Learn about the specialized pedagogical content knowledge you need to teach geometry effectively in grades 6-8. 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-not only in their current work, but also in higher-level mathematics and a myriad of real-world contexts.

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.

Why does it matter whether we state definitions carefully when we all know what particular geometric figures look like? What does it mean to say that a reflection is a transformation—a function? How does the study of transformations and matrices in high school connect with later work with vector spaces in linear algebra? How much do you know… and how much do you need to know? Helping your students develop a robust understanding of geometry requires that you understand this mathematics deeply. But what does that mean? This book focuses on essential knowledge for teachers about geometry. It is organised around four big ideas, supported by multiple smaller, interconnected ideas—essential understandings. Taking you beyond a simple introduction to geometry, the book will broaden and deepen your mathematical understanding of one of the most challenging topics for students—and teachers. It will help you engage your students, anticipate their perplexities, avoid pitfalls, and dispel misconceptions. You will also learn to develop appropriate tasks, techniques, and tools for assessing students’ understanding of the topic. Focus on the ideas that you need to understand thoroughly to teach confidently. Move beyond the mathematics you expect your students to learn. Students who fail to get a solid grounding in pivotal concepts struggle in subsequent work in mathematics and related disciplines. By bringing a deeper understanding to your teaching, you can help students who don’t get it the first time by presenting the mathematics in multiple ways. The Essential Understanding Series addresses topics in school mathematics that are critical to the mathematical development of students but are often difficult to teach. Each book in the series gives an overview of the topic, highlights the differences between what teachers and students need to know, examines the big ideas and related essential understandings, reconsiders the ideas presented in light of connections with other mathematical ideas, and includes questions for readers’ reflection.

Do your students recognize a square if the base is oriented horizontally but call it a "diamond" if it is turned 45 degrees? Do they claim that a shape is a triangle because it "looks like" one? Do they say that one object is "bigger" than another without attending more precisely to the attribute they are comparing? 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 prekindergarten to 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 concepts--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 fractions. 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 reflection 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 More4U. Maximize the potential of student-centered learning and teaching by putting essential understanding into practice.

Let’s face it, teaching secondary math can be hard. So much about how we teach math today may look and feel different from how we learned it. Teaching math in a student-centered way changes the role of the teacher from one who traditionally "delivers knowledge" to one who fosters thinking. Most importantly, we must ensure our practice gives each and every student the opportunity to learn, grow, and achieve at high levels, while providing opportunities to develop their agency and authority in the classroom which results in a positive math identity. Whether you are a brand new teacher or a veteran, if you find teaching math to be quite the challenge, this is the guide you want by your side. Designed for just-in-time learning and support, this practical resource gives you brief, actionable answers to your most pressing questions about teaching secondary math. Written by four experienced math educators representing diverse experiences, these authors offer the practical advice they wish they received years ago, from lessons they′ve learned over decades of practice, research, coaching, and through collaborating with teams, teachers and colleagues—especially new teachers—every day. Questions and answers are organized into five areas of effort that will help you most thrive in your secondary math classroom: How do I build a positive math community? How do I structure, organize, and manage my math class? How do I engage my students in math? How do I help my students talk about math? How do I know what my students know and move them forward? Woven throughout, you′ll find helpful sidebar notes on fostering identity and agency; access and equity; teaching in different settings; and invaluable resources for deeper learning. The final question—Where do I go from here?— offers guidance for growing your practice over time. Strive to become the best math educator you can be; your students are counting on it! What will be your first step on the journey?

When it comes to math, standards-aligned is achievement-aligned… Since The Common Core Mathematics Companions for grades K–2, 3–5 and 6–8 burst on the scene, they have been lauded as the best resources for making critical math ideas easy to teach. With this brand-new volume, high school mathematics success is at your fingertips. The authors lay out the pieces of an in-depth explanation, showing the mathematical progression of each conceptual category, how standards connect within and across domains, and what teachers and students should be doing every day to foster deep learning.