Welcome to Math Class: A Collection of Marilyn's Favorite Lessons

"To create this new book, I revisited all thirty-nine chapters in the three-volume collection. With the help of another colleague, Doris Hirschhorn, I decided on sixteen lessons to include in this book. For me, these lessons have weathered the test of time and have become permanent parts of my teaching repertoire. Doris and I revisited the structure of how those lessons were presented, keeping the vignettes but breaking them into sections that we think will make it easier for teachers to translate into their own teaching plans. There are differences among the lessons I chose to include. Some are appropriate in early grades and others are suitable for older students. They address a broad range of math content, some focusing on number and operations while others engage students with geometry, patterns, algebraic thinking, probability, and more. Some work for a one-day lesson and others are suggestions meant to span several days of instruction. This may seem like an all-over-the-place collection of lessons, but there are elements that thread though all of them. First, my guiding goal for all lessons is to engage students in thinking and reasoning mathematically. I try and design experiences that are accessible to all students and also have the potential to challenge students who are particularly interested. I structure investigations to maximize students' opportunities to talk so they have experience with verbalizing and clarifying their ideas. I encourage students to listen and learn from each other and work to build a community of math learners in the classroom"--