The great thing about Sigma workbooks is that the content has been selected to specifically relate to New Zealand places and examples to give real-life relevance and make them come alive for the students.
Sigma books make study relevant to the student’s world.
We are New Zealanders! We need to embrace the differences that make us unique and therefore our children need to constantly see their society reflected in the material they study at school. This belief has always been at the heart of the educational resources Sigma Publications has produced for the last twenty years.
Wherever possible Sigma has instructed its authors to use New Zealand content, both in English and Mathematics workbooks. Let me give you some examples of this policy. Let’s look at the new single achievement standard workbooks Sigma has just published for NCEA Level 1.
NCEA English Workbook AS 1.4 ‘Unfamiliar Texts asks students to examine and comment on texts they have not seen before. Author Susan Battye, updates for 2024 by Jo Hayes, have used the following texts for this purpose :
- a story about the New Zealand America’s Cup challenge in San Diego in 1995
- an article in the NZ Herald about how schools can do their bit to fight crime
- a NZ Herald article praising Lydia Ko’s golfing achievements
- two pieces of poetry from resident New Zealand poets Glenn Colquhoun and Albert Wendt
In AS 1.1 ‘Comparison Investigation Multivariate Data' author Wiesje Geldof, updated for 2024 by Katy Thorne, have used the following material as a focus for the students' study of statistics :
- houses sold in Wellington
- speeding drivers in Canterbury
- school athletic results
- kiwifruit circumferences
- pipi shell sizes
- a New Zealand survey of smokers
From the above information you can see how almost all the material in Sigma workbooks that students use to practise their skills is familiar to them. They have heard of it, been there, know someone who lives there or was involved. This is their country we are talking about and these skills are being applied to things they know about.
