When I saw my son struggling with math, I tried helping him with his homework. That’s when I learned that he not only lacked a basic understanding of numbers, but he also saw math as a meaningless exercise that school forced on him. Much of his problems with math stemmed for his lack of motivation to learn how math could be practical in his own life.
So to help my son find math more interesting and enjoyable, I wrote “Math for the Zombie Apocalypse.” By combining straightforward explanations and calculating shortcuts with humor about using math to survive a zombie apocalypse, I found that my son quickly learned how math could be more fun and practical.
Written as a parody of a survival guide for a Zombie Apocalypse, “Math for the Zombie Apocalypse” focuses on building a solid knowledge of numbers so readers can understand the basics of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
Rather than rely on the typical dry explanations found in ordinary math textbooks, “Math for the Zombie Apocalypse” shows how to creatively solve math problems by breaking hard problems into smaller, easy problems. By relying on basic math knowledge and seeing how there are multiple ways to solve any math problem, readers can learn that you can solve any math problem with a little creativity like trying to solve a puzzle.
If your children are struggling with math, you might find a math textbook, disguised as a zombie survival guide, can bring back their interest and make math feel less intimidating and threatening when combined with advice for how to dispatch zombies in fun and creative ways.
“Math for the Zombie Apocalypse” isn’t your traditional math textbook, and that’s its greatest appeal. By teaching you how to think about math rather than force you to follow one specific way to solve math problems, this book can inspire you to see math as nothing more than an intellectual problem solving tool that can only help you in all aspects of your life, whether you have to survive a zombie apocalypse or not.
Table of Contents
Preface
Chapter 1: The Importance of Math
Chapter 2: Understanding Numbers
Chapter 3: The Basics of Addition and Subtraction
Chapter 4: Addition Tricks
Chapter 5: Subtraction Tricks
Chapter 6: The Basics of Multiplication
Chapter 7: Multiplying Large Numbers
Chapter 8: The Basics of Division
Chapter 9: Long Division
Chapter 10: Short Division and Chunking
Chapter 11: Calculating with Decimals
Chapter 12: Calculating with Fractions
Chapter 13: Percentages and the Metric System
Chapter 14: Rounding Numbers
Chapter 15: Turning Numbers Into Data
Chapter 16: Continuing Your Math Education
