All Math Words Dictionary is designed for students of pre-algebra, algebra, geometry, intermediate algebra, pre-calculus and calculus in middle school and high school. It is designed using the four 'C's of math writing:
- Concise: Definitions are compact, yet understandable.
- Complete: All words and phrases of interest to targeted students are included, plus a few just beyond the scope of the target classes. Tables of symbols and notations, formulas, and units of measurement, plus lists of properties of math objects gives the student all the information needed to weld their understanding of the concepts and decipher many problems.
- Correct: The definitions have been thoroughly reviewed for mathematical and literary correctness.
- Comprehensible: The definitions are written to be understood by targeted students. Abundant illustrations aid in understanding.
One of the difficulties many students experience in learning math skills has to do with the
fact that an entire language, both spoken and written, has grown up around math. Students that
acquire that language are successful in math studies. Students that do not acquire that language
have serious problems with mathematics. This dictionary is designed to aid in the acquisition
of the language of math.
This dictionary has:
- over 3600 entries,
- more than 200 notations defined,
- in excess of 1300 illustrations,
- IPA pronunciation guide,
- greater than 1400 formulas, equations, examples, identities and expressions.
While teaching high school math, I noted that some students did not understand even simple math statements, such as "This equation is determinate." Those students who had not acquired a basic math vocabulary were left behind, becoming frustrated and mentally dropping out of class.
I was amazed at the enormous size of the math vocabulary that students must gain to be fluent in math. I took the development of this important resource seriously, and after devoting more than ten work-years to its development, creating the 3rd edition of All Math Words Dictionary.
The list of words and phrases to be defined was collected from various textbooks in use in the United States and United Kingdom. Each of these words was carefully researched to find all of the ways the word was used in math classes for pre-algebra, algebra, geometry and calculus. The definitions were carefully crafted and critically evaluated to meet the goals of concise, complete, correct and comprehensible.
Usefulness of these definitions for non-native English speakers was also considered and pronunciation was developed using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). Knowing that a picture is sometimes worth a thousand words, I added abundant illustrations to assist students in placing words in a visual context. The result of this extensive effort is All Math Words Dictionary, an important tool for math teachers and students. This book is available in four different editions:
- Color Classroom edition - typeset in 14-point Times New Roman font and with larger color illustrations. Best for any use, as the use of color guides the student through the illustrations (Hardbound 978-1632702722, Softbound 978-1632702807).
- Home edition - typeset in 10-point Times New Roman for home use (Color 978-1632702821, Black and White 978-1632702814, both paperback).
- Large Print edition - typeset in 16 point Tiresias LP font for visually challenged students. Includes larger black and white illustrations (Hardbound 978-1632702845, Paperback 978-1632702838).
- Dyslexic edition - typeset in Open Dyslexic and Eulexia fonts with black and white illustrations (Hardbound 978-1-63270-279-1, Paperback 978-1-63270-278-4).
