Title: Mathematics Inside Out 4
Publishers: Learnrite International Publishers Limited
Pages: 180
Reviewer: Wilfred Okiche
Mathematics Inside Out Book 4 is the latest in a projected series of six text and work books that aim to deepen and enrich pupils’ understanding of Mathematics, the most important of school subjects.
Written by Judeson A. Ogberaha and published by Learnrite International Publishers, a seasoned educator boasting years of rich on the ground experience, book 4 continues in the Inside Out series tradition of clear, simple, easy to read style to encourage effective assimilation and maximum success.
Books 1, 2 and 3 are technically primers, serving as the introduction into the author’s carefully structured world of elementary Mathematics, guiding willing participants through the basics such as counting numbers – simple and complex, multiplication, fractions and money. Where Book 1 served as the introduction into the series, the second book builds further on this foundation, touching similar territory but with a bit more complexity. Book 3 is a bridge between basic elementary Mathematics and more complicated fare.
Book 4 takes things up a notch higher, introducing more challenging topics like Algebra, ordering of whole numbers, and series. It also continues more complicated updates on basic topics like addition, subtraction and multiplication, not to mention chapter on fractions, weight and time measurement. Other new entrants here are Roman numerals, square roots and estimation.
With its attractive cover and clear colour separation, kid scholars are instantly drawn to the exciting world within the pages. The author has obviously striven to produce a standard text based on the federal government’s Universal Basic Education (UBE) scheme for instructing, measuring and evaluating pupils’ response to the subject.
Written with the older child in mind, the units in book 4, delve more deeply into the subject matter and provide even more understanding on concepts like place values, shapes and capacity. The book concludes with a chapter that delves into further details on Statistics – introduced briefly in the preceding book – and elucidates concepts such as the mean, median and mode.
Clocking in at a tidy 31 chapters (units), with a slim 180 pages, book 4’s chief advantage is a gradual and logical presentation of its topics while making use of recent advances with regards to concept, content and methodology. At the end of each chapter/unit, lively and relatable revision questions are delivered to pupils for practice, as well as to test recall and assimilation.
Unit 12 deals on fractions and goes all out to make this potentially troublesome topic as relatable as possible, bearing in mind the child’s ability to grasp such concepts. It lists the type of fractions and proceeds to explain how to name and write out fractions. Brief exercises follow shortly after and then sub section is on how to change mixed numbers to improper fractions, and vice versa, reducing proper fractions to the lowest terms, and the order of sizes are introduced. There are also units (and exercises) on arranging fractions in descending order and equivalent fractions.
Written in bold, clear print with sprinklings of pictures, Inside Out Book 4 is definitely easy on the eye and its welcoming ambience is sure to melt even the most challenged of pupils. It comes in handy as both a teaching tool (for teachers) and a practice tool (for learning).
To discourage meddlesome pirates seeking to cash in on a good thing, Learnrite, publishers of the Mathematics Inside Out series, have come upon novel and interesting means of protecting the author’s copyright and ensuring that the books get to the intended user in their pure unadulterated form.
On the cover is a conspicuous silver seal that prospective buyers can watch out for before they make their purchase, as well as a strict note of caution at the bottom of the front cover stating clearly that the books aren’t available for sale in regular bookshops and markets. Interested distributors and marketers can only contact accredited, licensed agents to get access to the product. This ensures that only the highest quality of products reach the end user.
And the product comes with enough quality as to be recommended for use in schools nationwide. Experts drawing up the primary and junior school curriculum would do well to avail themselves this useful compendium as the Inside Out series delivers and satisfies most of the criteria.

Related News