This collection of practical surefire strategies will help every learner in class untangle word problems and approach problem solving with new confidence!

An eyeopening look at how teachers can use literacy strategies to help students better understand mathematics.

Are you having trouble in finding Tier II intervention materials for elementary students who are struggling in math? Are you hungry for effective instructional strategies that will address students’ conceptual gap in additive and multiplicative math problem solving? Are you searching for a powerful and generalizable problem solving approach that will help those who are left behind in meeting the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM)? If so, this book is the answer for you. • The conceptual model-based problem solving (COMPS) program emphasizes mathematical modeling and algebraic representation of mathematical relations in equations, which are in line with the new Common Core. • “Through building most fundamental concepts pertinent to additive and multiplicative reasoning and making the connection between concrete and abstract modeling, students were prepared to go above and beyond concrete level of operation and be able to use mathematical models to solve more complex real-world problems. As the connection is made between the concrete model (or students’ existing knowledge scheme) and the symbolic mathematical algorithm, the abstract mathematical models are no longer “alien” to the students.” As Ms. Karen Combs, Director of Elementary Education of Lafayette School Corporation in Indiana, testified: “It really worked with our kids!” • “One hallmark of mathematical understanding is the ability to justify,... why a particular mathematical statement is true or where a mathematical rule comes from” (http://illustrativemathematics.org/standards). Through making connections between mathematical ideas, the COMPS program makes explicit the reasoning behind math, which has the potential to promote a powerful transfer of knowledge by applying the learned conception to solve other problems in new contexts. • Dr. Yan Ping Xin’s book contains essential tools for teachers to help students with learning disabilities or difficulties close the gap in mathematics word problem solving. I have witnessed many struggling students use these strategies to solve word problems and gain confidence as learners of mathematics. This book is a valuable resource for general and special education teachers of mathematics. - Casey Hord, PhD, University of Cincinnati

Provides educators with instructions on applying response-to-intervention (RTI) while teaching and planning curriculum for students with learning disabilities.

This is a detailed-scripted program using Schema-Based Instruction (SBI), designed as a framework for instructional implementation. It is primarily for school practitioners (e.g., special and general education teachers, school psychologists, etc.) teaching critical word problem solving skills to students with disabilities, grades 1-8.

The untold story of the root cause of America's education crisis--and the seemingly endless cycle of multigenerational poverty. It was only after years within the education reform movement that Natalie Wexler stumbled across a hidden explanation for our country's frustrating lack of progress when it comes to providing every child with a quality education. The problem wasn't one of the usual scapegoats: lazy teachers, shoddy facilities, lack of accountability. It was something no one was talking about: the elementary school curriculum's intense focus on decontextualized reading comprehension "skills" at the expense of actual knowledge. In the tradition of Dale Russakoff's The Prize and Dana Goldstein's The Teacher Wars, Wexler brings together history, research, and compelling characters to pull back the curtain on this fundamental flaw in our education system--one that fellow reformers, journalists, and policymakers have long overlooked, and of which the general public, including many parents, remains unaware. But The Knowledge Gap isn't just a story of what schools have gotten so wrong--it also follows innovative educators who are in the process of shedding their deeply ingrained habits, and describes the rewards that have come along: students who are not only excited to learn but are also acquiring the knowledge and vocabulary that will enable them to succeed. If we truly want to fix our education system and unlock the potential of our neediest children, we have no choice but to pay attention.