Links for Parents and Other Teachers

How should we think about and teach math topics? What do we want our children to learn? How can we tell if they understand? These websites offer resources and advice for parents and teachers.

Adding It Up: Helping Children Learn Mathematics: An overview of elementary school arithmetic and how to teach it, free for downloading or reading online.

And ‘Rithmetic: The Sudbury Valley School approach to math education, by Daniel Greenberg.

Art of Problem Solving Math Articles: A variety of topics about teaching and learning math.

Clothesline Math: Harness the power of the number line to build understanding from early elementary school to high school.

Education Unboxed: Videos that show you how to play with elementary math using Cuisenaire rods and other hands-on tools.

Essays about Math: Steven Strogatz’s articles from various magazines. See especially the “Elements of Math” and “Me, Myself and Math” series.

Helping a Struggling Math Student: A 14-part blog post series at Angelicscalliwags, full of activities and encouragement. Scroll to the bottom to read the posts in the order they were published.

KenKen for Teachers: A fantastic way to practice arithmetic.

Living Math: Julie Brennan’s amazing website features the most extensive lists of living math books anywhere, plus articles about math, book and resource reviews, lesson plans.

Math Journals Boost Real Learning: An article by Marilyn Burns. Math journals “help students stretch their thinking and make sense of problems,” and they can help teachers evaluate student progress. See also: Math Journals For All Ages and Using Writing in Mathematics.

Modern Math for Elementary School: Downloadable pdf book by Oleg Gleizer.

Natural Math Books: Plenty of ideas for sharing rich math experiences with your children.

Nix the Tricks: Tina Cardone’s free guide explains how mnemonic tricks and shortcuts hinder student understanding of math. Learn which phrases to avoid and what to use in their place.

Relational Understanding and Instrumental Understanding: The original article by Richard Skemp on the two ways of understanding mathematics.

Sandra Dodd’s “Unschoolers and Mathematics”: A collection of stories about children learning math naturally, without being pushed to use textbooks or to drill math facts. Inspiring.

The Singapore Maths Teacher: These slide shows demonstrate Singapore-style math models (also known as bar models or tape diagrams) step by step, beginning with relatively easy grade 3 word problems and working through to grade 6 stumpers. Excellent for elementary teachers who need to learn how to teach this method. See also: Problem Solving Strategies.

SNAP — Scaffolding for Numerical Synapses: Montessori-influenced activities by Sheryl Morris. Help preschool children find numbers, their related patterns, and geometric shapes in the world all around them.

Standards for Mathematical Practice: The best part of the Common Core Math reform, a summary of what it means to think mathematically from Kindergarten to high school.

Talking Math With Your Kids: Christopher Danielson helps parents support their children’s mathematical development.

Talking Stick Math Circle Blog: Inspiring stories about children grappling with math concepts, by Rodi Steinig.

The Teaching of Arithmetic: The Story of an Experiment: In 1929, an American school superintendent delayed arithmetic to help students build a foundation in reasoning.

Using Art Projects to Create a Math Adventure: See how a high school algebra teacher uses a math journaling project as the centerpiece of his curriculum. Students use fine-point permanent markers and quality colored pencils in artists’ sketchbooks, and then they sponge the pages of their journal with coffee for a beautiful, parchment-like effect.

Writing in Mathematics: Tips to help students reflect on their learning, deepen their understanding, and make important connections to real-life applications.

Yelena’s Hundred Chart Poster: Printable hundred chart poster and game cards from Moebius Noodles.

YouCubed: Jo Boaler’s website for creative ways to teach math that can help discouraged students feel empowered to learn.

Writing Assignments in Calculus: Creative assignments and sample essays for Calculus I–III, by the author of “How to Grade 300 Mathematical Essays and Survive to tell the Tale.” See also: A Guide to Writing in Mathematics Classes and Assessing Expository Mathematics: Grading Journals, Essays, and Other Vagaries.