Body Math

Dowdy, P. (2009). Body Math. New York: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark.

I just purchased a new batch of math resources for the library including the "Math Alive" series with Body Math, Nature Math, Building Math, Science Math, Transport Math and Travel Math. A great hybrid of a fact book, a puzzle book and an activity book, Body Math uses brightly coloured two page spreads with photos, graphs and diagrams to explore various math concepts. Using body parts and functions will appeal to those biology fans. While some of the hands-on activities are doable by keen late primary and motivated intermediate students, some will definitely need a little teacher or parent help. The text can be read for interest without doing the problems, though.  This book will appeal to those math enthusiasts who are always looking for a puzzle and a challenge.  It would also be useful for exploring concepts in the classroom. I particularly like how the series uses other areas of interest (nature, buildings, transportation) to hook students into mathematical thinking. 

Intermediate (with some help)/Young Adult (independently)/ Teacher resource