Mindset Mathematics

The most challenging parts of teaching mathematics are engaging students and helping them understand the connections between mathematics concepts. In this volume, you'll find a collection of low floor, high ceiling tasks that will help you do just that, by looking at the big ideas at the fifth-grade level through visualization, play, and investigation.

During their work with tens of thousands of teachers, authors Jo Boaler, Jen Munson, and Cathy Williams heard the same messagethat they want to incorporate more brain science into their math instruction, but they need guidance in the techniques that work best to get across the concepts they needed to teach. So the authors designedMindset Mathematics around the principle of active student engagement, with tasks that reflect the latest brain science on learning. Open, creative, and visual mathematics tasks have been shown to improve student test scores, and more importantly change their relationship with mathematics and start believing in their own potential. The tasks inMindset Mathematics reflect the lessons from brain science that:

• There is no such thing as a math person - anyone can learn mathematics to high levels.
• Mistakes, struggle and challenge are the most important times for brain growth.
• Speed is unimportant in mathematics.
• Mathematics is a visual and beautiful subject, and our brains want to think visually about mathematics.

With engaging questions, open-ended tasks, and four-color visuals that will help kids get excited about mathematics,Mindset Mathematics is organized around nine big ideas which emphasize the connections within the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and can be used with any current curriculum.

JO BOALER is a professor of mathematics education at Stanford University and co-founder and faculty director of youcubed. She serves as an advisor to several Silicon Valley companies and is a White House presenter on girls and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). The author of seven books, includingMathematical Mindsets, and numerous research articles, she is a regular contributor to news and radio in the United States and England.

JEN MUNSON is a doctoral candidate at Stanford University, a professional developer, and a former classroom teacher. She works with teachers and school leaders across the United States to develop responsive, equitable mathematics instruction.

CATHY WILLIAMS is the co-founder and the executive director of youcubed at Stanford University. Before working at youcubed, she was a high school math teacher and worked in mathematics curriculum and administration at the county and district levels in California.

Introduction 1

Low-Floor, High-Ceiling Tasks 2

Youcubed Summer Camp 3

Memorization versus Conceptual Engagement 4

Mathematical Thinking, Reasoning, and Convincing 5

Big Ideas 9

Structure of the Book 10

Activities for Building Norms 17

Encouraging Good Group Work 17

Paper Folding: Learning to Reason, Convince, and Be a Skeptic 21

Big Idea 1: Thinking in Cubes 23

Visualize: Solids, Inside and Out 25

Play: City of Cubes 33

Investigate: A Box of Boxes 44

Big Idea 2: Estimating with Fractions 53

Visualize: Making Snowflakes 55

Play: Fraction Blizzard 61

Investigate: Wondering with Fractions 67

Big Idea 3: Using Fraction Equivalence 81

Visualize: Picking Paintings Apart 83

Play: Make a Fake 94

Investigate: Squares with a Difference 101

Big Idea 4: Exploring the Coordinate Plane 115

Visualize: Getting around the Plane 118

Play: Ship Shape 124

Investigate: Table Patterns 133

Big Idea 5: Seeing and Connecting Patterns across Representations 143

Visualize: Two-Pattern Tango 145

Play: Pattern Carnival 153

Investigate: Seeing Growth on a Graph 159

Big Idea 6: Understanding Fraction Multiplication Visually 169

Visualize: Fractions in a Pan 172

Play: Pieces and Parts 180

Investigate: The Sum of the Parts 187

Big Idea 7: What Does It Mean to Divide Fractions? 199

Visualize: Creating Cards 201

Play: Cuisenaire Trains 209

Investigate: Fraction Division Conundrum 217

Big Idea 8: Thinking in Powers of 10 223

Visualize: The Unit You 225

Play: Filling Small and Large 233

Investigate: Museum of the Very Large and Small 239

Big Idea 9: Using Numbers and Symbols Flexibly 247

Visualize: Seeing Expressions 250

Play: Inside Pascals Triangle 261

Investigate: The 1492 Problem 268

Appendix 279

Centimeter Dot Paper 280

Isometric Dot Paper 281

About the Authors 283

Acknowledgments 285