The Mathematics Lesson-Planning Handbook, Grades K-2: Your Blueprint for Building Cohesive Lessons

Beth McCord Kobett · Ruth Harbin Miles · Lois A. Williams

Feb 2018 · Corwin Press

About this ebook

"This book brings together the best of Visible Learning and the teaching of mathematics. The chapters on learning intentions, success criteria, misconceptions, formative evaluation, and knowing thy impact are stunning. Rich in exemplars, grounded in research about practice, and with the right balance about the surface and deep learning in math, it′s a great go-to book for all who teach mathematics."
—John Hattie, Laureate Professor, Deputy Dean of MGSE, Director of the Melbourne Education Research Institute, Melbourne Graduate School of Education

Your blueprint to planning K-2 math lessons for maximum impact and understanding

Not sure of tomorrow morning’s lesson plan? Or maybe you feel it isn’t tailored enough for your students’ needs. What do you do? For that and more, help is here. The Mathematics Lesson-Planning Handbook, Grades K-2: Your Blueprint for Building Cohesive Lessons guides teachers step-by-step through the decision-making process of planning K-2 math lessons that are purposeful, rigorous, and coherent.

Instructional experts Beth McCord Kobett, Ruth Harbin Miles, and Lois A. Williams streamline and deepen the lesson-planning process showing teachers how to access students′ complex needs, clarify learning intentions, and select tasks that will best lead to student understanding of mathematical concepts and skills. Along the way, teachers create an individualized blueprint for planning K-2 math lessons for maximum student learning.

The lesson-planning process guides teachers to:

• Identify the mathematical content, language, and social learning intentions for a lesson or unit, and connect goals to success criteria
• Determine the purpose of a math lesson you’re planning by distinguishing between conceptual understanding, procedural fluency, and transfer
• Select worthwhile tasks and materials that make the best use of representations, manipulatives, and other instructional tools and resources
• Choose the format of your lesson using reasoning and number routines, games, whole-class discussion, and pairs, or small-group work
• Anticipate student misconceptions and evaluate understanding using a variety of formative assessment techniques
• Decide how you’ll launch your lesson, facilitate questioning, encourage productive struggle, and close your lesson

Included is a lesson-planning template and examples from kindergarten, first-, and second-grade classrooms. Chapter by chapter, the decision-making strategies empower teachers to plan math lessons strategically, to teach with intention and confidence, and to build an exceptional foundation in math for all students.

About the author

Beth McCord Kobett, EdD, 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.

Ruth Harbin Miles coaches rural, suburban, and inner-city school mathematics teachers. Her professional experiences include coordinating the K-12 Mathematics Teaching and Learning Program for the Olathe, Kansas, Public Schools for more than 25 years; teaching mathematics methods courses at Virginia’s Mary Baldwin College; and serving on the Board of Directors for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, the National Council of Supervisors of Mathematic, and both the Virginia Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the Kansas Association of Teachers of Mathematics. Ruth is a co-author of five Corwin books including A Guide to Mathematics Coaching, A Guide to Mathematics Leadership, Visible Thinking in the K-8 Mathematics Classroom, The Common Core Mathematics Standards, and Realizing Rigor in the Mathematics Classroom. As co-owner of Happy Mountain Learning, Ruth specializes in developing teachers’ content knowledge and strategies for engaging students to achieve high standards in mathematics.

After teaching mathematics in grades K-8 for 20 years, Lois served as the middle school mathematics specialist for the Virginia Department of Education. Here she worked on curriculum and teacher professional learning. She served the Virginia Council of Teachers of Mathematics and was a board member for the local Jefferson Council of Teachers of Mathematics. After receiving her doctorate in curriculum and instruction at The University of Virginia, she began serving as adjunct faculty to Mary Baldwin College and is in her 15th year working with pre-service teachers. Currently Lois is an International Fellow with the Charles A. Dana Center working with classroom teachers in the Department of Defense Schools helping them implement their College and Career Readiness Standards. Among her recognitions are a Fulbright Teacher Exchange and Virginia Middle School Mathematics Teacher of the Year.