marylandhsmom Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 I know a few titles have been mentioned in the past, but I don't remember what they are. I'm looking for a good resource/book to help *me* become a better math teacher. K-6. A book that is clear and written for lay folks. Thanks so much in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Knowing and Teaching Elementary Math by Liping Ma: http://www.amazon.com/Knowing-Teaching-Elementary-Mathematics-Understanding/dp/0805829091/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1391003347&sr=1-2&keywords=knowing+and+teaching+elementary+mathematics+by+liping+ma Long link! Sorry. There is a new edition of the book also but the reviews of this older edition are far more extensive and detailed; that is why I chose to link this earlier edition. It only touches on a few topics but it helped me a lot. I immediately saw the deficiencies in my own math education, which I knew already after a miserable performance in college calculus, but reading Ma's book helped me to understand why. The book also helped me to understand what a better math education might look like-it should be based on full mastery and conceptual grasp of topics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Liping Ma's book is a great place to start. Another good one is Elementary Mathematics for Teachers, which is available from the Singapore Math site. Also, getting a series like Singapore and just doing lots of problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 I know I am having to go back and shore up my own math skills. Although I made good grades in school, I never had a strong math foundation and have forgotten a lot. After realizing I had no clue how to teach certain procedures with fractions, I realized I needed to go back and do math again, starting at the elementary level. I started myself on the Key to...series and plan to do a workbook each week. So far it has been great. I also try to some of the kids' MM lessons myself over the weekend before they are assigned them the next week and that is helping. I take a test for the chapter, if there is something I am shaky on, I go through the lesson visually, and if I am really tripping up, I print out the page or pages and do the math problems. We also have the Primary Challenge Math book and I do those ahead of time since that is more conceptual. We just got Beast Academy 3A in yesterday and last night my husband and I were doing some of the pages in that so I would be better prepared with the kids. It was fun. All of this is improving my understanding of math and helping me with computational speed and remembering procedures and that, in turn, is helping me teach better. The books mentioned above look good. I may get one or both of those, too, but so far just really focusing on learning math again has really helped me be a better teacher. Also, playing a lot of math games has reinvigorated the kids with an interest in math and is helping me get faster at math processing. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alef Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 I like this book: http://www.amazon.com/Brain-Learns-Mathematics-David-Anthony/dp/1412953065/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391004933&sr=8-1&keywords=how+the+brain+learns+mathematics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 I like How to Tutor. http://www.amazon.com/How-To-Tutor-Samuel-Blumenfeld/dp/0941995011/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391005381&sr=8-1&keywords=how+to+tutor I recommend starting with the hardcopy and taking liberal notes in it. But then it's awfully nice to transition to an eBook copy on a tablet.. Kindle http://www.amazon.com/How-Tutor-Sam-Blumenfeld-ebook/dp/B006OF6D7O/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1391005491&sr=1-1&keywords=how+to+tutor pdf https://howtotut.ipower.com/paradigm.htm This TWTM thread on Grube's Method is good. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/409801-grubes-method-of-teaching-arithmetic-why-havent-i-heard-of-this/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 CIMT (creators of MEP) has an interesting section of its website http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/courses/default.htm It includes an "audit" (=test) of teachers' mathematical knowledge. I took it a few years back, I figured it was only fair. Anyway one of the subsections is this one http://www.cimt.plymouth.ac.uk/courses/tda-ppd/default.htm that has information about coursework for teachers that has some interesting links about math teaching. I also find the MEP lesson plans helpful, but you'd really have to read through a whole year (or more) to see how the program works. I think it's fantastic and clever, and builds on itself in a unique way, and have been quite happy with how much my kids have learned, but I realize that's a lot of reading/doing to get help. But if you follow their lesson plans, you will have some truly excellent ideas on math teaching. However, some people (generally those without a strong math foundation) find MEP confusing. I have never found it confusing, personally, but I do have a strong math background. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 This one is awesome: http://www.amazon.com/Math-Power-Child-Revised-Edition/dp/0132205947/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391006828&sr=8-1&keywords=math+power and the Kitchen Table Math books are very helpful as well: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=kitchen%20table%20math&sprefix=kitchen+table+math%2Caps&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Akitchen%20table%20math Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjdan Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Can I put in a plug for Danica McKellar's books? The first one, Math Doesn't Suck http://www.amazon.com/Math-Doesnt-Suck-Survive-Breaking/dp/0452289491/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391013521&sr=8-1&keywords=math+doesn%27t+suck is great for a lot of elementary-level math (common denominators, common factors, etc). And we're looking forward to using her geometry and algebra ones as well. It's written in a fun and engaging voice, with a lot of practical explanations and fun tricks for doing math (the simple way), that helps you understand the concept well. It's not a book about how to teach math, per se, but is a very good resource for practical math ideas- and fun! My son loved the monkeys in the trees explanation... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marylandhsmom Posted January 29, 2014 Author Share Posted January 29, 2014 Thank you ladies! This is super helpful. Looks like I have more reading than I have time for! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Can I put in a plug for Danica McKellar's books? The first one, Math Doesn't Suck http://www.amazon.com/Math-Doesnt-Suck-Survive-Breaking/dp/0452289491/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391013521&sr=8-1&keywords=math+doesn%27t+suck is great for a lot of elementary-level math (common denominators, common factors, etc). And we're looking forward to using her geometry and algebra ones as well. It's written in a fun and engaging voice, with a lot of practical explanations and fun tricks for doing math (the simple way), that helps you understand the concept well. It's not a book about how to teach math, per se, but is a very good resource for practical math ideas- and fun! My son loved the monkeys in the trees explanation... My dd really likes the explanations in these books. I find them unreadable myself, but I check them out for dd! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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