Middle school is a critical time in students' learning of mathematics, something a Learning Management System (LMS) is designed to help parents support. What remains unknown is how parents use an LMS to monitor their children's progress in mathematics. This qualitative case study explored how parents from one midAtlantic middle school with 543…

Students learning math are expected to do more than just solve problems; they must also be able to demonstrate their thinking and share their ideas, both orally and in writing. As many classroom teachers have discovered, these can be challenging tasks for students. The good news is, mathematical communication can be taught and mastered. In…

For any student, middle and high school can be challenging. But for an English learner or striving reader--and the myriad words, phrases, syntax, texts, and concepts they must negotiate on a daily basis--the stakes seem a whole lot higher. Fortunately for content-area teachers, Margarita Calderón and Shawn Slakk make available in a single resource…

What does "rigor," a word that frequently pops up in conversations about education, really mean? More specifically, what does it mean for "literacy" instruction, and how does it relate to challenging standards-based assessments? In this informative and practical guide, literacy expert Nancy Boyles uses the framework from Webb's…

Packed with ideas for both new and veteran teachers of K-8 students, this book touches on a variety of topics that are especially relevant to the first week of school. The author provides critical information that includes arranging and navigating the classroom, setting basic expectations, communicating routines, and understanding your students'…

In her new book, bestselling author and professional developer Carol Booth Olson and colleagues show teachers how to help young readers and writers construct meaning from and with texts. This practical resource offers a rich array of research-based teaching strategies, activities, and extended lessons focused on the "thinking tools"…

To succeed in college, career, and life, students need to become financially literate. But understanding the basics of a long-term investment or a short-term loan is not enough without the math skills to make financially sound choices. In the already full curriculum of middle schools today, how can teachers find room to include financial literacy?…

This practical resource shows teachers how to enact robust forms of civic education in today's schools. Both instructive and thought-provoking, it will inspire teachers to craft curricula addressing a wide range of genuine civic problems such as those related to racial discrimination, environmental damage, and community health. Dividing civic…

"It's All Connected" provides teachers of mathematics the support they need to improve their instruction. This in-demand collection of lessons for grades 6-8 explores proportionality, proportional relationships, and proportional reasoning, acknowledging that the ability to reason proportionally is crucial in the middle school mathematics…

The EPILLAW Paradigm is a practical method for developing writing skills. It consists of an original nine-level taxonomy and sequential methodology of listening, speaking, writing and reading. In this method, the development of writing precedes the development of reading. The work consists of two books. In the introductory book, the author…

This new addition to Math Solutions "Supporting English Language Learners in Math Class series" offers a wealth of lessons and strategies for modifying grades 6-8 instruction. Section I presents an overview of teaching math to English learners: the research, the challenges, the linguistic demands of a math lesson, and specific strategies and…

Publishing podcasts, writing digital stories with "choose your own adventure" endings, and collaborating with students around the country through wikis, Skype, and VoiceThread, Julie D. Ramsay never imagined that she and her fifth grade students would be forging a new frontier using technology to support writing lessons. In a school district with…

In many ways, algebra can be as challenging for teachers as it is for students. With so much emphasis placed on procedural knowledge and the manipulations of variables and symbols, it can be easy to lose sight of the key ideas that underlie algebraic thinking and the relevance algebra has to the real world. In the The Xs and Whys of Algebra: Key…

Proven through more than a decade of rigorous research to be effective with both teachers and students, "Making Sense of SCIENCE" helps teachers gain a deep and enduring understanding of tricky science topics, think and reason scientifically, and support content literacy in science, thereby increasing student achievement. The materials…

"The Zeroing in on Number and Operations" series, which aligns with the Common Core State Standards and the NCTM Standards and Focal Points, features easy-to-use tools for teaching key concepts in number and operations and for addressing common misconceptions. Sharing the insights they've gained in decades of mathematics teaching and research,…