“Routines for Reasoning provides a comforting clarity using an abundance of deep yet practical ideas for how we can plan each day around teacher moves that promise to promote mathematical reasoning in our students. Through robust teacher structures, routines, and prompts—often with creative examples and non-examples—they teach us how to provide deliberate and mindful student mathematical problem practice. Gifted writers, the authors deliver on the promise of their title, as we all learn specific ways to use and promote these ‘routines for reasoning’ in ourselves and in our students as part of our daily student lesson experience. This book is a must read for every K–12 teacher serious about shifting the nature of learning mathematics in the next decade.”
—Timothy D. Kanold, Former Director of Mathematics and Science, and School Superintendent, Adlai E. Stevenson HSD 125
“In this inspiring new book, Grace, Amy, and Susan show us how generative a few elegant routines can be for teacher and student learning. This book honors the art of teaching and the brilliance of students’ thinking. It will help teachers think a lot harder about what the mathematical practices mean…This book should be on every mathematics teacher’s bookshelf.”
—Elham Kazemi, Geda and Phil Condit Professor in Mathematics Education, University of Washington; coauthor of Intentional Talk
“Grace Kelemanik, Amy Lucenta, and Susan Janssen Creighton have written an practical handbook for teachers interested in learning how to support all students learning how to think like mathematicians. They have also made the often invisible aspects of ambitious teaching visible with their work. The instructional routines outlined will help teachers all over the world create opportunities to surface and extend student thinking to support developing mathematical communities in their classrooms. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn how to implement inquiry-oriented mathematics instruction that works.”
—David Wees, formative assessment specialist in mathematics, New Visions for Public Schools, New York City
“Each of the four routines at the heart of Routines for Reasoning aims to enhance students’ potential for productive mathematical thinking and to engage students in mathematical discourse. Great care is applied to issues of access. Each chapter takes pains to offer strategies to ensure access for English learners and for students with disabilities. The authors put real heft into the rhetorical claim ‘All students can learn mathematics’ by demonstrating how all students can reason mathematically.”
—Mark Driscoll, Education Development Center; coauthor of Mathematical Thinking and Communication and author of Fostering Algebraic Thinking
“As a math teacher who works with students with disabilities, I am often frustrated by the lack of consideration or thought that math pedagogical books give to my student population. This is what sets Routines for Reasoning apart from other books. Grace, Amy, and Susan not only give consideration to my student population from the very beginning of the book (page 10!), but students with special needs are at the forefront of their thinking in regards to integrating instructional routines in math classes. Students with disabilities should be given access to the mathematical practices and this book is a great resource not only for teachers of students with disabilities, but also teachers in inclusive settings. I have seen instructional routines like "Contemplate then Calculate" and "Connecting Representations" work for students with disabilities and I am excited to have this new resource at my disposal! ”
—Andrew Gael, special education teacher, New York City; blogs at The Learning Kaleidoscope
“This book is a valuable resource for teachers who want to enact practical mathematical routines that will help all their students to develop the habits of mathematicians. Through classroom scenarios, the authors have captured ways in which teachers use math routines so that students are thinking, talking, justifying and inquiring about mathematical ideas. This book is an important read for anyone who shares a belief in the capacity of all our students and a commitment to creating math classrooms where engagement in rigorous sense-making is the norm.”
—Marcie Osinsky, Director of Elementary Residency, Boston Teacher Residency
“Routines for Reasoning is a valuable resource for teachers…I have used the ideas and techniques in the book to deepen the mathematical understanding of the preservice teachers in my university methods course and then watched them have the same success using these practical tools to successfully engage students in thinking mathematically during their practicum.”
—Laura R. Van Zoest, Professor of Mathematics Education, Western Michigan University
