Elementary and Middle School Mathematics: Teaching Developmentally

This leading K-8 math methods book has the most coverage of the NCTM standards, the strongest coverage of middle school mathematics, and the highest student approval of any math methods book currently available.

Elementary and Middle School Mathematics provides an unparalleled depth of ideas and discussion to help readers develop a real understanding of the mathematics they teach. John Van de Walle, one of the foremost experts on how children learn mathematics, finds that 80 percent of the students who purchase this book keep it for reference when they begin their professional teaching careers. This book reflects the NCTM Principles and Standards and the benefits of constructivist–or student-centered–mathematics instruction. Improvements for the sixth edition include sections on planning for a diverse classroom and a completely new section addressing planning in a classroom where there are English language learners.

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.

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.

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.

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.