This article models how to plan and facilitate implementing the same task in two sixth-grade classrooms with two different learning goals using the Five Practices structure.

This article presents several mathematics problems on the same theme that can be used in class or for independent study. It is very difficult to show students how mathematics research is done by mathematicians, so the author first introduces a problem that can be tackled solely by arithmetic and then gives an idea of how a mathematician might…

Building upon the blockbuster success of "Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics," Peter Liljedahl has joined forces with co-author Maegan Giroux to bring the Building Thinking Classrooms (BTC) framework to life in this new book, "Mathematics Tasks for the Thinking Classroom, Grades K-5." But this book is so much more than…

In this article, the authors discuss two ways of improving the rigour and integrity of mathematics in STEM programs drawing on examples from their research. The authors examine how mathematics can be made a stronger part of a STEM unit using examples from two pairs of teachers engaged in a STEM teacher professional development program, conducted…

An escape room can be a great way for students to apply and practice mathematics they have learned. This article describes the development and implementation of a mathematical escape room with important principles to incorporate in escape rooms to help students persevere in problem solving.

What is a teacher to do when students share an idea with underlying mathematics that is different from that of the student contribution being discussed? Could such situations be avoided to begin with? In this article, the authors share strategies that can help teachers better keep the mathematics related to the student contribution under…

Explore young children's remarkable everyday math that can lay the groundwork for formal math education in kindergarten and beyond. Readers will learn how math is embedded in children's everyday lives, how daily routines contribute to the development of important math concepts, and what adults can do to foster the joy of early math learning.…

In this article, the author describes how to help develop students' conceptual understanding of fractions through the tactical card-based game Nearest to One. Nearest to One promotes number-sense based strategies for comparing fractions, such as benchmarking (e.g., Is the fraction greater or less than one-half?) and building to the next whole,…

Off You Go is a PK-12 mathematical routine that leverages children's home resources and assets to help students take a concept with which they have initial or informal understanding and explore and test its boundaries to support defining or estimating with precision. The authors provide a guide for how to adapt this routine to engage students at…

This article provides information to educational leaders about how to address the challenge of supporting students who are emergent multilingual--i.e., those identified as English Learners (ELs) by their schools--in middle grades mathematics classes. The ideas in this article draw on research and collaborations with hundreds of teachers across the…

The foundation of geometric knowledge and understanding starts in primary school, and in contemporary mathematics education there is an emphasis on identifying learning progressions and trajectories as a way of moving students forward. The van Hiele (1986) theory is well-documented and provides insights into the progression and differences of…

The Community Math Night Facilitators' Toolkit is a detailed resource for elementary school educators to plan and implement a Community Math Night event. Community Math Nights use interactive math activities to engage families in building positive math attitudes, facilitate their participation in children's learning in grades K-5, and build a…

Rich mathematical modeling activities are crucial to giving students agency and making mathematics meaningful. Proportional reasoning and transitional algebraic reasoning are the primary topics in the prealgebra curriculum, so a need exists for meaningful modeling activities using proportional reasoning in addition to geometric modeling. In…

The task shared in this article provides geometry students with opportunities to recall and use basic geometry vocabulary, extend their knowledge of area relationships, and create area formulas. It is characterized by reasoning and sense making (NCTM 2009) and the "Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others"…

This workbook is a companion to the "Community Math Night Facilitators' Toolkit. REL 2022-120" (ED615952), a comprehensive resource for elementary school educators to plan and implement a Community Math Night. A Community Math Night brings together educators, students, and their families to: (1) learn about, talk about, and have fun with…