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The provision of specialist maths teaching to those with learning difficulties or special needs is an integral part of the young persons development. Teacher Says provides and reviews sources of additional maths support for both in and out of maths classes. Thanks to for this Arithm Attack source.
The Arithm Attack
How many computer-generated arithmetic problems can you answer in 60 seconds?
Our own handwritten sets of often used maths formula to refresh your memory.
Intended for general purpose use for various ages and abilities.
This is an online hosted site so no software distribution problems. Covers a broad range of maths topics in various ingenious ways across a wide range of abilities. The web site is great for anyone involved in teaching or learning maths as it aims to make learning the subject fun! The site uses worksheets, tests and resources for students and teachers and also includes games such as Weakest Link and Millionaire. Unusually for educational software, it is quickly adapted to different skill levels. It is suitable for most year groups - in particular it is self-recommended for C/D GCSE levels and 4/5 SATs levels. It also contains some games, which could help raise a child's grade while enjoying the subject across all maths standards.
The response from the students found on the internet is very enthusiastic - here is a review by Year 8 student.
"This web site is a handy piece of help for those that can't do mental maths that well. There are plenty of games to play online and the layout is very good. It is a very good web site." - Debbie Burns
Also recommended by Association of Teachers of Mathematics - they say:
"Come and try out some exciting interactive lessons and activities for your PC, and see how you can develop mathematical thinking using this dynamic tool. MyMaths tackles the real understanding issues of difficult concepts and has lots of fun and games, activities that really enthuse students."
Math Fact Café is an excellently presented site with easily generated worksheets on basic arithmetic. The worksheets questions are randomly generated so you can create new worksheets repeatedly on a range of basic maths operations. Useful primarily for teachers and educationalists. Some token games but not really attractive for the children aimed at by the resources offered. As its is not a UK site it does not target national curriculum maths, but at a basic maths level this is not a significant limitation. Worth a visit, but not for the mathematical elite.
Comes on CD as 4 separate but similar programs, which annoyingly require 4 separate installation processes. It targets groups of low ability in arithmetic. There are no commendations for doing well, which is helpful for lower ability students. The application interfaces are less well thought out than MyMaths and rather repetitive. This product would be suited to learning support and SEN, but I doubt if attention span would be very long.
Curriculum Online make the following observations:
"MathBase uses small steps and repetition to build confidence and sustain progress. Suitable for general use from Reception to Year 6 and for pupils in all Key Stages with SEN. Initially written for pupils in a secondary school for complex needs. May be effectively used with an interactive whiteboard; Age: 5-15 year olds; Resource type: Drill and practice help."
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Learning Support
