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A wonderful collection of lessons, submitted by teachers, to help students of all ages see topics they care about, and use mathematics as a tool for progress in the world.
A very compelling set of fresh ideas are offered that prepare educators to turn the corner on advocating for social justice in the mathematics classroom. Each book is full of engaging activities, frameworks, and standards that center instruction on community, worldview, and the developmental needs of all students—a much-needed resource to reboot our commitment to the next generation.
Upper Elementary Mathematics Lessons to Explore, Understand, and Respond to Social Injustice is an outstanding addition to the growing number of texts and projects that weave the teaching of mathematics and social justice together. The authors go deep and broad to show how, why, and when this combination of curricular topics improves our students’ mathematical understandings while honing their abilities and dispositions to promote social and environmental justice in their own lives and communities.
Teaching mathematics for social justice affirms the relevance of mathematics instruction to the “real world” and equips educators and students to turn their engagement with mathematics concepts into positive social action. Equal parts approachable and challenging, the lessons get students thinking critically about how mathematics helps them to understand, identify injustice, and develop the skills and confidence to right it.
This is the book so many of us in upper elementary mathematics have been waiting for. It’s practical, justice oriented, and student-centered. For elementary school teachers looking to integrate social justice lessons with a relevant and timely lens, this book will be instantly applicable to your practice. For everyone else, this book demonstrates that social justice mathematics is critical to the work we must do for our students, our communities, and our profession as mathematics teachers!
This book is a much-needed and timely resource for teachers, coaches, school leaders, and teacher educators. The authors offer a wide array of lessons that get to the heart of teaching mathematics for social justice for students in Grades 3–5. The diverse topics share a common thread: a commitment to students’ learning grounded in meaningful and relevant explorations.
I imagine many people will purchase this book for the sample lesson plans. And you should; they’re fabulous. But just as fabulous, and equally important, is the framework the authors lay out for a comprehensive, holistic, transformative approach to mathematics teaching, with social justice at its core.
As a teacher educator for social justice, I am familiar with the near-constant refrain of “this isn’t something you can do in math!” This book illustrates just the opposite. Indeed, not only is it possible to engage in social justice mathematics, but it is an educational imperative to do so. This much-needed and valuable collection provides practitioners with clear and compelling lessons that are grounded in theories of justice and equity.
