 tiers higher and foundation, prior to this there were 3, higher foundation and intermediate. I would not be at all surprised to find revision books in shops that relate to the older syllabi which would not be what you want. You need to find those that are suitable for examination in 2008 onwards.
Finally you may want to look at the edexcel website itself. If you follow the links to gcse maths on their site you will find information which may be useful if you want to read it,
Its also worth noting that they are making all of their previous exam papers available to download free of charge from spring 2008. This is often one of the most valuable types of revision that students can do. You can do them again and again until you are confident with the type of questions that are being asked and although it may get a little boring its really is worthwhile.
Hope this helps.

FriendlyJ

Thanks v much alm721 :T . Once again I really appreciate all your advice.
J