Transitioning to Elementary School teaching and need some advice on bolstering my math skills

I'm an English major trying to make the transition to Elementary School teaching. For as long as I can remember, I've been extremely math-anxious and I've only done the bare-minimum level of Math work needed to get my degree. Because teaching Math is a requirement for every Elementary School teacher in the US, I'd like to start improving my mathematical competence now.

I was hoping someone could recommend a good pre-calculus textbook for someone who's looking into re-teaching themselves the foundations of math. I'm not doing this to pass some test, I'd just like to improve my math skills across the board so I'm better able to pass on the knowledge to my students.

Thanks for your time!

Solution 1:

I recommend:

http://www.amazon.com/Mathematics-Elementary-Teachers-Activities-Beckmann/dp/0201725878

this book has been used for years at UGA to prepare elementary teachers in a comprehensive way, and has been recognized as possibly the best book of its type in the country by the National Council on Teacher Quality. The UGA program in math ed is similarly recognized.

http://news.uga.edu/releases/article/math-profs-textbook-wins-national-honor/

Although NCTQ has been criticized by some groups representing teachers' unions and colleges of education for its support of teacher evaluation by merit and student achievement, I agree with their recognition of the quality of this book, and as a professional mathematician I also specifically recommend it, having read and taught from it.

This is not a "precalculus" book, but a book meant to teach understanding of all aspects of math taught in elementary school, including multiplication, positional notation, elementary geometry, etc....

For comparison, Chen's notes begin with assuming the reader is familiar with real numbers, while Beckmann's begins as I recall by asking how many handshakes occur when each person in a party of 20 shakes once with each other.

Solution 2:

I am a current undergraduate in Asia, so I really do not know the syllabus in USA. However, if you're looking for algebra, you could visit Khan Academy for notes...you might need an email to subscribe, but it's a very good place to start. Their video tutorials are good. Alternatively, you can try The New Boston's Algebra Tutorials List. These days, video tutorials are much easier to get than books (at least for me).

Grab a notebook, try out the questions, ask here if you're not sure (but be sure to express in terms of LaTeX! Trust me, it's useful especially here. Practise and practise, I think you will be well occupied for the next 3 months or so.

Good luck!