Mine the Gap for Mathematical Understanding, Grades 3-5

Wow! Mine the Gap for grades 3-5 teachers really unpacks! Not only does the book provide dozens of great mathematical tasks, but-perhaps more importantly-it gives teachers the chance to consider each task; anticipate student responses-a critical first step in formative assessment; analyze actual student responses; and then consider what they would do in the classroom. Thoughts about modifying each task provide another option for each task. At a time when teachers are encouraged to regularly provide students with tasks that promote reasoning and problem solving, this book will help teachers dig deeper as they mine for understandings. -- Francis (Skip) Fennell Too often students (and parents and teachers) have the notion that the goal in math should be to get the right answer. Yet insight into misconceptions and students' thinking can tell us much more about what students know (and don't know) beyond simply a correct or incorrect answer. SanGiovanni offers teachers a treasure trove of rich tasks and student work on those tasks. Examples of how to analyze student thinking and next instructional steps make this a volume that should be on every 3-5 math teacher's desk! -- Linda Gojak This work does what other books only attempt to do. It combines instruction, assessment, and practice with open-ended and rich tasks that allow for teachers to not only immediately implement the ideas but also understand the content and pedagogy behind them. The tasks, which are immediately implementable and customizable, engage each and every learner. They are based on cutting edge and research-based instructional frameworks and provide countless learning opportunities for students. -- Zachary Champagne Mine the Gap for Mathematical Understanding is a much-needed and anticipated resource for teachers, mathematics coaches, mathematics specialists, administrators, and other stakeholders. The easy to follow, teacher-friendly format, the accompanying commentary for each student work sample, along with the thoughtful reflection questions will quickly make this resource a 'go to' professional development tool. -- Latrenda Knighten Mine the Gap is a great tool for teachers to use to grow their own understanding of student misconceptions and incomplete understandings and how to address them. This is an indispensable resource for all involved in supporting students' growth in mathematics. -- Nathan Rosin More than just a nice collection of problems, this book shares a road map for teachers looking to enhance the quality of the math tasks they use with students. Teachers will appreciate the examples of actual student work paired with tips for analysis and instruction. -- Delise Andrews John SanGiovanni continues to provide teacher-friendly, must-have books. They empower teachers by deepening their understanding of content and teaching. -- Megan Dooley This book helps navigate how to use student work to drive instruction with rich engaging tasks, which will help all students become better mathematicians. SanGiovanni has done an excellent job of helping teachers to carefully look at student work to identify how students solved math problems, using this evidence to identify those students who understand the targeted skill, along with the misconceptions or misunderstandings of other students, with suggestions of how to move all students forward in their thinking. -- Cynthia Baumann