Math Tutor 1 is a set of programs that contain an introduction to counting and tutorials on addition, subtraction, and comparing the magnitude of two numbers (greater than, less than, or equal to). Each tutorial is followed by a set of problems for the child to answer.

This software is built on the basic premise that mathematics, at any level, can only be really understood if it is practiced again and again. Though practicing on a computer can be very helpful, there is no substitute for having the student work out problems with pencil and paper. With this in mind, this distribution contains several activities that generate hardcopy problem sets in PostScript format. It also contains a PostScript file (num0-9.ps) that contains the numbers 0 through 9 on lined paper so that the student can practice writing these numbers. (See below for printing PostScript files.)

This package is Freeware and can be freely distributed. This package has no special requirements (e.g. a particular run-time library) and runs under DOS, which means that it can also be run from a DOS window under Windows 3.1 and Windows 9x (though you may have to rezise the DOS window to see the text at the bottom of some pages).

To obtain a copy of this package, simply hold down the left [Shift] key and use the mouse to click on MATH1REG.ZIP. By ensuring that the file transfer is in binary mode, this zip file will be copied to your system. Though I have tried to use unique file names in all of my programs, I would suggest that you download this file to its own directory.

Once this file is downloaded, all of the files can be extracted. The zip file can then be deleted, or moved to a floppy disk for storage. Before running this package, you should first view the file README.TXT to see any additional information. To run this package, simply go to this directory and enter the command

      MATH1

When this command is entered, you will have the choice of running one of 22 different activities, or exiting the program. In particular, they are

     A = Counting Tutor (0-9)
     B = More Counting Questions (0-9)
     C = Generate PostScript Counting Questions (0-9)
     D = Counting Tutor (10+)
     E = More Counting Questions (10+)
     F = Generate PostScript Counting Questions (10+)
     G = Greater than, Equal to, or Less than Tutor
     H = Generate PostScript Greater than, Equal to, or Less than Questions
     I = Addition Tutor (Level 1)
     J = More Addition Questions (Level 1)
     K = Generate PostScript Addition Questions (Level 1)
     L = Addition Tutor (Level 2)
     M = More Addition Questions (Level 2)
     N = Generate PostScript Addition Questions (Level 2)
     O = Subtraction Tutor (no borrowing)
     P = More Subtraction Questions (no borrowing)
     Q = Generate PostScript Subtraction Questions (no borrowing)
     R = Subtraction Tutor (borrowing)
     S = More Subtraction Questions (borrowing)
     T = Generate PostScript Subtraction Questions (borrowing)
     U = Addition and Subtraction Word Problem Tutor
     V = Generate PostScript Addition and Subtraction Word Problems
     Z = Nothing (DOS)

When I wrote these tutorials, I assumed that an older person will be working with the young student. Each tutorial screen contains a fair amount of information and is set up so that the older person can carefully discuss this information with the student.

All of the practice problems use a random number generator to select the numbers. This means that the same activity can be run many times and slightly different problems will be asked. It also means that the same question may be asked more than once, or a relatively hard problem may be followed by a very easy one.

In all practice sections of each activity, the student only has to press the correct key; they never have to press the "Enter" key.

Activities D&E [Counting (10+)]...In these activities, a stick represents a single item (i.e. one finger per stick), and a block represents 10 sticks. In the practice section, if only a group of blocks is present (say 4 blocks), the program expects a 2-digit answer (40 in this example). If all the student enters is the number of blocks (i.e. 4), the program will sit there and wait for the 0 key to be pressed.

Activity G [Greater than, Equal to, or Less than Tutor]...In the practice section, make sure that the student only uses the ">", "=" or "<" keys. You may have to show the student where they are on your keyboard and show them how to hold down the "Shift" key for ">" and "<".

In the activities that ask more practice questions (B, E, J, M, P, and S), and those that generate PostScript files containing more problems (C, F, H, K, N, Q, T, and V) the program first asks for the number and/or difficulty of the question you want. The older person will have to answer these to make sure that the problems are within the reach of the student. When a set of PostScript questions is generated, another PostScript file contianing the answers to each problem is also created. The PostScript files will have unique names, so that the same file is not overwritten each time questions are generated. In general, each avtivity has a limit of 99 sets of questions and answers. Once 99 is reached, the program starts over at 01 and the earlier copies will have to be manually deleted before a new file can be written.

Printing PostScript files...The PostScript files (num0-9.ps and those generated by activities C, F, H, K, N, Q, T and V) can be printed by sending them to a PostScript printer. If such a printer is not available, they can first be read into a PostScript viewer and printed from there. A good PostScript viewer is "ghostview". Versions for DOS, Windows 3.1 and Windows 9x can be obtained by going to http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/. There you can also get a good Windows interface called GSview. (Please note that I have no involvement with ghostview or GSview, I just find them useful.)

I hope this set of programs is useful and you will let me know if you have any suggestions to make them better.

Return to my Educational Software Page.

� 1999 Brian T. Luke, Ph.D.