Helping students make connections between mathematics and their worlds - and helping them feel empowered to use math in their lives - is the focus of this widely popular guide. Designed for classroom teachers, the book focuses on specific grade bands and includes information on creating an effective classroom environment, aligning teaching to various standards and practices, such as the Common Core State Standards and NCTM's teaching practices, and engaging families. The first portion of the book addresses how to build a student-centered environment in which children can become mathematically proficient, while the second portion focuses on practical ways to teach important concepts in a student-centered fashion.

This book is part of the Teaching Student-Centered Mathematics series, which is designed with three objectives: 1) To illustrate what it means to teach student-centered, problem-based mathematics, 2) to serve as a reference for the mathematics content and research-based instructional strategies suggested for the specific grade levels, and 3) to present a large collection of high quality tasks and activities that can engage students in the mathematics that is important for them to learn.