Nonfiction Books: McMullen, C. (2012). Trigonometry Essentials Practice Workbook with Answers. Seattle, W. A. : CreateSpace. Trigonometry Essentials Practice Workbook with Answers, by Chris McMullen, is a great nonfiction tool to use in a classroom, for it presents trigonometric concepts in a straight forward manner. Each lesson’ the book presents is followed by examples and practice problems. Ultimately, I chose this book due to its straight forward presentation of material and the practice problems that it offers.
Trigonometry Essentials Practice Workbook with Answers comes from a series of books that Chris McMullen developed entitled, Improve Your Math Fluency. McMullen is a physics professor at Northwestern State University in Louisiana, which gives him authority on this topic. When compared to pre-calculus textbook, Trigonometry Essentials Practice Workbook with Answers proves to be accurate, and the graphs and figures are presented clearly. Similarly, the content itself is organized in an understandable manner that can be easily followed by the reader. McMullen’s appropriateness is apparent throughout the book, due to the fact that he shows respect for his audience and uses language that high school students will comprehend.
The author frequently has his readers form a mental picture to assist them in understanding a concept. This, along with his engaging writing style, adds to the literary artistry in this book. The brightly colored cover causes this book to have a level of attractiveness that is enticing to readers. The layout of the lessons also adds to the attractiveness of this book, for the easy to understand examples and extra practice problems will draw the reader in. I will use portions of this book to supplement difficult sections of this lesson, for it will give my students more examples to review and extra problems to ractice.
The answer guide that the book provides will also be helpful to students studying outside of class. I will also utilize this book if students become confused by their textbook’s examples or definition, for McMullen writes in a way that can easily be comprehended and is fun to read. Trigonometry Essentials Practice Workbook with Answers will not be a required text for all of my students, but I will utilize it at times and suggest it if I feel students are struggling to understand their textbook. Sterling, M. (2014). Trigonometry for Dummies.
Hoboken, N. J: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Trigonometry for Dummies, by Mary Jane Sterling, explains trigonometry is the simplest of terms and provides the reader with figures and diagrams that support what they are reading. The real world examples that are presented by this author are the main reason I chose this book. Sterling has been teaching mathematics at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois and is an authoritive voice on the subject of Trigonometry. When this book is compared to a pre-calculus textbook its accuracy is apparent.
Aside from using the word “dummies” in the title, this book is appropriate for high school students who are struggling ith trigonometric concepts. The layout of the book and the author’s use of rhetorical questions add to its literary artistry. The brightly colored cover and fun name cause this book to be attractive to high school students. The title, while slightly offensive, tells the reader that this book is a part of a reputable company, For Dummies, that succeeds at teaching.
It is obvious that Sterling knew what she was doing when she wrote this book, for, as I previously mentioned, she dedicates a large portion of the book to real world examples that utilize trigonometry. Now, when my students ask the inevitable uestion, “When will we every use this in real life? ” I will be able to respond with this book. Trigonometry for Dummies will be a great book for me to refer to students who are struggling to understand the practical implication of trigonometry.
Fiction Books: Downing, D. (2001) Trigonometry: The Easy Way. Hauppauge, Educational Series, Inc. N. Y: Barron’s I chose Trigonometry: The Easy Way, for it is a fun representation of trigonometry and its concepts. This book is presented as a fantasy novel that explains trigonometry in a different way. It is an interesting way to introducing trigonometric concepts. The book has illustrations that emonstrate what is going on in the story or explain the mathematical concepts that are being used by the characters. While the stories are a bit corny, the author does a great job of presenting trigonometry in a unique way. As I stated above, Trigonometry: The Easy Way is a fantasy novel which is centered on trigonometric concepts.
The King of Carmorra and his subjects have many practical problems to solve, and their answers can be found by applying principles of trigonometry”(Amazon. com). The practical problems that the characters solve will demonstrate to my students the real life application of trigonometry. It is so important to teach students about how they can use mathematics in their lives, for they generally do not see its importance. Each chapter, or lesson, is followed by practice problems and the answers are available in the back of the book.
These practice problems could serve as extra practice for my students, for they will have the ability to check their own work. Practice problems will not be the only use of this book in my classroom. I would like to use Trigonometry: The Easy Way as an introduction to my lessons on trigonometry. I would pick out the chapters which coincide with our textbook and assign reading to e completed before each lesson. This will give students a preview of what we will be going over in class, while also developing their reading skills.
This fun, fantasy novel will engage my students in the material we are learning and induce their excitement for class. Yuki, H. (2014). Math Girls Talk About Trigonometry: Volume 3. Austin, T. X. : Bento chose Math Girls Talk About Trigonometry , for it in another fun way to introduce and explain trigonometric concepts. The review problems and answers it offers will be great extra practice for my students. Along with the benefits of this book for y students, it will also help me to view this trigonometric concepts in a different way.
Therefore, I will gain a better understanding of these concepts, while also developing new way to explain each concept. The book will help my students to help themselves, while also helping me to help my students. The author begins the book by introducing the characters to the reader, which will help my students to connect with the characters. This will led my students to want to continue reading and learning. Each concept is introduced through dialogue between the characters, which will strengthen my student’s nterest in trigonometric concepts.
The author’s writing style is very age appropriate and will engage my students in these complex concepts. I will utilize Math Girls Talk About Trigonometry as an independent read for students who would like to gain a better understanding of these trigonometric functions. Whereas I will assign reading from Trigonometry: The Easy Way, this book will be an optional read for my students. Similarly to Trigonometry: The Easy Way, this book has review question that can offer additional practice for my students. Math Girls Talk About Trigonometry will be a great supplement to this unit on trigonometry.
