Classroom-Ready Rich Algebra Tasks, Grades 6-12: Engaging Students in Doing Math(Corwin Mathematics Series)

About the Book

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.

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

About the Author :
Barbara J. Dougherty is a former professor at the University of Hawai‘i where she was Director of the Curriculum Research & Development Group. Her research foci include determining ways to better support students who are struggling in mathematics and teaching algebra for understanding. She is the author or co-author of multiple publications including Assisting Students Struggling With Mathematics: Interventions in the Elementary grades and MPower: A Pathway to Understanding Algebra. Barbara was the co-chair of the joint NCTM/CEC task force and on the writing team of the NCTM/CEC joint position statement on Teaching Mathematics to Students with Learning Disabilities. She has been principal investigator or co-principal investigator of National Science Foundation and U. S. Department of Education grants that have provided funding to develop intervention modules for middle and high school and progress monitoring tools. She holds current teaching certifications in middle and high mathematics, and K-12 special education. 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.

Review :
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! 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.