Author Description

Counting on a Small Planet develops children's awareness of the responsibility we all have for looking after our environment and uses mathematics to explore and explain how our actions affect the world in which we live. Each topic has an introductory activity that can be used to present the material and to gauge the children's level of enthusiasm. When interest is high, the suggested investigations provide ideas and structure for further action, and Maths Fact Files at the end of each topic relate the local to the global situation. For example, in the chapter titled "All That Rubbish," children collect all their rubbish for the day, sort and classify it by groups and determine how they can reduce the amount of garbage they produce, using graphs to record their findings. In the Fact File they learn that plastic waste, thrown into the sea, kills 30,000 seals each year. The activities encourage children to pose questions or problems about the environment, and even offer solutions. These are then explained by the children themselves, who develop mathematical approaches, strategies and measurement techniques to answer their own questions. The results of each investigation can and need to be reported-the children then use the mathematics they have been working on to present an argument and persuade others to take action too. Counting on a Small Planet emphasizes the processes involved in mathematical thinking, rather than looking for "the right answer." Most important, children are encouraged to use math for reasons with which they can all identify: to preserve and protect our world.