It insults the intelligence of brighter students and is two years behind the fifth-grade curriculum of Singapore. But Robert Herriot, a software engineer and former computer science professor in California, says that this is the greatest weakness of Investigations. Students who cannot think abstractly by middle school will not be able to advance. He does not claim that Investigations is completely without value. If the authors could moderate their philosophy and improve their mathematics, Investigations could become an excellent supplement.
Abstractions are frequently easy to learn when directly taught, but very hard to learn by discovery.
In your journal, record your number, explain why you chose that number, list three or four mathematical things about your number, list three or four connections you can make between your number and the world.