Maria del Rosario Zavala

Help students see their whole selves in the math they're learning with culturally responsive teaching. Cultivating Mathematical Hearts: Culturally Responsive Mathematics Teaching in Elementary Classrooms, aims to re-center mathematics as a humanizing endeavor because putting children and their humanity at the heart of mathematics education can result in more engaged, meaningful, and joyful learning. This book introduces a model and a tool for Culturally Responsive Mathematics Teaching, constructed to create a safe, inclusive space where all learners can come together in their own educational journey and develop a love for math that centers their experiences and comes from the heart. Implementing the Culturally Responsive Mathematics Teaching Tool (CRMT2) will help you cultivate and sustain meaningful, rich, and rigorous mathematical learning spaces for all your students–experiences that foster mathematical curiosity and joy. The book walks you through each aspect of the framework and tool, guiding you to consider how your classroom structures, lessons, tasks, and assessments: Honor the existing cultural strengths, experiences, and lived realities of all your studentsElicit diverse mathematical thinking and ideasSupport equitable access to rigorous mathematical learning and discourse for all studentsInvite a sense of agency in each student’s learning experiencePromote high engagement and excitement while learning mathematicsNurture an understanding that mathematics is a powerful tool for making sense of the world By weaving these strategies into classroom lessons, teachers can humanize mathematics instruction to successfully build a love for math while providing equitable learning opportunities that empower student voice and promote success in mathematics.

How can we use math to understand—and solve—challenges in our world? In What We Do When Fairness Fails Us, Moises, Marissa, and Astrud realize that a specialized high school uses a lottery for admission that prevents many qualified students from attending. As they research how lotteries work, they come across videos by Federico Ardila, a mathematician who explains concepts like randomness and probability and how they apply to our everyday lives. Join Moises, Marissa, and Astrud as they learn from Federico how they can use math—and their voices—to change unfair systems and help people get the opportunities they deserve. What We Do When Fairness Fails Us is part of the Powerful Mathematicians Who Changed the World book series. Edited by Christa Jackson and illustrated by Estrella Bascuñan, the Powerful Mathematicians who Changed the World book series centers on underrepresented mathematicians we do not typically hear or learn about in school. By reading the stories, you and your child will gain insight into the remarkable work of these mathematicians, learn about their mathematical contributions, and become more intrigued and see yourself more as learners and doers of mathematics. You and your child will see how mathematics helps us understand the world in which we live through these captivating stories. You will witness your own mathematical brilliance.

"This book is a must-read for all elementary educators. A call to action, the guide for teachers offers incredible resources, including powerful lesson plans, to engage readers in the practice of teaching mathematics for social justice in early childhood settings. An immense contribution to the conversation around social justice and mathematics in elementary education." Ruchi Agarwal-Rangnath Assistant Professor, University of San Francisco San Francisco, CA Empower children to be the change—join the teaching mathematics for social justice movement! We live in an era in which students of all ages have—through media and their lived experiences— a more visceral experience of social injustices. However, when people think of social justice, mathematics rarely comes to mind. With a teacher-friendly design, this book brings early elementary mathematics content to life by connecting it to the natural curiosity and empathy young children bring with them and the issues they experience. Tested in PK-2 classrooms, the model lessons contributed in this book walk teachers through the process of applying critical frameworks to instruction, using standards-based mathematics to explore, understand, and respond to social justice issues. Learn to plan instruction that engages children in mathematics explorations through age-appropriate, culturally relevant topics such as fairness, valuing diversity and difference, representation and inequality, and environmental justice. Features include: Content cross-referenced by mathematical concept and social issuesConnection to Learning for Justice’s social justice standardsDownloadable instructional materials and lesson resourcesGuidance for lessons driven by children’s unique passions and challengesConnections between research and practice Written for teachers committed to developing equitable and just practices through the lens of mathematics content and practice standards as well as social justice standards, this book will help connect content to children’s daily lives, fortify their mathematical understanding, and expose them to issues that will support them in becoming active citizens and leaders.