Eco-friendly Winter Holiday Tips

The last few years, I have chosen to focus pretty heavily on improving my Math instruction.

When I first became a teacher, Math was the subject that I was most afraid to teach. But, if I soon realized that if I am going to truly help my students learn and meet their diverse needs, I have to be confident in what I am teaching. On my quest to be a more effective Math teacher, I stumbled upon Cognitively Guided Instruction, or CGI, as it is commonly known. It completely altered the way I viewed Math instruction. As a result, I began to seek out professional development books with this methodology in mind. Here is a short list of my favorites. I have read each of these multiple times, and continue to reference them to shape my instruction and grab problems to use. If you add just one of these books to your summer reading list, I promise you won’t be sorry.

Reimagining the Mathematics Classroom

This book is a great guide for teaching Math in the 21st century. It breaks down the importance of depth over procedure. It addresses all aspects of instruction from the physical environment, discussions, assessments, to creating a bidirectional relationship with the parents and families. I constantly refer to this book for tools and examples to guide my Math instruction.

Number Sense Routines K-3

If you’re looking for simple and systematic routines to help build your students’ number sense, you need this book! I took note of a solid list of 10+ routines that I could implement immediately. It includes accommodations for grade level and offers supports for students having trouble.

Children’s Mathematics: Cognitively Guided Instruction

CGI has completely changed the way I look at Math instruction. Students are inherently born with their own concept of numbers and how they interact with each other. This book is a great introduction to exactly what CGI is and why it benefits all students. If you’re curious about CGI or just starting out on your CGI journey, this book is perfect for you.

Extending Children’s Mathematics: Fractions and Decimals

Another CGI related text, this book takes a deep dive into how teachers can use the CGI pedagogy to develop students’ number sense and problem solving skills as it pertains to fractions and decimals. It even has a ton of sample problems you could use in your classroom right away. If you are looking to improve your fraction and decimal instruction, this text is a must have!