A schoolwide solution for students' mathematics success! Do you sometimes start to teach a mathematics concept and feel like you're staring at a sea of bewildered faces? What happens when you discover students previously learned a calculation trick or a mnemonic that has muddied their long-term understanding? When "rules" seem to change from year to year, teacher to teacher, or school to school, mathematics can seem like a disconnected mystery for students. Clear up the confusion with a Mathematics Whole-School Agreement! Expanded from the highly popular "Rules that Expire" series of NCTM articles, this essential guide leads educators through the collaborative step-by-step process of establishing a coherent and consistent learner-centered and equitable approach to mathematics instruction. Through this work, you will identify, streamline, and become passionate about using clear and consistent mathematical language, notations, representations, rules, and generalizations within and across classrooms and grades. Importantly, you'll learn to avoid "rules that expire"-tricks that may seem to help students in one grade but hurt in the long run. Features of this book include * Abundant grade-specific examples * Effective working plans for sustainability * Barrier-busting tips, to-dos, and try-it-outs * Practical templates and checklists * PLC prompts and discussion points When teachers unite across grades, students hit the ground running every year. Take the next step together as a team and help all your students build on existing understanding to find new success and most importantly, love learning and doing mathematics!

A schoolwide solution for students' mathematics success! Do you sometimes start to teach a mathematics concept and feel like you're staring at a sea of bewildered faces? What happens when you discover students previously learned a calculation trick or a mnemonic that has muddied their long-term understanding? When "rules" seem to change from year to year, teacher to teacher, or school to school, mathematics can seem like a disconnected mystery for students. Clear up the confusion with a Mathematics Whole-School Agreement! Expanded from the highly popular "Rules that Expire" series of NCTM articles, this essential guide leads educators through the collaborative step-by-step process of establishing a coherent and consistent learner-centered and equitable approach to mathematics instruction. Through this work, you will identify, streamline, and become passionate about using clear and consistent mathematical language, notations, representations, rules, and generalizations within and across classrooms and grades. Importantly, you'll learn to avoid "rules that expire"-tricks that may seem to help students in one grade but hurt in the long run. Features of this book include: * Abundant grade-specific examples * Effective working plans for sustainability * Barrier-busting tips, to-dos, and try-it-outs * Practical templates and checklists * PLC prompts and discussion points When teachers unite across grades, students hit the ground running every year. Take the next step together as a team and help all your students build on existing understanding to find new success and most importantly, love learning and doing mathematics!

Stop algebra from being a mathematical gatekeeper. With rich math tasks, all students can succeed.  Every teacher strives to make instruction effective and interesting, yet traditional methods of teaching algebra are not working for many students! That’s a problem. But the answer isn’t to supplement the curriculum with random tasks. Classroom Ready-Rich Math Tasks for Grades 6-12 equips you with a cohesive solution--50+ mathematical tasks that are rich, research-based, standards-aligned, and classroom-tested. The tasks: Are organized into learning progressions that help all students make the leap from arithmetic to algebra Offer students interesting mathematics problems to think about and solve so math is investigative, interactive, and engaging Provide opportunities for you to connect new content to prior knowledge or focus on an underdeveloped concept Engage students in conceptual understanding, procedural practice, and problem solving through critical thinking and application Come with downloadable planning tools, student resource pages,  and extension questions Include additional support for students who may be struggling Every learner deserves opportunities to engage in meaningful, rigorous mathematics. And every teacher can develop mathematical thinking and reasoning abilities in students. Part of the bestselling series spanning elementary and middle school, Classroom-Ready Rich Algebra Tasks, Grades 6-12 is a powerful add-on to any core mathematics program at your school.

A school-wide solution for students' mathematics success! Do you sometimes start to teach a mathematics concept and feel like you're staring at a sea of bewildered faces? What happens when you discover students previously learned a calculation trick or a mnemonic that has muddied their long-term understanding? When "rules" seem to change from year to year, teacher to teacher, or school to school, mathematics can seem like a disconnected mystery for students. Clear up the confusion with a Mathematics Whole-School Agreement! Expanded from the highly popular "Rules that Expire" series of NCTM articles, this essential guide leads educators through the collaborative step-by-step process of establishing a coherent and consistent learner-centered and equitable approach to mathematics instruction. Through this work, you will identify, streamline, and become passionate about using clear and consistent mathematical language, notations, representations, rules, and generalizations within and across classrooms and grades. Importantly, you'll learn to avoid "rules that expire"-tricks that may seem to help students in one grade but hurt in the long run. Features of this book include * Abundant grade-specific examples * Effective working plans for sustainability * Barrier-busting tips, to-dos, and try-it-outs * Practical templates and checklists * PLC prompts and discussion points When teachers unite across grades, students hit the ground running every year. Take the next step together as a team and help all your students build on existing understanding to find new success and most importantly, love learning and doing mathematics!

A volume in Research in Mathematics Education Series Editor Barbara J. Dougherty, Iowa State University This volume contains papers from the Second International Curriculum Conference sponsored by the Center for the Study of Mathematics Curriculum (CSMC). The intended audience includes policy makers, curriculum developers, researchers, teachers, teacher trainers, and anyone else interested in school mathematics curricula.

A volume in Research in Mathematics Education Series Editor Barbara J. Dougherty, Iowa State University This volume contains papers from the Second International Curriculum Conference sponsored by the Center for the Study of Mathematics Curriculum (CSMC). The intended audience includes policy makers, curriculum developers, researchers, teachers, teacher trainers, and anyone else interested in school mathematics curricula.

A volume in Research in Mathematics Education Series Editor Barbara J. Dougherty, University of Mississippi The purpose of this book is to document the work of the Show-Me Project (1997-2007) and to highlight lessons learned about curriculum implementation. Although the Show-Me Project was charged with promoting the dissemination and implementation of four distinct comprehensive curriculum programs (Connected Mathematics, Mathematics in Context, MathScape, and MathThematics), most of the lessons learned from this work are not curriculum specific. Rather, they cut across the four programs and share commonalities with standards-based curriculum reform at any level. We believe that documenting these lessons learned will be one of the legacies of the Show-Me Project We anticipate that the comprehensive nature of this work will attract readers from multiple audiences that include state and district mathematics supervisors, middle grades mathematics teachers and administrators involved in curriculum reform, as well as mathematics teacher educators. Those about to embark on the review of curriculum materials will appreciate reading about the processes employed by other districts. Readers with interests in a particular curriculum program will be able to trace the curriculum-specific chapters to gain insights into how the design of the curricula relate to professional development, adoption and implementation issues, and teachers' personal experience using the curriculum materials. Individuals who provide professional development at the middle grades level will find chapters that they can use for both general and focused discussions. Teachers at all stages of implementation will recognize their own experiences in reading and reflecting on the stories of teacher change. Mathematics educators will find ideas on how these curricula can be used in the preparation of preservice middle grades teachers.

A volume in Research in Mathematics Education Series Editor Barbara J. Dougherty, University of Mississippi The purpose of this book is to document the work of the Show-Me Project (1997-2007) and to highlight lessons learned about curriculum implementation. Although the Show-Me Project was charged with promoting the dissemination and implementation of four distinct comprehensive curriculum programs (Connected Mathematics, Mathematics in Context, MathScape, and MathThematics), most of the lessons learned from this work are not curriculum specific. Rather, they cut across the four programs and share commonalities with standards-based curriculum reform at any level. We believe that documenting these lessons learned will be one of the legacies of the Show-Me Project We anticipate that the comprehensive nature of this work will attract readers from multiple audiences that include state and district mathematics supervisors, middle grades mathematics teachers and administrators involved in curriculum reform, as well as mathematics teacher educators. Those about to embark on the review of curriculum materials will appreciate reading about the processes employed by other districts. Readers with interests in a particular curriculum program will be able to trace the curriculum-specific chapters to gain insights into how the design of the curricula relate to professional development, adoption and implementation issues, and teachers' personal experience using the curriculum materials. Individuals who provide professional development at the middle grades level will find chapters that they can use for both general and focused discussions. Teachers at all stages of implementation will recognize their own experiences in reading and reflecting on the stories of teacher change. Mathematics educators will find ideas on how these curricula can be used in the preparation of preservice middle grades teachers.

A volume in Research in Mathematics Education Series Editor Barbara J. Dougherty, University of Mississippi This volume contains the proceedings of the First International Curriculum Conference sponsored by the Center for the Study of Mathematics Curriculum (CSMC). The CSMC is one of the National Science Foundation Centers for Learning and Teaching (Award No. ESI-0333879). The countries-China, Japan, Korea, and Singapore (in alphabetical order, which also happens to be the order of their populations)-have each been in the news because of their performance on international tests and/or their economic performance and potential. They also have centralized education ministries that create a single mathematics curriculum framework followed in the entire country.

A volume in Research in Mathematics Education Series Editor Barbara J. Dougherty, University of Mississippi This volume contains the proceedings of the First International Curriculum Conference sponsored by the Center for the Study of Mathematics Curriculum (CSMC). The CSMC is one of the National Science Foundation Centers for Learning and Teaching (Award No. ESI-0333879). The countries-China, Japan, Korea, and Singapore (in alphabetical order, which also happens to be the order of their populations)-have each been in the news because of their performance on international tests and/or their economic performance and potential. They also have centralized education ministries that create a single mathematics curriculum framework followed in the entire country.

A volume in Research in Mathematics Education Series Editor Barbara J. Dougherty, University of Mississippi This volume investigates the evolution of the geometry curriculum in the United States over the past 150 years. A primary goal is to increase awareness of the nature of the current geometry curriculum by investigating the historical, mathematical and pedagogical influences that it has sustained since its inception. Given the limited access to first-hand accounts of the enacted geometry curriculum during the past 150 years, the book relies on textbooks to provide a record of the implemented curriculum at any given point in time and on policy documents and journal articles to provide insight into the prevalent issues and arguments of the day. The book is organized in a chronological sequence of ""notable events"" leading to discernable changes in thinking about the geometry curriculum over the past century and a half-roughly the extent of time during which geometry has been taught in American schools. Notable events include important reports or commissions, influential texts, new schools of thought, and developments in learning technologies. These events affected, among other things: content and aims of the geometry curriculum; the nature of mathematical activity as construed by both mathematicians and mathematics educators; and, the resources students are given for engaging in mathematical activity. Before embarking through the notable events, it is necessary to consider the ""big bang"" of geometry, namely the moment in time that shaped the future life of the geometry curriculum. This corresponds to the emergence of Euclidean geometry. Given its influence on the shape of the geometry curriculum, familiarity with the nature of the geometry articulated in Euclid's Elements is essential to understanding the many tensions that surround the school geometry curriculum. Several themes emerge over the course of the monograph, and include: the aims and means of the geometry curriculum, the importance of proof in geometry, the role of visualization and tactile experiences, the fusion between solid and plane geometry, the curricular connections between geometry and algebra, and the use of motion and continuity. The intended audience would include curriculum developers, researchers, teachers, and curriculum supervisors.

A volume in Research in Mathematics Education Series Editor Barbara J. Dougherty, University of Mississippi This volume investigates the evolution of the geometry curriculum in the United States over the past 150 years. A primary goal is to increase awareness of the nature of the current geometry curriculum by investigating the historical, mathematical and pedagogical influences that it has sustained since its inception. Given the limited access to first-hand accounts of the enacted geometry curriculum during the past 150 years, the book relies on textbooks to provide a record of the implemented curriculum at any given point in time and on policy documents and journal articles to provide insight into the prevalent issues and arguments of the day. The book is organized in a chronological sequence of ""notable events"" leading to discernable changes in thinking about the geometry curriculum over the past century and a half-roughly the extent of time during which geometry has been taught in American schools. Notable events include important reports or commissions, influential texts, new schools of thought, and developments in learning technologies.These events affected, among other things: content and aims of the geometry curriculum; the nature of mathematical activity as construed by both mathematicians and mathematics educators; and, the resources students are given for engaging in mathematical activity. Before embarking through the notable events, it is necessary to consider the ""big bang"" of geometry, namely the moment in time that shaped the future life of the geometry curriculum. This corresponds to the emergence of Euclidean geometry. Given its influence on the shape of the geometry curriculum, familiarity with the nature of the geometry articulated in Euclid's Elements is essential to understanding the many tensions that surround the school geometry curriculum. Several themes emerge over the course of the monograph, and include: the aims and means of the geometry curriculum, the importance of proof in geometry, the role of visualization and tactile experiences, the fusion between solid and plane geometry, the curricular connections between geometry and algebra, and the use of motion and continuity. The intended audience would include curriculum developers, researchers, teachers, and curriculum supervisors.

A volume in Research in Mathematics Education Series Editor Barbara J. Dougherty, University of Mississippi This monograph reports on an analysis of a small part of the mathematics curriculum, the definitions given to quadrilaterals. This kind of research, which we call micro-curricular analysis, is often undertaken by those who create curriculum, but it is not usually done systematically and it is rarely published. Many terms in mathematics education can be found to have different definitions in mathematics books. Among these are ""natural number,"" ""parallel lines"" and ""congruent triangles,"" ""trapezoid"" and ""isosceles trapezoid,"" the formal definitions of the trigonometric functions and absolute value, and implicit definitions of the arithmetic operations addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Yet many teachers and students do not realize there is a choice of definitions for mathematical terms. And even those who realize there is a choice may not know who decides which definition of any mathematical term is better, and under what criteria. Finally, rarely are the mathematical implications of various choices discussed. As a result, many students misuse and otherwise do not understand the role of definition in mathematics. We have chosen in this monograph to examine a bit of mathematics for its definitions: the quadrilaterals. We do so because there is some disagreement in the definitions and, consequently, in the ways in which quadrilaterals are classified and relate to each other. The issues underlying these differences have engaged students, teachers, mathematics educators, and mathematicians. There have been several articles and a number of essays on the definitions and classification of quadrilaterals. But primarily we chose this specific area of definition in mathematics because it demonstrates how broad mathematical issues revolving around definitions become reflected in curricular materials. While we were undertaking this research, we found that the area of quadrilaterals supplied grist for broader and richer discussions than we had first anticipated. The intended audience includes curriculum developers, researchers, teachers, teacher trainers, and anyone interested in language and its use.

A volume in Research in Mathematics Education Series Editor Barbara J. Dougherty, University of Mississippi This monograph reports on an analysis of a small part of the mathematics curriculum, the definitions given to quadrilaterals. This kind of research, which we call micro-curricular analysis, is often undertaken by those who create curriculum, but it is not usually done systematically and it is rarely published. Many terms in mathematics education can be found to have different definitions in mathematics books. Among these are ""natural number,"" ""parallel lines"" and ""congruent triangles,"" ""trapezoid"" and ""isosceles trapezoid,"" the formal definitions of the trigonometric functions and absolute value, and implicit definitions of the arithmetic operations addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Yet many teachers and students do not realize there is a choice of definitions for mathematical terms. And even those who realize there is a choice may not know who decides which definition of any mathematical term is better, and under what criteria. Finally, rarely are the mathematical implications of various choices discussed.As a result, many students misuse and otherwise do not understand the role of definition in mathematics. We have chosen in this monograph to examine a bit of mathematics for its definitions: the quadrilaterals. We do so because there is some disagreement in the definitions and, consequently, in the ways in which quadrilaterals are classified and relate to each other. The issues underlying these differences have engaged students, teachers, mathematics educators, and mathematicians. There have been several articles and a number of essays on the definitions and classification of quadrilaterals. But primarily we chose this specific area of definition in mathematics because it demonstrates how broad mathematical issues revolving around definitions become reflected in curricular materials. While we were undertaking this research, we found that the area of quadrilaterals supplied grist for broader and richer discussions than we had first anticipated. The intended audience includes curriculum developers, researchers, teachers, teacher trainers, and anyone interested in language and its use.

Do your students say that one object is "bigger" than another without attending more precisely to the attribute they are comparing? Do they have difficulty naming numbers from 11 to 19? Do some students still count all while their classmates are counting on or counting by tens? What tasks can you offer-what questions can you ask-to determine what your students know or don't know-and move them forward in their thinking? This book focuses on the specialized pedagogical content knowledge that you need to teach number and numeration effectively in prekindergarten-grade 2. The authors demonstrate how to use this multifaceted knowledge to address the big ideas and essential understandings that students must develop for success with these computations-not only in their current work, but also in higher-level mathematics and a myriad of real-world contexts. Explore rich, research-based strategies and tasks that show how students are reasoning about and making sense of number and numeration. Use the opportunities that these and similar tasks provide to build on their understanding while identifying and correcting misunderstandings that may be keeping them from taking the next steps in learning. You have essential understanding. It's time to put it into practice in your teaching. The Putting Essential Understanding into Practice Series moves NCTM's Essential Understanding Series into the classroom. The new series details and explores best practices for teaching the essential ideas that students must grasp about fundamental topics in mathematics-topics that are challenging to learn and teach but are critical to the development of mathematical understanding. Classroom vignettes and samples of student work bring each topic to life, and questions for reader reaction open it up for hands-on exploration. Each volume underscores connections with the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics while highlighting the knowledge of learners, curriculum, instructional strategies, and assessment that pedagogical content knowledge entails. Resources and tasks are available at nctm.org/more4U. Maximize the potential of student-centered learning and teaching by putting essential understanding into practice.

This book, the eleventh in the Putting Essential Understanding into Practice Series, focuses on misconceptions about variables, expressions, equations, and functions that students often bring to grades 6–8. The authors present tasks given to middle-grades students and examine sample responses to them to show how teachers can bring misconceptions to the surface, where they and their students can inspect them, recognize errors and limitations, and replace faulty thinking with robust ideas.

Do your students have “concept images� that limit their ideas of shapes to specific examples, oriented in particular ways? Do they confuse the size of an angle with the length of the rays in a drawing of an angle? When solving problems, do they mix up the concepts of perimeter—the distance around a shape, measured in linear units—and area—the region within the shape, measured in square units? What tasks can you offer—what questions can you ask—to determine what they know or don’t know—and move them forward in their thinking? This book focuses on the specialized pedagogical content knowledge that you need to teach geometry and measurement effectively in grades 3–5. The authors demonstrate how to use this multifaceted knowledge to address the big ideas and essential understandings that students must develop for success with geometry and measurement—not only in their current work, but also in higher-level mathematics and a myriad of real-world contexts. Explore rich, research-based strategies and tasks that show how students are reasoning about and making sense of geometry and measurement. Use the opportunities that these and similar tasks provide to build on their understanding while identifying and correcting misunderstandings that may be keeping them from taking the next steps in learning. Putting Essential Understanding of Geometry and Measurement into Practice in Grades 3–5 is the eighth title in NCTM’s highly useful and very readable Putting Essential Understanding into Practice Series, edited by Barbara J. Dougherty. Each volume in the series builds on the companion volume in the earlier Essential Understanding Series to show teachers how to implement their understanding of mathematics in the classroom.