The Striving to Improve Series targets students who, for whatever reason, are struggling to keep up with their peers. The activities in the books are designed to prevent students from regressing any further at school. The tasks are based on a modified curriculum so that students can work at their own pace and without constant supervision from the teacher.

This book, Angles, Shapes and Mensuration, is focused on the Measurement and Geometry Strand of the Australian Curriculum for lower ability students and those who need further opportunity to consolidate these core areas in mathematics. Each section of the book provides students with the opportunity to consolidate written and mental methods of calculation, with an emphasis on process and understanding.

The section entitled Angles enables students to review types of angles and naming angles. There is the opportunity to practise drawing angles and using angles within a context. Students then have the opportunity to investigate angles in a triangle and to also classify the different types of triangles. The section entitled Shapes And Mensuration familiarises students with units of length, mass and capacity and provides activities to consolidate unit conversions using mental strategies. The activities then move on to exploring perimeter and area of rectangles and triangles and allow for a thorough consolidation of these foundational concepts. Students then engage with simple volume and capacity ideas.

These activities are a useful way to scaffold a new unit of Mathematics and will help build confidence for lower ability students to attempt more challenging problems at their year level. The activities are designed to guide student learning with minimal input from the teacher and there is a strong emphasis on process and understanding.The activities can be used for individual students needing further consolidation in a mainstream classroom or as instructional worksheets for a whole class of lower ability students. The activities are tied to Curriculum Links in the Australian Curriculum ranging from grade levels of Year 4 through to Year 7 and are appropriate for students requiring extra support in Years 7, 8 and 9.

Editor: Mirella Trimboli