Books and Videos

Sue’s books and videos provide teachers with an understanding of essential math concepts and are filled with engaging classroom activities that guide students towards meeting today’s standards. The activities are motivating and meaningful, and are aligned with the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Standards and the Common Core State Standards. The books and videos strongly encourage a teaching style that incorporates problem solving, reasoning, communication, representation, and connections into daily math activities.

Navigating Numeracy
Learning Progression Centers

Navigating Numeracy center kits provide everything you need for grade-specific, hands-on, and interactive practice opportunities that guide your K-5 students toward a deep understanding of numbers.

Math + Children’s Literature:
A Perfect Pairing

The Math by the Book series is a grade-by-grade resource dedicated to connecting literacy to mathematics. It focuses on strategically teaching k-5 math skills and concepts through children’s literature.

Math Instruction that Supports Engagement, Discovery, and Understanding

Math in Practice is a comprehensive, grade-by-grade resource designed to fit with any math program. It supports teachers, administrators, and entire school communities as they rethink the teaching of mathematics in grades K-5.

Math in Practice School Bundle

The Math in Practice School Bundle includes 14 books altogether: one of each Grade-Level Pack plus an Administrator Pack.

Math in Practice is a comprehensive, grade-by-grade professional learning resource designed to fit with any math curriculum you are using. It identifies the big ideas of both math content and math teaching, unpacking key instructional strategies and detailing why those strategies are so powerful.

Rather than providing another sequence of lessons and units to take students from the beginning to the end of the year, Math in Practice focuses on developing deep content knowledge, understanding why certain strategies and approaches are most effective, and rethinking our beliefs about what math teaching should be. This essential resource will help teachers, administrators, and entire school communities:

  • Guide students in deeper math understanding
  • Respond to the challenges of their math curriculum
  • Support students who are struggling, excelling, and anywhere in between

Math in Practice Administrator Pack

The Math in Practice Administrator Pack includes two books: A Guide for Administrators and A Guide for Teachers.

A Guide for Administrators looks at the shift in math education through the eyes of math coaches, school principals, and district administrators. This book was written specifically with leaders in mind–to support them as they endeavor to improve the teaching and learning of math throughout their school and district. In concert with the Guide for Teachers, you’ll find support for topics such as:

  • Understanding what to look for in effective math classrooms
  • Helping parents understand how their child is learning math
  • Developing consistent approaches to intervention, differentiation, and assessment.

Putting the Practices into Action: Implementing the Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practice K-8

ISBN# 978-0-325-04655-6

The Standards for Mathematical Practice are the heart and soul of the Common Core Standards for Mathematics. A deep understanding of these standards ensures that teachers elevate students’ learning of math from knowledge to application and understanding. But how can we incorporate the Practices into our teaching and ensure that our students develop these critical skills? Sue O’Connell and John SanGiovanni unpack each of the eight Practices and provide a wealth of practical ideas and activities to help you quickly integrate them into your existing math program.

Included is a guide for using the book as the focus of a professional study group and a web link to many classroom resources.

Mastering the Basic Math Facts in Addition and Subtraction: Strategies, Activities, and Interventions to Move Students Beyond Memorization

Includes downloadable teacher resources in English and Spanish

ISBN#0-325-02963-6

Designed to be easily integrated into your existing math program, Mastering the Basic Math Facts:

  • Emphasizes the big ideas that provide a focus for math facts instruction
  • Broadens your repertoire of instructional strategies
  • Provides dozens of easy-to-implement activities to support varied levels of learners
  • Stimulates your reflection related to teaching math facts.

Through investigations, discussions, visual models, children’s literature, and hands-on explorations, students develop an understanding of the concepts of addition and subtraction, and through engaging, interactive practice achieve fluency with basic facts.

Includes hundreds of customizable activities, templates, recording sheets, and teacher tools (hundred charts, ten-frames, addition charts, game templates, and assessment options) that simplify your planning and preparation. Over 450 pages of downloadable resources are included in English and Spanish translation.

Mastering the Basic Math Facts in Multiplication and Division: Strategies, Activities, and Interventions to Move Students Beyond Memorization

Includes downloadable teacher resources in English and Spanish

ISBN# 0-325-02962-8

Designed to be easily integrated into your existing math program,Mastering the Basic Math Facts:

  • Emphasizes the big ideas that provide a focus for math facts instruction
  • Broadens your repertoire of instructional strategies
  • Provides dozens of easy-to-implement activities to support varied levels of learners
  • Stimulates your reflection related to teaching math facts.

Through investigations, discussions, visual models, children’s literature, and hands-on explorations, students develop an understanding of the concepts of addition and subtraction, and through engaging, interactive practice achieve fluency with basic facts.

Includes hundreds of customizable activities, templates, recording sheets, and teacher tools (hundred charts, ten-frames, addition charts, game templates, and assessment options) that simplify your planning and preparation. Over 450 pages of downloadable resources are included in English and Spanish translation.

Now I Get It: Strategies for Building Confident and Competent Mathematicians, K-6

Includes downloadable teacher resources in English and Spanish

ISBN# 0-325-00766-7

Chapter topics include:

  • balancing the teaching of computation and problem solving
  • developing math concepts through manipulatives
  • using children’s literature to teach concepts in context
  • differentiating math instruction
  • incorporating math talk and writing into classroom lessons

Along with a wealth of ideas for classroom activities, the book includes a CD with over 100 pages of resources to support teachers as they implement the ideas including:

  • ready-to-print manipulative templates (spinners, grids, number lines, coins, fraction pieces, hundred charts…)
  • extensive bibliography of math-related literature categorized by math topics
  • math facts game templates
  • easy-to-use math center ideas
  • varied problem-solving and writing tasks

Many of the manipulative and activity templates on the CD can be easily customized to meet students’ specific needs. Reflection questions after each chapter make this book perfect for teacher study groups or professional development activities.

The Math Process Standards Series, Sue O’Connell (series editor)

Math is more than content. Through processes, like problem solving and communication, students explore math ideas and apply their math understandings. And today’s math assessments require students to be proficient with both math content and math processes as they challenge students to solve math problems and communicate about math ideas.

Each book in this new series is a practical guide for teachers – helping them better understand critical math processes and providing them with doable ways to incorporate these processes into their math classrooms. Books in the series include:

  • Introduction to Problem Solving
  • Introduction to Communication
  • Introduction to Representation
  • Introduction to Reasoning and Proof
  • Introduction to Connections

Books are available in three grade bands (PK-2, 3-5, 6-8). Included with each book is a CD filled with teacher tools (e.g., rubrics, checklists, graphic organizers) and customizable student activities to allow teachers to change names, data, or spacing for a quick way to differentiate instruction within the math classroom. These books are practical resources for individual teachers who want to refine their skills, and are a popular choice for teacher study groups.

For more information on any of the books in this series, go to Heinemann Publishing Company’s website at www.heinemann.com. For additional information on the books written by Sue O’Connell (Introduction to Problem Solving and Introduction to Communication) see the descriptions below.

Introduction to Problem Solving

Introduction to Problem Solving provides immediate help to any teacher attempting to implement problem-solving instruction. The book includes:

  • explanations of critical problem-solving skills and strategies
  • teacher tips to introduce, develop, and reinforce each critical skill
  • samples of student work
  • examples of integrated lessons which strengthen students’ problem-solving and math content skills

The accompanying CD contains dozens of resources teachers can put to immediate use, including:

  • checklists
  • scoring keys
  • icons
  • approximately 70 practice problems that are in Microsoft Word and can be easily customized to include names, topics, and data that are specific to your students’ needs.

This book is a practical resource for individual teachers who want to refine their skills in teaching math problem solving, and is also a popular choice for teacher study groups.

Introduction to Problem Solving Grades PK-2
ISBN# 0-325-01105-2

Introduction to Problem Solving Grades 3-5
ISBN# 0-325-00970-8

Introduction to Problem Solving Grades 6-8
ISBN# 0-325-01296-4

Introduction to Communication

Includes book and CD with customizable activities

Introduction to Communication provides practical ideas for incorporating talk and writing into math lessons. The book focuses on the role of language in the math classroom both to build student understanding and to enhance teacher assessment.

It includes:

  • strategies for generating productive math talk
  • ways to strengthen teacher questioning
  • techniques for developing math vocabulary
  • ideas for incorporating writing tasks into math lessons
  • strategies for helping students more efficiently read math text
  • tips for supporting struggling writers
  • easy-to-implement ideas for improving the quality of students’ written explanations

The CD contains dozens of resources teachers can put to immediate use, including:

  • rubrics
  • graphic organizers
  • activity templates
  • approximately 70 student writing tasks that are in Microsoft Word and can be easily customized to include names, topics, and data that are specific to your students’ needs.

The CD writing activities are perfect preparation for the constructed-response tasks that appear on many state and district assessments.This book is a practical resource for individual teachers who want to refine their understanding of communication (talk and writing) about math, and the reflection questions at the end of each chapter make it a popular choice for teacher study groups.

Introduction to Communication Grades PK-2
ISBN# 0-325-01236-9

Introduction to Communication Grades 3-5
ISBN# 0-325-01236-9

Introduction to Communication Grades 6-8
ISBN# 0-325-01732-7

Using Vocabulary and Writing Strategies to Enhance Math learning, Grades 1-2

Writing is a powerful tool that increases students’ understanding of mathematical concepts, enables them to process and communicate their mathematical thinking, and helps teachers effectively assess learning. In first and second grade, teachers lay a foundation for “writing to learn” in mathematics by developing students’ analytical thinking skills, increasing their math vocabulary, and engaging students in a variety of developmentally appropriate writing tasks.

This video training program takes you inside real classrooms where Sue O’Connell, as well as first and second grade teachers, demonstrate numerous ways to create language-rich math learning environments that engage young students in thinking, talking and writing as crucial components of primary-level math instruction. You will observe the critical importance of teacher questioning, modeling and demonstrations in developing students’ mathematical thinking and writing.

Using Writing to Strengthen Your Students’ Understanding of Math Concepts and Skills, Grades 3-6

Writing about mathematics’ skills and concepts strengthens students’ understanding of mathematical ideas but also helps them express those understandings more clearly and coherently. As students in upper elementary classrooms encounter increasingly complex math concepts, they must use writing as a tool to help them analyze, process, and articulate new mathematical learning. In this video training program, Sue O’Connell takes you into intermediate grade classrooms and joins classroom teachers in demonstrating a wide variety of strategies that actively engage students in language-rich math learning. You will see students thinking, talking and writing about math concepts and skills, guided by teachers using techniques that can easily be incorporated into your own math program.

Using Writing to Strengthen Your Students’ Understanding of Math Concepts and Skills, Grades 3-6

Writing about mathematics’ skills and concepts strengthens students’ understanding of mathematical ideas but also helps them express those understandings more clearly and coherently. As students in upper elementary classrooms encounter increasingly complex math concepts, they must use writing as a tool to help them analyze, process, and articulate new mathematical learning. In this video training program, Sue O’Connell takes you into intermediate grade classrooms and joins classroom teachers in demonstrating a wide variety of strategies that actively engage students in language-rich math learning. You will see students thinking, talking and writing about math concepts and skills, guided by teachers using techniques that can easily be incorporated into your own math program.

Increasing Students’ Math Problem-Solving Skills

This two-part video training program, featuring Sue O’Connell, takes you inside intermediate grade classrooms where teachers are using highly effective strategies not only to teach mathematical concepts and skills, but also to help students develop a repertoire of problem-solving strategies. You will see practical, hands-on lessons and key instructional techniques for teaching problem solving. A training handbook is included which contains outlines, reproducibles, resource lists, and reflective questions. These video products are perfect for schoolwide professional development and faculty study groups as well as for individual teacher self-study.

Increasing Students’ Math Problem-Solving Skills
Part I: Developing Core Problem-Solving Strategies

Increasing Students’ Math Problem-Solving Skills
Part II: Expanding Students’ Repertoire of Problem-Solving Strategies

Increasing Your Students’ Mastery of Addition and Subtraction Math Facts, Grades 1-3

Viewers learn how to:

  • Develop students’ understanding of addition and subtraction through teacher demonstrations, the use of manipulatives, and kinesthetic activities
  • Enhance students’ facility with addition and subtraction using fact families, small group activities and hands-on materials
  • Increase student automaticity with math facts through repeated practice in a variety of settings: whole class, partners, small groups, and individual
  • Use math centers to productively engage students in practicing addition and subtraction math facts
  • Provide additional, targeted practice opportunities for students who struggle with math facts

Increasing Your Students’ Mastery of Multiplication and Division Math Facts, Grades 3-6

Viewers learn how to:

  • Develop students’ understanding of multiplication and division through teacher demonstrations and the use of manipulatives and models
  • Enhance students’ strategic use of multiplication and division using key attributes of numbers, small group activities and hands-on materials
  • Increase student automaticity with math facts through repeated practice in a variety of settings: whole class, partners, small groups, and individual
  • Provide additional, targeted practice opportunities for students who struggle with math facts