Five Easy Steps to a Balanced Math Program is a method for educators to use the texts and tools that they currently have to create a math instruction program that will create powerfully math literate students.

Five-step model for balancing computational skill withconceptual understanding that can be implemented with any math program.

Every educator wants engaged, successful math students! Discover a proven model that works! Here is a simple framework of "timeless" practices which enables educators to use the texts and tools they currently have to create a math instructional program that will create powerfully math-literate students. Balancing all the essential components to align instruction, learning activities, and assessments, this book is designed for teachers to help primary grade students develop their number sense, solve real-life problems, understand math conceptually and procedurally, communicate math understanding to others, and eventually perform well on state assessments. Includes essential questions, research-based rationale, grade-level examples, descriptions of each step, differentiation strategies, reader's assignments for immediate classroom use, guidelines for implementation, time management suggestions, frequently asked questions, leader's guide, reproducible worksheets, and more.

Students pursue problems they’re curious about, not problems they’re told to solve. Creating a math classroom filled with confident problem solvers starts by introducing challenges discovered in the real world, not by presenting a sequence of prescribed problems, says Gerald Aungst. In this groundbreaking book, he offers a thoughtful approach for instilling a culture of learning in your classroom through five powerful, yet straightforward principles: Conjecture, Collaboration, Communication, Chaos, and Celebration. Aungst shows you how to Embrace collaboration and purposeful chaos to help students engage in productive struggle, using non-routine and unsolved problems Put each chapter’s principles into practice through a variety of strategies, activities, and by incorporating technology tools Introduce substantive, lasting cultural changes in your classroom through a manageable, gradual shift in processes and behaviors Five Principles of the Modern Mathematics Classroom offers new ideas for inspiring math students by building a more engaging and collaborative learning environment. "Bravo! This book brings a conceptual framework for K-12 mathematics to life. As a parent and as the executive director of Edutopia, I commend Aungst for sharing his 5 principles. This is a perfect blend of inspiring and practical. Highly recommended!" Cindy Johanson, Executive Director, Edutopia George Lucas Educational Foundation "Aungst ignites the magic of mathematics by reminding us what makes mathematicians so passionate about their subject matter. Grounded in research, his work takes us on a journey into classrooms so that we may take away tips to put into practice today." Erin Klein, Teacher, Speaker, and Author of Redesigning Learning Spaces

A thinking student is an engaged student Teachers often find it difficult to implement lessons that help students go beyond rote memorization and repetitive calculations. In fact, institutional norms and habits that permeate all classrooms can actually be enabling "non-thinking" student behavior. Sparked by observing teachers struggle to implement rich mathematics tasks to engage students in deep thinking, Peter Liljedahl has translated his 15 years of research into this practical guide on how to move toward a thinking classroom. Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics, Grades K–12 helps teachers implement 14 optimal practices for thinking that create an ideal setting for deep mathematics learning to occur. This guide Provides the what, why, and how of each practice and answers teachers’ most frequently asked questions Includes firsthand accounts of how these practices foster thinking through teacher and student interviews and student work samples Offers a plethora of macro moves, micro moves, and rich tasks to get started Organizes the 14 practices into four toolkits that can be implemented in order and built on throughout the year When combined, these unique research-based practices create the optimal conditions for learner-centered, student-owned deep mathematical thinking and learning, and have the power to transform mathematics classrooms like never before.

Studies of teachers in the U.S. often document insufficient subject matter knowledge in mathematics. Yet, these studies give few examples of the knowledge teachers need to support teaching, particularly the kind of teaching demanded by recent reforms in mathematics education. Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics describes the nature and development of the knowledge that elementary teachers need to become accomplished mathematics teachers, and suggests why such knowledge seems more common in China than in the United States, despite the fact that Chinese teachers have less formal education than their U.S. counterparts. The anniversary edition of this bestselling volume includes the original studies that compare U.S and Chinese elementary school teachers’ mathematical understanding and offers a powerful framework for grasping the mathematical content necessary to understand and develop the thinking of school children. Highlighting notable changes in the field and the author’s work, this new edition includes an updated preface, introduction, and key journal articles that frame and contextualize this seminal work.

The need for a cohesive and comprehensive curriculum that intentionally connects standards, instruction, and assessment has never been more pressing. For educators to meet the challenging learning needs of students they must have a clear road map to follow throughout the school year. Rigorous Curriculum Design presents a carefully sequenced, hands-on model that curriculum designers and educators in every school system can follow to create a progression of units of study that keeps all areas tightly focused and connected.