Dr. Karen C. Fuson Mathematics Teaching and Learning
Math Expressions Users
Special summary papers I wrote for Math Expressions Users and available in the table below:
Overview of Teaching in Math Expressions:
Introduction to Learning Path Teaching in a Math Talk Community
This paper summarizes and relates the many papers I have written about powerful and nurturing teaching approaches. This is a good introduction to those approaches or a good refresher about the ideas that underlie teaching in Math Expressions classrooms.
Grade-Level Teaching Comments That Answer Frequently-Asked Questions
This paper describes my answers to questions teachers have asked through the years. These are sorted by grade level for faster access.
Assessment in Math Expressions
Assessment is a vital part of the teaching/learning process. The crucial role of assessment in Math Expressions is to give formative assessment feedback to teachers so that teaching can be continually adjusted to the current knowledge of learners. Math Expressions has a robust and flexible set of assessments that give districts choices to match their needs and grading systems. In this paper, I overview the assessments available for Math Expressions and my recommendations about which to choose and how to use these.
The Math Expressions Mastery Learning Loop
This paper describes how to balance the needs of students who need more support with the need to keep all students on a grade-level learning path learning of concepts and skills. Our Mastery Learning Loop describes how to take periodic in-class breaks to focus on students who need more support but otherwise just keep going in the lessons to keep to the grade-level learning path. Out-of-class Tier 2 and Tier 3 follow-up interventions also play an important role. This approach has been used effectively in a range of schools.
Remarks on Number Talks Compared to the Math Talk Community
This paper briefly describes why I am so concerned by the spread of Number Talks without sufficient understanding of the limitations of this approach.
Select in the table below any paper you want to read, and in the Download column, click on Click Here and then click on the download icon. You do not have to be a Math Expressions user to download these papers.
Papers | Date | Download |
|---|---|---|
Fuson, K. C. (2023). Remarks on Number Talks compared to the Math Talk Community | 2023 | Click Here |
Fuson, K. C. (2022). The Math Expressions Mastery Learning Loop | 2022 | Click Here |
Fuson, K. C. (2022). Assessment in Math Expressions | 2022 | Click Here |
Fuson, K. C. (2022). Grade Level Teaching Comments That Answer Frequently Asked Questions | 2022 | Click Here |
Fuson, K. C. (2022). Overview of Teaching in Math Expressions: Introduction to Learning Path Teaching in a Math Talk Community | 2022 | Click Here |
Free Google Resources
Made for Math Expressions users and for other educators
Please click on the menu item Remote Teaching Resources at the top of this webpage to see many teaching resources for your classroom. I especially recommend that you download and use the resources below.
You can download them here.
K through Grade 6 Quick Practices and PK K 1 2 Daily Routines
The Quick Practices in all grades Kindergarten through Grade 6 and the Daily Routines in Prekindergarten, Kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 2 are crucial for building complex and central math concepts and for creating a sense of community as children engage in these practices together. We created digital slide decks in Google Slides for teachers and Student Leaders to use in leading these Quick Practices and Daily Routines. It is important to keep the Math Expressions posters for the Daily Routines visible in the classroom as anchor charts. They contain relationships that take time for children to learn, and their visibility in the classroom is helpful.
All of the conceptual strategy/fluency cards for Grades 1, 2 and 3
Practice materials are important. I developed conceptual strategy/fluency cards that students can use individually to focus on the additions, subtractions, multiplications, and divisions with which they are not yet fluent. These come with the Math Expressions books but sometimes are lost through the years. So we made all of the conceptual strategy/fluency cards for Grades 1, 2, and 3 available for online practice for teacher-led activities in the whole class and for individual student practice at home. There are also other fluency practice materials for Grades 2 and 3 online.
Grade 1 cards are
• Red Addition Count On Cards, Yellow Unknown Addend Count On Cards, Orange Subtraction Count On Cards,
• Green Addition Make-a-Ten Cards, Purple Unknown Addend Make-a-Ten Cards, and Blue Subtraction Make-a-Ten Cards.
Grade 2 cards are
• Yellow Math Mountain Cards, Blue Math Mountain Cards,
• Green Addition Make-a-Ten Cards, Blue Subtraction Make-a-Ten Cards and
• Other practice materials.
Grade 3 has
• Multiplication and Division Strategy/Fluency Cards and
• other practice materials.
Teaching Materials
Papers | Download |
|---|---|
How to make math drawings for hundreds, tens, and ones | Click Here |
How to make Secret Code Cards to show place-value numerals | Click Here |
Comparing multidigit numbers using math drawings and Secret Code Cards | Click Here |
Adding and subtracting numbers using math drawings and Secret Code Cards | Click Here |
Multiplying using area models | Click Here |
Penny, nickel, dime strips | coming soon |
Five-group and ten-group posters to 10, to 20, and to 120 | coming soon |
Multiplication Poster and Grade 6 proportion strips | coming soon |
Place Value Poster | coming soon |