Meaningful Small Groups in Math, Grades K-5: Meeting All Learners’ Needs in Any Setting (Corwin Mathematics Series)

Review
This comprehensive resource provides the what, why, and how for effectively implementing small group instruction to support every student! Part A provides excellent suggestions, clearly based in experience, and Part B pairs important content with small group lesson ideas. Such a great resource for ensuring students develop confidence and competence in mathematics! -- Jennifer Bay-Williams ― Louisville, KY
In Meaningful Small Groups in Math: Meeting All Learners’ Needs in Any Setting, Kimberly Rimbey offers us detailed suggestions on how to get the most out of students working in small groups. These details cover everything from tasks to group size, from how to form the groups to where these groups, once formed, could work. We learn how to answer questions and prompt thinking, and we are provided with detailed lesson plans, planning templates, and resources across a wide range of K–5 mathematics topics. Kimberly Rimbey leaves no stone unturned. I highly recommend this book to any K–5 teacher who is starting to think about using group work as well as any teacher who wants to reexamine and revitalize their use of group work in the classroom. -- Peter Liljedahl ― Vancouver, BC, Canada
Mathematics is a beautiful, human enterprise and all humans should be given the opportunity to properly experience its wonder and awe, even our society′s youngest of humans. We want our students to know, and always believe, that they are genuinely invited to mathematics. Dr. Rimbey′s resource shows how. -- James Tanton ― Paradise Valley, AZ
We all know that active engagement―thinking, talking, collaborating, and figuring out―is the key to learning. We also know that small group, teacher-facilitated work is one way to generate this active engagement. But it’s not easy. That’s where Dr. Rimbey’s wonderfully practical and informative book Meaningful Small Groups in Math becomes a powerful resource. With a clear and punchy style―and a slew of examples and models―it’s like Kim was your friend and coach talking with you over coffee about what to do, why to do it, and how to do it when it comes to shifting math instruction for the better for all of our students. -- Steve Leinwand ― Washington, DC
As teachers move away from whole class instruction, they are often challenged by exactly what a small group lesson should look like and how to go about planning one. The sample lessons in this book follow math content trajectories across grade levels, with formative assessment ideas to help teachers form their groups. The Explore Before Explain (Eb4E) approach used in the lessons allows students to actively participate in concept development, with the teacher serving as a facilitator. This is a book that should be on your bookshelf! -- Donna Boucher ― Houston, TX
Small group instruction is such an important part of the learning cycle. Dr. Rimbey breaks down why and then shows teachers, in plain language, how to set up and successfully run teacher-facilitated small groups. She pays extra attention to how different types of groups are used for different instructional purposes and supports teachers in judiciously matching a type of group with a learning need. As if that weren’t enough, Dr. Rimbey then breaks down the essential pieces of different elementary mathematics topics and then uses those pieces to show how a particular small grouping strategy elevates that content and makes it more accessible to all students. This book is a must-read for any elementary mathematics teacher or leader. -- Paul Gray ― Provincetown, MA
Rimbey raises the use of small groups to an art form. Small groups are the mainstay of much of mathematics instruction in the form of collaborative and cooperative groups, yet understanding how to organize and facilitate small groups is not always a part of teacher preparation programs or professional learning experiences. How can we better make these opportunities an ideal way to foster student thinking and reasoning, the sharing of id