Making Mathematics Meaningful-For Students in the Intermediate Grades

Making Mathematics Meaningful-For Students in the Intermediate Grades is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in helping students reach the key learning outcomes of any mathematics curriculum. Developed through live and videotaped classroom observation and through diagnostic and achievement interviews with students, Making Mathematics Meaningful is a research-based guide to mathematics education that eschews outdated models based primarily and memorization and repetition in favor of a more holistic approach that encourages students to develop their mathematical reasoning skills through problem solving. This approach not only teaches students to become critical thinkers, but also contributes to language development, reading comprehension, and evaluative skills.

Author Werner W. Liedtke offers advice on developing questioning strategies and creating practice tasks to ensure that students encounter the critical components of a mathematics program. For each topic, he provides assessment strategies and identifies key prerequisite skills and ideas that can be used for pre-tests, diagnostic purposes, or introductory teaching/learning settings.

Making Mathematics Meaningful teaches students to
improve written and oral communication;
connect ideas to previous learning and to settings outside the classroom;
discover strategies for personal estimation and mental mathematics;
learn through problem solving;
develop curiosity, perseverance, and confidence.