This influential book inspires preschool and elementary teachers to experience the joys and rewards of regularly using two activities—Choral Counting and Counting Collections—in their classrooms and in their partnerships with families. It paints a vision for how deeply and creatively children can engage with ideas of number and operations and mathematical sense-making through counting.
Megan L. Franke, Elham Kazemi, and Angela Chan Turrou have collected the wisdom of mathematics teachers and researchers across the country who explore activities that are at once playful and intentional, simple and sophisticated. For teachers who want to jump-start student participation and deepen mathematical understanding, this can be your go-to guide.
In eight clear, engaging chapters, accompanied by an online Choral Counting tool, you will learn:
- how to facilitate open-ended counting activities to deepen children’s number sense;
- how counting activities can produce both social and academic benefits;
- how teachers can engage with families to build on students’ mathematical thinking;
- how to facilitate collaborative activities with multiple entry points and multiple ways to be successful.
Teachers will see that while the activities stay the same, the mathematics deepens over time and students’ learning evolves. Let counting be a gateway into your students’ mathematical insights. You might be surprised at what you learn!
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Author Bio
Megan Loef Franke is a Professor in the Graduate Department of Education at UCLA. Megan is known for her work on Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI), her leadership in UCLA's Center X, and her ongoing professional development work to support teachers, schools, and communities.
Elham Kazemi is currently a professor at the University of Washington where she has worked since 1999. This work has brought her to continually deepen her own understanding of children and their ideas; specifically how to create a more inclusive school environment.
Since completing her PhD in the UCLA, Angela Chan Turrou has since pursued a career as a researcher and educator, working at the intersection of children’s mathematical thinking, student engagement, and teacher learning in early childhood and elementary school settings. Alongside the research work, Angela regularly engages with groups of teachers in professional development settings, focusing primarily on Cognitively Guided Instruction (CGI).