Synopses & Reviews
A Message from the Author Research in mathematics education has consistently found that understanding and skills are best developed when students are allowed to wrestle with new ideas, to create and defend solutions to problems, and to participate in a mathematical community of learners. This student-centered, problem-based approach to learning is a central theme of this book. Learning how best to help children believe that mathematics makes sense and that they themselves can make sense of mathematics is an exciting endeavor and a lifelong process. It requires the knowledge gained from research, the wisdom shared by professional colleagues, and the insightful ideas that come from your own daily experiences with students. I hope that this book will assist you on this fantastic journey.
Praise for Elementary and Middle School Mathematics
This is absolutely the best book on the market. No other book comes close.
–Sandra L. McCune, Stephen F. Austin University
I particularly like the emphasis on doing math more than one way (invented math) and the emphasis on problem solving. There is a wealth of resources and children’s books for students to use in their development of concepts.
–Carol Geller, Radford University
This text is not only a valuable tool in making sense of and encouraging the use of mathematics by preservice teachers, but also for those educators already in the field.
–Marilyn Nash, Indiana University South Bend
About the Author
John A. Van de Walle is Professor Emeritus, Virginia Commonwealth University. As a mathematics education consultant, he regularly works with K—8 teachers and in elementary school classrooms and has taught mathematics to children at all levels, K—8. He is also a coauthor of the Scott Foresman, Addison Wesley Mathematics K,6 series.
Jennifer M. Bay-Williams has written a Field Experience Guide to accompany the text." Organized to cover all NCATE and NCTM standards and correlated to all chapters of the text, the Field Experience Guide is packed with field-based assignments and reproducible forms to record your experiences." The guide also includes additional activities for students, full-size versions of the Blackline Masters in the text, and 16 extended lesson plans written by John Van de Walle. For more information or to purchase a copy, visit www.ablongman.com and search for the ISBN (0-205-49314-9.
Synopsis
Praise for "Elementary and Middle School Mathematics."
Overall, this book is an excellent resource for those who are investigating the teaching of mathematics at the elementary and middle school levels
Above all, the emphasis on student-centered problem solving is consistent with current trends and practices. This book is unique in that it challenges assumptions and traditional practices.
Katherine Chamberlain, Lycoming College
I have used Van de Walle since it came on the market and still feel it is, by far, the best available! The layout is excellent. The philosophical basis of the text is superb-It's easy to read by both undergraduates and graduate students in that it makes connections between their experiences and the philosophical foundations. Three major strengths include the references to the NCTM "Standards," inclusion of algebraic thought at all grade levels, and the continued development of the same themes and philosophical foundations.
Tim Whiteford, Trinity College of Vermont
ÝOne¨ of the major reasons why Van de Walle's text is so useful
is the text's involvement of the reader in the development of mathematical reasoning. It creates a "thinker."
Timothy Touzel, Coastal Carolina University
New to the Fifth Edition
- Inspired by one of the five process standards in the NCTM "Principles and Standards', Content Connections" is a new feature that highlights the connections between content areas in mathematics in various chapters.
- NCTM icons appear in nearly every chapter and point explicitly to the alignment of this book with the NCTM "Principles and Standards" throughexcerpts and commentary.
- Investigations in Number, Data, and Space and Connected Mathematics features spotlight examples of these two popular reform curricula for the K-5 and 6-8 grade levels, respectively. These excerpts occur in every chapter in Section 2, include an activity from the program along with a description of the surrounding content. The purpose is to acquaint students with materials reflecting the spirit of the NCTM "Standards" and the constructivist philosophy of the book.
- Stop and Reflect features indicate places throughout the book to pause and become truly engaged with an idea.
- Chapter 6, Planning in a Problem-Based Curriculum- includes a new step-by-step guide for planning student-centered lessons. A distinction between practice and drill provides a new perspective on the issue of drill.
- The Geometry chapter (Ch. 20) is completely revised to reflect the four goals of the NCTM "Standards"--Shapes and Properties, Transformations, Location, and Visualization.
- Coverage of multicultural issues and ethnomathematics, as well as other issues related to special needs have been updated to reflect current trends and research (Ch. 7).
- The technology chapter (Ch. 8) reflects the most current technology available for teaching elementary mathematics, including online applets, such as those found in NCTM's "e-Standards," and other Web-based resources.
About the Author
John A. Van de Walle is Professor Emeritus, Virginia Commonwealth University. As a mathematics education consultant, he regularly works with K-8 teachers and in elementary school classrooms, and has taught mathematics to children at all levels, K-8.He is also a co-author of the Scott Foresman, Addison Wesley Mathematics K,6 series.
Table of Contents
Section I
Teaching Mathematics:
Foundations and
Perspectives
chapter 1
Teaching Mathematics in the Era of the NCTM Standards
chapter 2
Exploring What It Means to Do Mathematics
chapter 3
Developing Understanding in Mathematics
chapter 4
Teaching Through Problem Solving
chapter 5
Planning in the Problem-Based Classroom
chapter 6
Building Assessment into Instruction
chapter 7
Teaching Mathematics Equitably to All Children
chapter 8
Technology and School Mathematics
Section II
Development of
Mathematical Concepts
and Procedures
chapter 9
Developing Early Number Concepts
and Number Sense
chapter 10
Developing Meanings for the Operations
chapter 11
Helping Children Master the Basic Facts
chapter 12
Whole-Number Place-Value Development
chapter 13
Strategies for Whole-Number Computation
chapter 14
Computational Estimation with Whole Numbers
chapter 15
Algebraic Thinking: Generalizations, Patterns, and Functions
chapter 16
Developing Fraction Concepts
chapter 17
Computation with Fractions
chapter 18
Decimal and Percent Concepts and Decimal Computation
chapter 19
Proportional Reasoning
chapter 20
Developing Measurement Concepts
chapter 21
Geometric Thinking and Geometric Concepts
chapter 22
Concepts of Data Analysis
chapter 23
Exploring Concepts of Probability
chapter 24
Developing Concepts of Exponents,
Integers, and Real Numbers
appendix A
Principles and Standards for School Mathematics: Content Standards and Grade Level Expectations
appendix B
Professional Standards for Teaching Mathematics: Teaching Standards
appendix C
Guide to Blackline Masters
References
Index