This is a truly inspirational book whose ideas and theory I
use daily in my work as a Specialist Primary maths teacher. Reading this book transformed the way I
thought about teaching maths and has resulted in a far more rewarding and
creative experience for me and, I hope, for the children I teach. I have learnt from Goutard to really listen
to children and discovered that children's potential for learning in
mathematics is limitless. She reveals to
the reader how children from a very young age can be introduced to the
underlying structure of mathematics and its rich interrelatedness, through simple, child-centred activities and
skilled questioning. In short, she explains exactly how to bring a child to
mastery of the subject.
In this book, Madeleine Goutard describes her creative, yet
mathematically rigorous use of Cuisenaire rods to teach mathematics. Reading this alongside Dr Gattegno's Numbers
in Colour series, I found her descriptions of lessons invaluable for
implementing the approach in my own classroom.
I learnt how mathematical signs can be introduced to very young
children, giving them the tools from an early stage to express their
mathematical ideas and explore mathematics at an increasingly complex level.
Although still in awe of Goutard's remarkable achievements (children in her
classes as young as 7 wrote with confidence and accuracy using all four
operations, fractions, powers, roots and brackets,) I have watched the children
I teach write their own maths ideas with increasing flexibility and a deeper
understanding of calculation than I had
previously thought possible.
Goutard sees to the heart of any difficulties children may
have with mathematics and shares her methods for bringing children to a clearer
understanding. I have
used her approach with many children who find maths difficult and am
always struck by how quickly, even with no previous experience of using the
rods, the child gains confidence and
understanding. Her descriptions of lessons reveal the curiosity and
confidence of her children and their deep engagement with the subject. We hear their thoughts and ideas and the
skilful way Goutard receives and values them.
For the teacher, Goutard provides quite simply an
outstanding role-model for maths teaching.
This book is available to purchase from www.cuisenaire.co.uk
