Practical Advice for Improving your Child's Maths - Part 4 - Gear Up

In my last post I discussed how to set your child on the road to academic freedom when it comes to maths, and the importance of your role as a guide and supervisor at this stage. Now the real fun begins, as we get to discuss what work should be undertaken by your child to make the most improvement on their grade

Get a textbook

This is incredibly important. A good textbook will be the basis of your child’s independent learning. A textbook, if chosen correctly, will contain almost everything a student needs to complete GCSE Maths. But what is a good textbook?

To be blunt, it’s this one:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Maths-GCSE-Textbook-Foundation/dp/1782944389/ref=pd_sbs_2?pd_rd_w=G39Tx&pf_rd_p=2cc879b3-0437-401a-870d-ced07a584039&pf_rd_r=NWVRDD85ZDWJ2EKQSBJN&pd_rd_r=0f095fd3-7dbb-4c53-ba68-b6281550707f&pd_rd_wg=iytEs&pd_rd_i=1782944389&psc=1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/IGCSE%C2%AE-Textbook-Higher-Course-Revision/dp/1782944370/ref=sr_1_18?dchild=1&keywords=gcse+maths&qid=1616402408&sr=8-18

(The first link is for foundation level and the second is for higher level. We’ll discuss later what the difference is and which is right for your child, but if you or child don’t know which their school was preparing them for, get the foundation book (first link))

There are lots of good textbooks out there so if for some reason you prefer another one, go for it. My advice regarding the book is going to be pretty broad. However, if you are like most parents and understandably don’t have a preference, you cannot go wrong with the ones I have linked.

What makes this textbook so good? It explains a topic, then shows examples, then gives students plenty of questions to practice on themselves. The answers are in the back for marking. It has almost everything a student needs to learn self-sufficiently.

Get moving with stationery

As important as the textbook is a student’s calculator. You are going to hear the following arguments about calculators from your child: “I can just use the calculator on my phone”, “I can use Google as a calculator” or the evergreen “I don’t need a calculator”. These are all things I’ve heard and none of them are true. Students need to get used to using the calculator they will use in the exam, so even if a phone or Google has the necessary functions, by using them students are not practicing with the actual tool they will use in the exam.

There is in my opinion one acceptable calculator for attempting GCSE maths and it is this one:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Casio-fx-83GTX-Scientific-Calculator-Black/dp/B07L5YWTPH/ref=sr_1_3_mod_primary_new?dchild=1&keywords=maths+calculator&qid=1616582443&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&sr=8-3

Even if your child already has another calculator, if it is not this one, get this one! Its functions and ease of use are unparalleled. Get this calculator.

The other essentials are:

• Pens and pencils

• Rubber

• Pencil Sharpener

• Ruler

• Protractor

• Compass

• Notebooks to work in (I’ll talk more later about how workbooks should be used)

Something like this will do nicely (all though I’m not as specific about the type of ruler you have!):

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stationery-Including-Compasses-Protractor-Replacement/dp/B08JZ7TMD1/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=maths+stationery&qid=1616583562&sr=8-5

The Right Stuff

Basically, none of this stuff is negotiable. It is all essential. In my tutoring work I have constantly run up against students with missing, wrong or inadequate kit and it’s a serious drawback. GCSE Maths is hard and you want to turn everything you can in your favour - this is an easy way of doing it!

I’ve done the maths and (picking the most expensive version of everything I’ve suggested) the total to buy all of this comes to £34.77. Money should not be a barrier to education but I suggest you do everything you can to get the money together to buy these resources. It really matters. If you are in two minds, maybe I can convince you by adding that, apart from replacing pens and pencils and a bit of extra paper, this is all a student needs for five years of maths education. If we split that cost across all five years it comes to just under £7 per year.

Forgive me for spending 800 words talking about the importance of rulers, but because this stuff is basic it tends to get overlooked. Nevertheless, it is the foundation of learning maths so it deserves to be taken seriously.

In my next post I’ll explain how to help your child decide what work to do so they can actually get down to business and learn some maths!

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At this point I would also like to add to anyone reading this, if you have any questions please feel free to contact me directly at jake@jakeharristuition.com

There is a lot to take in from this series and you might have specific questions about your situation. I am very happy to advise.