Math Tutor DVD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Having Math Problems? We Can Help! Guaranteed!

This is the claim made on the Math Tutor DVD site. Math Tutor offers an extensive selection of DVDs that provide help in math. Most of the DVDs are aimed at middle to high schoolers and cover subjects such as algebra, calculus, physics, and probability. Several, however, are geared for younger children.

I received copies of “Young Minds—Numbers and Counting”  and “the Basic Word Problem Tutor” to review.  Math Tutor DVD also sells a Basic Math DVD that is aimed at elementary ages.

Young Minds-Numbers and Counting ($19.99)

This DVD for preschoolers is stunning! This colorful video focuses on counting and numbers from 1 to 10, but incorporates other concepts, such as colors, names of animals, fruits, and other objects. The photography is beautiful and the background classical music is lovely and calming. This is sure to be a DVD that a young child will enjoy and that the parent will not be tired of after dozens of plays through!

Basic Word Problem Tutor ($26.99)  includes eight hours of material, arranged by topic. The topics range from adding and subtracting whole numbers to fractions, percents, and ratios. Each 30 minute segment consists of the instructor solving word problems on a white board and explaining the process. Emily commented that the addition and subtraction problems were very easy, which is understandable, since she is in fourth grade. However, by the third segment (multiplication), the problems were becoming more challenging for her. I thought that the problems were very clearly and patiently explained. I did wish at times, though, that the instructor would draw a picture to illustrate the problem before he began to solve it. He explained the problem orally, then used the white board only to do the computation. I also noticed that he used the older terms, “carry” and “borrow” instead of the more current term, “regroup.” That could be confusing to some children. Don’t expect a lot of bells and whistles in this DVD. It contains clear teaching, but is not terribly entertaining. Overall, I think this DVD would be a nice supplement to any math program, especially with a child who struggles with word problems.

I received these two DVDs  free in exchange for my honest review.