Brain-Compatible Activities for Mathematics, Grades 4-5
- David A. Sousa - International Educational Consultant
"The real-world connection and use of manipulatives, games, and items from home will hook 21st-century learners. I spend a considerable amount of time searching for appropriate lesson ideas. No more! This collection of lessons—across all math standards—provides more than enough resources to enhance my teaching."
—Rachel Hull, Fifth-Grade Teacher
George Washington Elementary School, Eleanor, WV
"This well-organized resource enriches any math curriculum with easy-to-follow and abundant 'out of your seat' activities to engage a variety of learners. The best components are quick formative assessments within each activity that provide an immediate perspective on each child's understanding and progress."
—Jennifer Harper, Fourth-Grade Teacher
Cavendish Town Elementary School, Proctorsville, VT
Imaginative mathematics activities that maximize the brain's learning potential!
Demonstrating instructional principles discussed in David A. Sousa's bestseller, How the Brain Learns Mathematics, this resource provides brain-friendly, ready-to-use mathematics lessons for Grades 4-5. Teachers will find step-by-step guidance and all the necessary reproducibles for mathematics instruction that involves group work, reflection, movement, and visualization. Through activities such as Scuba Division, Party Planners, Sunken Treasure, and Parachute Drop, intermediate learners will enjoy developing skills connected with multiplication and division, fractions and decimals, geometry and measurement, algebra, data analysis, and more.
Aligned with NCTM standards and focal points, the instructional strategies enhance motivation and content retention, address individual intelligences, and:
- Promote writing as an important learning tool
- Use concrete models to make concepts meaningful
- Connect mathematical ideas to the real world
- Incorporate graphic organizers to help students organize their thinking
- Teach creative problem solving
Deepen and revitalize instruction using Sousa's proven brain-compatible approach for helping every student develop self-confidence in mathematics!
"A perfect resource for the standards-based mathematics classroom. Each lesson is simply designed by rich in mathematical content. The real-world connection and use of manipulatives, games, and even items from home will hook the 21st-century learner. As a teacher, I spend a considerable amount of time searching for appropriate lesson ideas. No more! This collection of lessons—across all math standards—provides me with enough resources to enhance my current teaching."
"A very well-organized resource that will enrich any math curriculum with practical, easy-to-follow activities designed with a variety of learners in mind. I was delighted to see so many 'out of your seat' activities to keep students engaged. The best part is that the author has included quick formative assessments within each activity to check for understanding and gain perspective on each child's math ability at that moment. This is a valuable resource for developing critical thinking skills for our 21st-century learners."
This book has great activities, but I was looking for a book that would help pre-service teachers move toward 4-5 CCSS in Mathematics.