In early November 2013, the authors started talking about visiting the Hurley School, a dual-language school in Boston, Massachusetts. The Hurley School had spent considerable time transitioning to the Common Core State Standards on literacy, but little time addressing the shifts in math. They worried that math classes were no longer rigorous…

Teaching English language learners has long presented challenges for teachers tasked with bringing these students to a level of language comprehension comparable to that of native speakers. These challenges and issues can lead to difficulty comprehending core academic topics for those learning the English language. "Optimizing Elementary…

In joint partnership, Achieve, The Council of Chief State School Officers, and Student Achievement Partners have developed a Toolkit for Evaluating the Alignment of Instructional and Assessment Materials to the Common Core State Standards. The Toolkit is a set of interrelated, freely available instruments for evaluating alignment to the CCSS; each…

In joint partnership, Achieve, The Council of Chief State School Officers, and Student Achievement Partners have developed a Toolkit for Evaluating the Alignment of Instructional and Assessment Materials to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The Toolkit is a set of interrelated, freely available instruments for evaluating alignment to the…

Math doesn't have to be mysterious--even though its language is strange and its customs confusing. Like any foreign country, it can become familiar through exposure and understanding. Six ways to take the mystery out of math are described. (MT)

Graphing skills are growing in importance in our information society, presenting facts and concepts in newspapers, magazines, and on television. Graphs incorporated into teaching develop children's problem-solving skills. Ways to use graphs in the classroom are discussed, and examples are given. (MT)

Ideas for establishing a mathematical menagerie with puppets to facilitate mathematics instruction in the elementary school. (CM)

Two difficulties that students have in computing with fractions are idenfitied. Then a procedure is described, stressing the identity element, that resolves these difficulties and increases students' understanding and retention. (MNS)

How the strategy of uninterrupted sustained silent reading, can be adapted as uninterrupted sustained arithmetic for use in mathematics classes and clinics is discussed. Several activities are described and illustrated. (MNS)

The status of mathematics instruction, especially in the elementary school, is discussed. A meaningful, holistic approach is advocated, rather than an emphasis on rules and procedures. (MNS)

Some children ignore traditional methods and use intuitive math shortcuts. This demonstrates an understanding of the structure of numbers that should be cultivated in every child. Teaching strategies and shortcuts can nurture this intuitive understanding and give children real insight into numbers. (MT)

The focus is on the problem-solving strategy "write an equation." Other topics to develop problem-solving skills are included. (MNS)

Solving a problem using the work-backward strategy is discussed, with tips on other facets of problem solving. (MNS)

Presents 21 ideas for helping children learn to do story problems in math. (SJL)

They're no longer a problem when students learn to take them apart and put them back together again. (Editor)