Mathematics of Trades & Professions

For those who want a workbook format and some very specific career or real life math instruction - this series offers a variety of topics. Each book is 160 pages and reproducible for classroom and/or family use, and helps with an understanding of math as it relates to everyday life. There are three divisions in each book. The first section is a review of basic math which offers review and practice with whole numbers, fractions/decimals/percents, mean/median/mode, basic operations on a calculator, computing mentally, and estimating. Some of the material from this first section is repeated in all of the books, so there might be a bit of overlap from book to book - review is good! The second and third sections are specific to the topic of the book - the Mathematics of Work includes sections on part time/summer work and full time employment. Each section within the book begins with a pre-skills test, which is 2 pages in length to determine skills that might need more attention, problem-solving strategies, review, and test. Sections are divided into lessons that vary in length, and all include necessary information and examples to work through the exercises - fill-in-the-blank, short answer, and 'think about it' questions, Also included in the book are group projects, practice forms, charts, glossary, and the answer key. There is an occasional extension activity found in some lessons that might include money tips, mental math, estimation skills, and calculator activities.

The topics in this series really qualify as 'real life' math, and no child should leave home without exposure to them. If you're doing a more formal consumer math course, some of these topics may not be included; you could supplement with one or more of the books from this series. Two or three books from this series would probably make a nice one-semester study. Another option might be to work through the series at a slower pace, but begin in junior high doing one book per year so you can complete all of the books and not miss any of the important skills. ~ Donna