Classroom-Ready Rich Math Tasks, Grades 4-5: Engaging Students in Doing Math

by Beth McCord Kobett, Francis M. Fennell, Karen S. Karp, Delise R. Andrews, Sorsha-Maria T. Mulroe

Overview

Detailed plans for helping elementary students experience deep mathematical learning

The more than 50 mathematical tasks in this guide will challenge your students to do deep problem-based learning. These ready-to-implement tasks connect concepts, skills, and practices and encourage students to reason, problem-solve, discuss, explore, justify, monitor their own thinking, and connect the mathematics they know to new situations. In other words, these tasks allow students to truly do mathematics! Written with a strengths-based lens, this guide includes:

• Complete task-based lessons, referencing mathematics standards and practices, vocabulary, and materials
• Downloadable planning tools, student resource pages, and thoughtful questions, and formative assessment prompts
• Guidance on preparing, launching, facilitating, and reflecting on each task
• Notes on access and equity, focusing on students’ strengths, productive struggle, and distance or alternative learning environments.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781544399164
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	05/07/2021
Series:	Corwin Mathematics Series
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	159,959
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Beth Mc Cord Kobett, Ed D, is Professor of Education and Associate Dean at Stevenson University, where she leads, teaches and supports early childhood, elementary, and middle preservice teachers in mathematics education. She is a former classroom teacher, elementary mathematics specialist, adjunct professor, and university supervisor. Beth also served as the Director of the First Year Seminar program at Stevenson University. She recently completed a three-year term as an elected Board Member for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and was the former president of the Association of Maryland Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMMTE). Beth leads professional learning efforts in mathematics education both regionally and nationally. Beth is a recipient of the Mathematics Educator of the Year Award from the Maryland Council of Teachers of Mathematics (MCTM) and the Johns Hopkins University Distinguished Alumni Award. Beth also received Stevenson University’s Rose Dawson Award for Excellence in Teaching as both an adjunct and full-time faculty member. Beth believes in fostering a strengths-based community with her students and strives to make her learning space inviting, facilitate lessons that spark curiosity and innovation, and cultivate positive productive struggle.

Karen S. Karp is a professor in the School of Education at Johns Hopkins University. Previously, she was a professor of mathematics education in the Department of Early and Elementary Childhood Education at the University of Louisville, where she received the President’s Distinguished Teaching Award and the Distinguished Service Award for a Career of Service. She is a former member of the board of directors of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and a former president of the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE). She is a member of the author panel for the What Works Clearinghouse Practice Guide on assisting elementary school students who have difficulty learning mathematics for the U.S. Department of Education Institute of Educational Sciences. She is the author or coauthor of approximately 20 book chapters, 50 articles, and 30 books, including Elementary and Middle School Mathematics: Teaching Developmentally, Developing Essential Understanding of Addition and Subtraction for Teaching Mathematics, and Inspiring Girls to Think Mathematically. She holds teaching certifications in elementary education, secondary mathematics, and K–12 special education.

Delise Andrews is the 3-5 Mathematics Coordinator for Lincoln Public Schools in Lincoln, Nebraska. During her career, she has worked in both rural and urban districts and has taught mathematics to students at every age from Kindergarten through the 8th grade, undergraduate math methods, and graduate level courses for teachers of mathematics. Delise is a recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching and a Robert Noyce Master Teaching Fellow. She is also an active member of NCTM, serving as a past member and chair of the Professional Development Services Committee, member of regional conference committees and chair of the St. Louis annual conference committee, and an NCTM Professional Services facilitator.

Table of Contents

Preface xv

Acknowledgments xvii

About the Authors xix

Chapter 1 Doing-Math Tasks; What Are They, Why Are They Important, and How Do I Plan for Implementation? 1

Chapter 2 Laying the Groundwork for Teaching with Doing-Math Tasks 10

Chapter 3 Implementing A Doing-Math Task-Based Lesson 28

Chapter 4 Operations and Algebraic Thinking: Expressions, Equations, and More 46

Task 1 Grade 4: Books, Books, and More Books 48

Task 2 Grade 5: Mitchell's Markers 52

Task 3 Grade 4: Teachers Go Shopping 57

Task 4 Grade 5: Karla's Photo Album 60

Chapter 5 Operations and Algebraic Thinking: Factors and Multiples 64

Task 5 Grade 4: Lunchtime Logistics 66

Task 6 Grade 5: Ink Blots 70

Task 7 Grade 4: Rectangle Relay 74

Task 8 Grade 4: What's in a Number? 78

Task 9 Grade 4: Mastering Multiples 82

Chapter 6 Operations and Algebraic Thinking: Patterns and Relationships 86

Task 10 Grade 4: Daisy Chain 88

Task 11 Grade 5: Ryan and Rachel's Debate 91

Task 12 Grade 5: The Sequence Game 95

Task 13 Grade 4: Curious Counting 99

Chapter 7 Number and Operations in Base Ten: It's All About Place Value 102

Task 14 Grade 4: How Many Times Greater? 104

Task 15 Grade 5: Pennies, Patterns, and Place Value 107

Task 16 Grade 4: Getting Closer! 111

Task 17 Grade 4: Would You Rather Have? 114

Task 18 Grade 5: A Powerful Point 117

Task 19 Grade 5: Who Wins Silver and Bronze? 120

Task 20 Grade 5: 5 or 6? 124

Chapter 8 Number and Operations in Base Ten: Operations 126

Task 21 Grade 4: Exploring Even Numbers 128

Task 22 Grade 5: The Broken Calculator 132

Task 23 Grade 5: Quick Quotients 136

Task 24 Grade 4: Maya's Advice 140

Task 25 Grade 5: What's the Connection? 143

Chapter 9 Number and Operations-Fractions: Equivalence, Comparing, and More 146

Task 26 Grade 4: Rain Delay 148

Task 27 Grade 5: Greater or Less Than n? 151

Task 28 Grade 4: Artistic Arrangements 154

Task 29 Grade 5: Fitness Fundraiser 157

Chapter 10 Number and Operations-Fractions: Operations With Fractions 160

Task 30 Grade 4: Fraction Conundrum 163

Task 31 Grade 5: Building Shelves 167

Task 32 Grade 4: Revising a Recipe 172

Task 33 Grade 5: Laying Tile 176

Task 34 Grade 5: Considering Conjectures 179

Task 35 Grade 5: The Pizza Problem 182

Chapter 11 Measurement: Knowing, Converting, Using 186

Task 36 Grade 4: Let's Build a Chicken Coop! 188

Task 37 Grade 5: Growing Corn 193

Task 38 Grade 4: How Many Meters Is That? 196

Task 39 Grade 4: A Nurse's Schedule 200

Chapter 12 Measurement: Represent and! Interpret Data 208

Task 40 Grades 4-5: Stacking Shoe Boxes 208

Task 41 Grade 4: Fourth-Grade Favorites 212

Task 42 Grade 5: Fast Food 216

Chapter 13 Geometric Measurement: Angles and Volume 220

Task 43 Grade 4: Measuring Around 223

Task 44 Grade 5: Pool Party 228

Task 45 Grade 4: Angles in Time 232

Task 46 Grade 4: The Curious Case of the Blue Triangle 235

Task 47 Grade 5: Boxy Baskets 240

Task 48 Grade 5: Volume Village 243

Chapter 14 Geometry: Two-Dimensional Shapes and Symmetry 248

Task 49 Grade 4: Can You Build It? 248

Task 50 Grade 5: Polygon Possibilities 252

Task 51 Grade 5: Agree or Disagree? 256

Task 52 Grade 4: Geoboard Explorations 260

Chapter 15 Geometry: Representing Real-World Problems 264

Task 53 Grade 5: Maria's New Game 266

Task 54 Grade 5: Happy About Hoops 273

Chapter 16 Your Turn 276

Appendix A Task Lesson Template 284

Appendix B Formative Assessment Tools 285

References 288

Index 293

Editorial Reviews

By integrating the latest research with a powerful teacher voice, the authors have written a must-read for every teacher of mathematics who wants their students to have a more motivating and powerful classroom experience. But the authors don’t simply argue that teachers include high-cognitive demand tasks in their teaching—they take the next steps and actually demonstrate how to plan for, implement, and support these tasks so each student can authentically engage in doing mathematics!

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics - Matt Larson

This book is more than just a collection of top-notch ready-to-implement tasks—it provides powerful ideas for launching, facilitating, and closing the tasks in ways that will truly benefit your students and support their conceptual understanding of key mathematical ideas. To top it off, the lists of additional resources to further your professional learning are incredibly helpful.

Mattawan Middle School - Kevin Dykema

Merging research and practice, this book details the what, why, and how of mathematics task implementation. Compiling over 50 worthwhile tasks, this valuable book offers practical suggestions for teachers to maximize their facilitation of effective student-centered learning experiences. This book is immediately useful as it integrates online strategies with considerations of equity so every child can access powerful mathematics experiences.

College of Education and Human Development, George Mason University - Courtney Baker

Classroom-Ready Rich Math Tasks, Grades 4–5 is an excellent resource for teachers, teacher educators, and professional development providers who want to engage students in high-level, cognitively demanding mathematics tasks. The book does an excellent job of explaining the why and the how of implementing doing mathematics tasks. To top it off, this book has a treasure trove of rich mathematics tasks for teachers to choose from.

California Mathematics Project - Kyndall Brown

What a wonderful resource for how to successfully use tasks to authentically engage students in mathematical thinking and reasoning! Its concrete suggestions for planning and teaching task-centered lessons, including the question of alignment to standards to create a cohesive program of study, are a tremendous gift to us all. A great choice for a teacher book club or study group!

Linda Ruiz Davenport

This book empowers teachers by focusing on critical considerations related to doing-math tasks to promote reasoning and sense making. The lesson plan templates provide detailed pathways and insights for teachers, coaches and administrators to leverage purposefully selected tasks to achieve the standards and engage students through effective instruction.

School of Teacher Education, University of Central Florida - Farshad Safi

For far too long, we have searched for great doing-math tasks that aligned with our standards and often found that finding a task alone was not enough. In this book, the authors have given us standards aligned doing-math tasks WITH a vital rationale for the pedagogical actions necessary for their successful implementation. At last, our field has a helpful resource for planning and enacting impactful instruction, building on the important connections between content and process, norms, teaching moves, and the doing-math tasks that fully engage students in meaningful learning.

Bowling Green State University - Gabriel Matney

What a resource! The thoughtful and thorough task-based lesson template guides teachers to effectively plan, facilitate, and monitor tasks. I’m delighted to see the focus on planning and on closing a lesson by making the mathematics visible. Read a few of the completed templates for the 54 tasks to recognize the value of this book.

TODOS: Mathematics for ALL - Nora G. Ramirez

We’ve all wondered, Where can I go to find high quality mathematics tasks? With useful guidance embedded in the 54 detailed task plans, this book successfully and rightfully responds to the complex mix of expectations that teachers encounter in their short- and long-term planning. The authors cleverly weave together so many considerations for instruction. Grab this essential resource and watch your students flourish and shine as mathematical thinkers and doers!

University of Central Florida - Sarah B. Bush

Classroom-Ready Rich Math Tasks sets the stage for engaging students in doing meaningful mathematics, which leads to deep, well-connected mathematics learning. These tasks promote students as active mathematicians. Readers get classroom-tested tasks and formative assessments that help teachers monitor students’ learning, which can lead to better student growth.

Bowling Green State University - Jonathan D. Bostic

We know how important mathematics is for student success in life—it truly is a gateway to practically any occupation or personal usage. This book is a phenomenal resource that supplies numerous examples of how to equitably get our students through the gateway.

Baltimore County Public Schools - Amber S. Cook

This book takes the mystery out of how to implement rich, engaging tasks. It supports teachers with appropriately facilitating productive struggle and formative assessment through strengths spotting, and includes loads of fantastically written tasks. No longer will teachers need to hunt for tasks to utilize in their classrooms or struggle with how to structure environments that promote deep learning.

Baltimore County Public Schools - Natalie Crist

In my years of working with teachers in professional development settings, one thing they always ask me is ‘How can we find other great tasks like the ones we did in our session?’ Classroom-Ready Rich Math Tasks, Grades 4–5: Engaging Students in Doing Math is a goldmine for teachers and mathematics educators who want to expand their bank of ‘rich tasks’ with cognitively demanding problems that help students make sense of mathematics while building their sense of agency and identity as a thinker and doer of mathematics.

George Mason University - Jennifer Suh

This book is a treasure trove of excellent mathematics problems, accompanied by instructional strategies to support students with opportunities to truly do mathematics and learn new concepts through problem solving. From reading this book, teachers can learn how to notice and amplify strengths in students’ thinking, promote productive struggle, and work toward equity when enacting these tasks. I also appreciated the authors’ ideas for enacting these tasks remotely. I would love to have been a student in a classroom with these tasks!

University of Delaware - Amanda Jansen

Classroom-Ready Rich Math Tasks, Grades 4–5 is a practical, high-quality resource from trusted mathematics leaders. With dozens of classroom-ready rich tasks for thinking and doing math, it helps us understand how to maximize each task with guidance for launching, facilitating, gathering evidence, representing, and making connections during lessons. Most importantly, this tool serves to advance one’s practice by helping one think task selection and implementation. It’s time to do math!

Howard County Public School System - John San Giovanni

This book’s title reveals its promise. Classroom-Ready Rich Math Tasks offers teachers an abundant collection of practical challenges for engaging their students in building mathematical fluency and developing strategic reasoning—exactly what all Mathematics Standards expect.

Mc Tighe and Associates Consulting - Jay Mc Tighe

This book answers the often-asked question ‘Where can I find good tasks?’ The authors have assembled a collection of rich mathematical tasks and provided guidance on how to plan and implement lessons around them in ways that will support opportunities for students to learn mathematics with understanding. This book is a game changer for 4th and 5th grade teachers who want their students to do math!

Margaret (Peg) Smith

I highly recommend this book, which provides a research-based framework for engaging in rich tasks that are connected to and build on previous mathematical understanding, relevant contexts, and students’ experiences and resources, as well as connecting to mathematics teaching practice. The 54 high cognitively demanding tasks included support the development of important mathematics norms, practices, and concepts.

University of Virginia - Robert Q. Berry