Mathematically rich and engaging tasks offer excellent opportunities for students to learn what mathematics is and how one does it. Such tasks, however, can often be the most difficult to implement effectively during instruction. Research shows that tasks that promote thinking, reasoning, and problem solving often decline during execution due to a variety of classroom factors. The result is students apply previously learned rules and procedures without learning the connection to meaning and understanding and opportunities for thinking and reasoning are lost.

This book, a collection of carefully selected articles from past issues of NCTM journals, includes activities for teachers to use with their students to promote the understanding of the mathematical content. Articles are arranged into content strands and ordered within a strand to promote the development of important areas of mathematics. These key areas are all highlighted in the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) as important for students' progress in mathematics.

Each section of the book highlights articles on a key area of mathematics featured in the CCSSM: rational numbers, proportional reasoning, numbers, number theory, patterns and functions, linear equations, measurement, geometry, probability and statistics.