Engage students in mathematics using growth mindset techniques

The most challenging parts of teaching mathematics are engaging students and helping them understand the connections between mathematics concepts. In this volume, you'll find a collection of low floor, high ceiling tasks that will help you do just that, by looking at the big ideas at the fifth-grade level through visualization, play, and investigation. 

During their work with tens of thousands of teachers, authors Jo Boaler, Jen Munson, and Cathy Williams heard the same message—that they want to incorporate more brain science into their math instruction, but they need guidance in the techniques that work best to get across the concepts they needed to teach. So the authors designed Mindset Mathematics around the principle of active student engagement, with tasks that reflect the latest brain science on learning. Open, creative, and visual mathematics tasks have been shown to improve student test scores, and more importantly change their relationship with mathematics and start believing in their own potential. The tasks in Mindset Mathematics reflect the lessons from brain science that:

  • There is no such thing as a math person - anyone can learn mathematics to high levels.
  • Mistakes, struggle and challenge are the most important times for brain growth.
  • Speed is unimportant in mathematics.
  • Mathematics is a visual and beautiful subject, and our brains want to think visually about mathematics.

With engaging questions, open-ended tasks, and four-color visuals that will help kids get excited about mathematics, Mindset Mathematics is organized around nine big ideas which emphasize the connections within the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and can be used with any current curriculum.

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Introduction 1

Low-Floor, High-Ceiling Tasks 2

Youcubed Summer Camp 3

Memorization versus Conceptual Engagement 4

Mathematical Thinking, Reasoning, and Convincing 5

Big Ideas 9

Structure of the Book 10

Activities for Building Norms 17

Encouraging Good Group Work 17

Paper Folding: Learning to Reason, Convince, and Be a Skeptic 21

Big Idea 1: Thinking in Cubes 23

Visualize: Solids, Inside and Out 25

Play: City of Cubes 33

Investigate: A Box of Boxes 44

Big Idea 2: Estimating with Fractions 53

Visualize: Making Snowflakes 55

Play: Fraction Blizzard 61

Investigate: Wondering with Fractions 67

Big Idea 3: Using Fraction Equivalence 81

Visualize: Picking Paintings Apart 83

Play: Make a Fake 94

Investigate: Squares with a Difference 101

Big Idea 4: Exploring the Coordinate Plane 115

Visualize: Getting around the Plane 118

Play: Ship Shape 124

Investigate: Table Patterns 133

Big Idea 5: Seeing and Connecting Patterns across Representations 143

Visualize: Two-Pattern Tango 145

Play: Pattern Carnival 153

Investigate: Seeing Growth on a Graph 159

Big Idea 6: Understanding Fraction Multiplication Visually 169

Visualize: Fractions in a Pan 172

Play: Pieces and Parts 180

Investigate: The Sum of the Parts 187

Big Idea 7: What Does It Mean to Divide Fractions? 199

Visualize: Creating Cards 201

Play: Cuisenaire Trains 209

Investigate: Fraction Division Conundrum 217

Big Idea 8: Thinking in Powers of 10 223

Visualize: The Unit You 225

Play: Filling Small and Large 233

Investigate: Museum of the Very Large and Small 239

Big Idea 9: Using Numbers and Symbols Flexibly 247

Visualize: Seeing Expressions 250

Play: Inside Pascal’s Triangle 261

Investigate: The 1492 Problem 268

Appendix 279

Centimeter Dot Paper 280

Isometric Dot Paper 281

About the Authors 283

Acknowledgments 285

Index 287
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Engage Your Students in Visual, Creative Explorations of the Big Ideas in Mathematics

The Mindset Mathematics series offers a unique, research-based visual approach to exploring the big ideas in mathematics, which is essential to future mathematics success. This hands-on resource is for any teacher who wants to engage their fifth grade students in reasoning and persisting through problems, and provides activities that will engage students' interest and show them the many ways that mathematics is important in their lives.

During their work with tens of thousands of teachers, authors Jo Boaler, Jen Munson, and Cathy Williams heard the same message: Teachers want to incorporate more brain science into their mathematics instruction, but they need guidance in the techniques that work best to promote learning of mathematics concepts. In this much-needed volume, the authors clearly show what the big ideas are at this grade level, why they are important to know, and how students can best learn those big ideas.

Filled with engaging questions, open-ended tasks, and four-color visuals, Mindset Mathematics is designed to be flexible so that it can be used with any current curriculum. All of the activities and tasks include instructions for launching in the classroom, suggestions for facilitating dynamic discussions, and guidance for what to look for in student thinking as it develops.

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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9781119358718
Publisert
2019-08-27
Utgiver
Vendor
Jossey-Bass Inc.,U.S.
Vekt
816 gr
Høyde
272 mm
Bredde
216 mm
Dybde
25 mm
Aldersnivå
G, 01
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Heftet
Antall sider
304

Om bidragsyterne

JO BOALER is a professor of mathematics education at Stanford University and co-founder and faculty director of youcubed. She serves as an advisor to several Silicon Valley companies and is a White House presenter on girls and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). The author of seven books, including Mathematical Mindsets, and numerous research articles, she is a regular contributor to news and radio in the United States and England.

JEN MUNSON is a doctoral candidate at Stanford University, a professional developer, and a former classroom teacher. She works with teachers and school leaders across the United States to develop responsive, equitable mathematics instruction.

CATHY WILLIAMS is the co-founder and the executive director of youcubed at Stanford University. Before working at youcubed, she was a high school math teacher and worked in mathematics curriculum and administration at the county and district levels in California.