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Classroom-Ready Rich Algebra Tasks, Grades 6-12

Engaging Students in Doing Math

By: Barbara J. Dougherty, Linda C. Venenciano

Foreword by Kevin Dykema

Many students struggle with traditional algebra instruction. This resource can help turn things around, with 50+ mathematical tasks that are rich, standards-aligned, and make math investigative and interactive.

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Product Details

Grade Level: 6-12
ISBN: 9781071889268
Published By: Corwin
Series: Corwin Mathematics Series
Year: 2023
Page Count: 280
Publication date: March 15, 2023

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Review copies may be requested by individuals planning to purchase 10 or more copies for a team or considering a book for adoption in a higher ed course. To request a review copy, contact sales@corwin.com.

Description

Stop algebra from being a mathematical gatekeeper. With rich math tasks, all students can succeed.

Every teacher strives to make instruction effective and interesting, yet traditional methods of teaching algebra are not working for many students! That’s a problem. But the answer isn’t to supplement the curriculum with random tasks. Classroom Ready-Rich Math Tasks for Grades 6-12 equips you with a cohesive solution--50+ mathematical tasks that are rich, research-based, standards-aligned, and classroom-tested. The tasks:

Are organized into learning progressions that help all students make the leap from arithmetic to algebra

Offer students interesting mathematics problems to think about and solve so math is investigative, interactive, and engaging
Provide opportunities for you to connect new content to prior knowledge or focus on an underdeveloped concept
Engage students in conceptual understanding, procedural practice, and problem solving through critical thinking and application
Come with downloadable planning tools, student resource pages, and extension questions
Include additional support for students who may be struggling

Every learner deserves opportunities to engage in meaningful, rigorous mathematics. And every teacher can develop mathematical thinking and reasoning abilities in students. Part of the bestselling series spanning elementary and middle school, Classroom-Ready Rich Algebra Tasks, Grades 6-12 is a powerful add-on to any core mathematics program at your school.

Author(s)

Barbara J. Dougherty

Barbara J. Dougherty is the past director of the Curriculum Research & Development Group and a professor in the College of Education at the
University of Hawai‘i at Mãnoa. She is a former member of the board of directors of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and is the
co-chair of the Mathematics/Special Education Workgroup, a partnership between the NCTM and the Council for Exceptional Children. She served
on the author panel for the What Works Clearinghouse Practice Guide on assisting elementary school students who have difficulty learning mathematics for the U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences. She is the author or coauthor of approximately 22 book chapters, 29 articles, and 36 books, including MPower: A Pathway to Understanding Algebra. Her research, funded by more than $11.5 million in grants, emphasizes supporting students who struggle in middle and high school, with a focus on algebra. She holds teaching certifications in middle and high school mathematics and K–12 special education.

Linda C. Venenciano

Linda C. Venenciano is a professor in the School of Learning and Teaching at Pacific University, where she teaches and supports early childhood through high school preservice teachers in mathematics education. She is a former classroom teacher and has taught mathematics to students from first grade through undergraduate. She previously served as the interim director of the Curriculum Research & Development Group and as an associate professor of mathematics education at the University of Hawai‘i at Mãnoa. She is the author or coauthor of 21 peer-reviewed publications and 12 books. Linda is currently serving on the editorial board of Investigations in Mathematics Learning and has served as a program chair for the annual meeting of the Research Council on Mathematics Learning and as a guest editor for a special issue of Educational Studies in Mathematics.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Kevin Dykema

Preface

Acknowledgements

About the Authors

Part 1: GETTING STARTED WITH RICH ALGEBRA TASKS

Chapter 1: RICH ALGEBRA TASKS: WHAT ARE THEY, WHY ARE THEY VALUABLE, AND HOW DO I PLAN FOR IMPLEMENTATION?

Chapter 2: LAYING THE GROUNDWORK FOR TEACHING WITH RICH ALGEBRA TASKS

Chapter 3: IMPLEMENTING RICH ALGEBRA TASK LESSONS

Chapter 4: TASKS TO ESTABLISH MATHEMATICAL COMMUNITY

Part 2: RICH ALGEBRA TASKS

Chapter 5: RATIONAL NUMBER TASKS

Chapter 6: EXPRESSIONS TASKS

Chapter 7: EQUATIONS TASKS

Chapter 8: LINEAR AND NON-LINEAR RELATIONSHIP TASKS

Chapter 9: SYSTEMS OF EQUATIONS TASKS

Chapter 10: POLYNOMIAL AND RATIONAL EXPRESSIONS AND EQUATIONS TASKS

Chapter 11: Your Turn

Appendix A

References

Reviews

In this astounding book, Dougherty and Venenciano skillfully illustrate tasks that develop students’
reasoning, problem-solving, and communication skills. They thoughtfully include guiding and reflective
questions along with suggestions for differentiation and extensions of each task. The wide range of topics
makes this perfect for any algebra course!

Laura Ashley Young

Bring the love of learning mathematics back into your classroom by implementing effective
mathematical practices, building numeracy skills in your students, and providing rich algebra tasks that
are engaging. Dougherty and Venenciano have done some great work to support educators that will
enhance students’ learning and grit.

Katie Majeres
Northwest AEA of Iowa

Dougherty and Venenciano provoke us to reframe our thinking from, “can my students get the correct
answer for this task?” to “how can I use this task to help further my students’ understanding of the
mathematics?” The authors provide a vision, tools, and practical advice for strategically using engaging
tasks to enhance students’ understanding of mathematical ideas and processes.

Dewey Gottlieb
Hawaii Department of Education, NCTM Board

This is a treasure trove of amazing tasks and supporting materials! Framing the tasks in an overview of
research-grounded practices promotes fidelity and provides access for all students. Tasks presented in Part
2 spell out the mathematical topics, content and practice alignments, watch-fors, anticipated solutions,
prompts, and post-task notes that allow them to be efficiently integrated.

Jessica Ivy
Bellarmine University

It’s important to implement rich tasks that support students’ math proficiency, drawing from their
strengths and assets. It can be difficult locating or creating math tasks that are both rich and assetbased.
I am excited to use tasks from this book in my work at the university with preservice teachers, in
professional development with in-service teachers, and working with grades 6–12 students.

Jonathan D. Bostie
Bowling Green State University

Classroom-Ready Rich Algebra Tasks is a must-have resource for all algebra teachers. Dougherty and
Venenciano outline how to implement these tasks in your classroom and give numerous examples that
could be used today. After more than a decade of teaching algebra and supporting algebra teachers, this
is a resource I wish I had when I started.

Nick Davies

Other Titles in: Mathematics | Middle School Teaching Methods | High School Teaching Methods

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