Proactive Mathematics Intervention, Grades 6-8

Priming for Success Through Engaging Tasks and Purposeful Design
Barbara J. Dougherty - University of Hawaii, Manoa, USA
Karen S. Karp - Johns Hopkins University
Proactive Mathematics Intervention, Grades 6-8
October 2026 | 432 pages | Corwin
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eBook
ISBN: 9798348867768
Available from October 2026
Paperback
ISBN: 9798348838188
Available from October 2026

Description

Shifting from remediation to preparation so all students can thrive in mathematics

Middle school math interventions often rely on remediation, addressing gaps only after students have already fallen behind. What if we shifted to a proactive, humanizing approach? By using “priming”—a strengths-based strategy that prepares students before they encounter new grade-level material—educators can address flawed structures in the system rather than trying to “fix” students. This welcoming guide empowers teachers to help students in Tier 2 and Tier 3 instruction fortify their foundational skills and conceptual understanding, reduce anxiety, and still actively engage with their peers in learning the grade-level concepts and skills of middle school.

Grounded in the latest research, the book tackles critical challenges such as systemic inequities, disengagement, and gaps in student readiness. By integrating formative assessment, asset-based strategies, and practical and engaging intervention tasks, this comprehensive guide supports teachers, math coaches, interventionists, and school leaders to create proactive systems that meet every learner where they are.

Features include:

  •  A plethora of ready-to-use multimodal intervention tasks on the book and the companion website, designed with low floors and high ceilings so every student can engage
  • Practical guidance on using the concrete, semiconcrete, and abstract (CSA) approach to build deep, lasting understanding
  • Formative assessment tools tailored for intervention settings to monitor growth and individualize instruction
  • Classroom vignettes, student work samples, and reflection questions for professional learning communities

Discover how to transform math intervention—systematically and systemically—from a space of remediation to one of genuine empowerment. By embracing priming, educators will be able to cultivate positive mathematical identities and ensure all students are confident, prepared, and ready to learn.

Contents

About the Authors

About the Authors

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

Publisher’s Acknowledgements

Publisher’s Acknowledgements

Preface

Preface

PART I: Introduction to Priming

PART I: Introduction to Priming

Chapter 1: Introduction: Proactive Intervention: Fixing Structures, Not Students

Chapter 1: Introduction: Proactive Intervention: Fixing Structures, Not Students

Chapter 2: Characteristics of Effective Strengths-Based Interventions

Chapter 2: Characteristics of Effective Strengths-Based Interventions

Chapter 3: Formative Assessment: Targeting and Monitoring Interventions

Chapter 3: Formative Assessment: Targeting and Monitoring Interventions

Chapter 4: Your Turn: A Proactive Preventative Mathematics Intervention Model in Action

Chapter 4: Your Turn: A Proactive Preventative Mathematics Intervention Model in Action

PART II: Putting Priming Into Action

PART II: Putting Priming Into Action

Chapter 5: Intervention Task

Chapter 5: Intervention Task

Task 1: Picture This

Task 1: Picture This

Task 2: Food trucks

Task 2: Food trucks

Task 3: Power of Paper

Task 3: Power of Paper

Task 4: Mind Reader

Task 4: Mind Reader

Task 5: When Opposites Meet

Task 5: When Opposites Meet

Task 6: Ancient Shipwreck

Task 6: Ancient Shipwreck

Task 7: At Arms Length

Task 7: At Arms Length

Task 8: School Mural

Task 8: School Mural

Task 9: Farm to Market

Task 9: Farm to Market

Task 10: How Far is it to New York City

Task 10: How Far is it to New York City

Task 11: Escape Room

Task 11: Escape Room

Task 12: Alert Missing Kitchen Tools

Task 12: Alert Missing Kitchen Tools

Task 13: Community Greenspaces

Task 13: Community Greenspaces

Task 14: Tenths Hundredths More

Task 14: Tenths Hundredths More

Task 15: Find a Place Decimals

Task 15: Find a Place Decimals

Task 16: Decimals Builders: Sums and Differences

Task 16: Decimals Builders: Sums and Differences

Task 17: Mosaic Math

Task 17: Mosaic Math

Task 18: Mystery Towers

Task 18: Mystery Towers

Task 19: Clay Color Creation

Task 19: Clay Color Creation

Task 20: Friendship Necklaces

Task 20: Friendship Necklaces

Task 21: Stringing Along

Task 21: Stringing Along

Task 22: Tile it

Task 22: Tile it

Task 23: Cortneys Number Line

Task 23: Cortneys Number Line

Task 24: Secret Rule

Task 24: Secret Rule

Task 25: More to the Point

Task 25: More to the Point

Task 26: Missing Measures

Task 26: Missing Measures

Task 27: Triangle Strong

Task 27: Triangle Strong

Task 28: Layer it

Task 28: Layer it

Task 29: School Store

Task 29: School Store

Task 30: Level it Out

Task 30: Level it Out

Appendix A

Appendix A

Resources

Companion website

Description

Shifting from remediation to preparation so all students can thrive in mathematics

Middle school math interventions often rely on remediation, addressing gaps only after students have already fallen behind. What if we shifted to a proactive, humanizing approach? By using “priming”—a strengths-based strategy that prepares students before they encounter new grade-level material—educators can address flawed structures in the system rather than trying to “fix” students. This welcoming guide empowers teachers to help students in Tier 2 and Tier 3 instruction fortify their foundational skills and conceptual understanding, reduce anxiety, and still actively engage with their peers in learning the grade-level concepts and skills of middle school.

Grounded in the latest research, the book tackles critical challenges such as systemic inequities, disengagement, and gaps in student readiness. By integrating formative assessment, asset-based strategies, and practical and engaging intervention tasks, this comprehensive guide supports teachers, math coaches, interventionists, and school leaders to create proactive systems that meet every learner where they are.

Features include:

  •  A plethora of ready-to-use multimodal intervention tasks on the book and the companion website, designed with low floors and high ceilings so every student can engage
  • Practical guidance on using the concrete, semiconcrete, and abstract (CSA) approach to build deep, lasting understanding
  • Formative assessment tools tailored for intervention settings to monitor growth and individualize instruction
  • Classroom vignettes, student work samples, and reflection questions for professional learning communities

Discover how to transform math intervention—systematically and systemically—from a space of remediation to one of genuine empowerment. By embracing priming, educators will be able to cultivate positive mathematical identities and ensure all students are confident, prepared, and ready to learn.

Contents

About the Authors

About the Authors

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

Publisher’s Acknowledgements

Publisher’s Acknowledgements

Preface

Preface

PART I: Introduction to Priming

PART I: Introduction to Priming

Chapter 1: Introduction: Proactive Intervention: Fixing Structures, Not Students

Chapter 1: Introduction: Proactive Intervention: Fixing Structures, Not Students

Chapter 2: Characteristics of Effective Strengths-Based Interventions

Chapter 2: Characteristics of Effective Strengths-Based Interventions

Chapter 3: Formative Assessment: Targeting and Monitoring Interventions

Chapter 3: Formative Assessment: Targeting and Monitoring Interventions

Chapter 4: Your Turn: A Proactive Preventative Mathematics Intervention Model in Action

Chapter 4: Your Turn: A Proactive Preventative Mathematics Intervention Model in Action

PART II: Putting Priming Into Action

PART II: Putting Priming Into Action

Chapter 5: Intervention Task

Chapter 5: Intervention Task

Task 1: Picture This

Task 1: Picture This

Task 2: Food trucks

Task 2: Food trucks

Task 3: Power of Paper

Task 3: Power of Paper

Task 4: Mind Reader

Task 4: Mind Reader

Task 5: When Opposites Meet

Task 5: When Opposites Meet

Task 6: Ancient Shipwreck

Task 6: Ancient Shipwreck

Task 7: At Arms Length

Task 7: At Arms Length

Task 8: School Mural

Task 8: School Mural

Task 9: Farm to Market

Task 9: Farm to Market

Task 10: How Far is it to New York City

Task 10: How Far is it to New York City

Task 11: Escape Room

Task 11: Escape Room

Task 12: Alert Missing Kitchen Tools

Task 12: Alert Missing Kitchen Tools

Task 13: Community Greenspaces

Task 13: Community Greenspaces

Task 14: Tenths Hundredths More

Task 14: Tenths Hundredths More

Task 15: Find a Place Decimals

Task 15: Find a Place Decimals

Task 16: Decimals Builders: Sums and Differences

Task 16: Decimals Builders: Sums and Differences

Task 17: Mosaic Math

Task 17: Mosaic Math

Task 18: Mystery Towers

Task 18: Mystery Towers

Task 19: Clay Color Creation

Task 19: Clay Color Creation

Task 20: Friendship Necklaces

Task 20: Friendship Necklaces

Task 21: Stringing Along

Task 21: Stringing Along

Task 22: Tile it

Task 22: Tile it

Task 23: Cortneys Number Line

Task 23: Cortneys Number Line

Task 24: Secret Rule

Task 24: Secret Rule

Task 25: More to the Point

Task 25: More to the Point

Task 26: Missing Measures

Task 26: Missing Measures

Task 27: Triangle Strong

Task 27: Triangle Strong

Task 28: Layer it

Task 28: Layer it

Task 29: School Store

Task 29: School Store

Task 30: Level it Out

Task 30: Level it Out

Appendix A

Appendix A

Resources

Companion website

SAGE Publishing Logo

Proactive Mathematics Intervention, Grades 6-8

Priming for Success Through Engaging Tasks and Purposeful Design


October 2026 | 432 pages | Corwin

Format Published Date ISBN Price
Paperback 13/04/2026 9798348838188 $40.95
Lifetime 17/07/2026 9798348867768 $37.00

Shifting from remediation to preparation so all students can thrive in mathematics

Middle school math interventions often rely on remediation, addressing gaps only after students have already fallen behind. What if we shifted to a proactive, humanizing approach? By using “priming”—a strengths-based strategy that prepares students before they encounter new grade-level material—educators can address flawed structures in the system rather than trying to “fix” students. This welcoming guide empowers teachers to help students in Tier 2 and Tier 3 instruction fortify their foundational skills and conceptual understanding, reduce anxiety, and still actively engage with their peers in learning the grade-level concepts and skills of middle school.

Grounded in the latest research, the book tackles critical challenges such as systemic inequities, disengagement, and gaps in student readiness. By integrating formative assessment, asset-based strategies, and practical and engaging intervention tasks, this comprehensive guide supports teachers, math coaches, interventionists, and school leaders to create proactive systems that meet every learner where they are.

Features include:

  •  A plethora of ready-to-use multimodal intervention tasks on the book and the companion website, designed with low floors and high ceilings so every student can engage
  • Practical guidance on using the concrete, semiconcrete, and abstract (CSA) approach to build deep, lasting understanding
  • Formative assessment tools tailored for intervention settings to monitor growth and individualize instruction
  • Classroom vignettes, student work samples, and reflection questions for professional learning communities

Discover how to transform math intervention—systematically and systemically—from a space of remediation to one of genuine empowerment. By embracing priming, educators will be able to cultivate positive mathematical identities and ensure all students are confident, prepared, and ready to learn.


Table Of Contents:

  • About the Authors
  • Acknowledgements
  • Publisher’s Acknowledgements
  • Preface
  • PART I: Introduction to Priming
  • Chapter 1: Introduction: Proactive Intervention: Fixing Structures, Not Students
  • Chapter 2: Characteristics of Effective Strengths-Based Interventions
  • Chapter 3: Formative Assessment: Targeting and Monitoring Interventions
  • Chapter 4: Your Turn: A Proactive Preventative Mathematics Intervention Model in Action
  • PART II: Putting Priming Into Action
  • Chapter 5: Intervention Task
  • Task 1: Picture This
  • Task 2: Food trucks
  • Task 3: Power of Paper
  • Task 4: Mind Reader
  • Task 5: When Opposites Meet
  • Task 6: Ancient Shipwreck
  • Task 7: At Arms Length
  • Task 8: School Mural
  • Task 9: Farm to Market
  • Task 10: How Far is it to New York City
  • Task 11: Escape Room
  • Task 12: Alert Missing Kitchen Tools
  • Task 13: Community Greenspaces
  • Task 14: Tenths Hundredths More
  • Task 15: Find a Place Decimals
  • Task 16: Decimals Builders: Sums and Differences
  • Task 17: Mosaic Math
  • Task 18: Mystery Towers
  • Task 19: Clay Color Creation
  • Task 20: Friendship Necklaces
  • Task 21: Stringing Along
  • Task 22: Tile it
  • Task 23: Cortneys Number Line
  • Task 24: Secret Rule
  • Task 25: More to the Point
  • Task 26: Missing Measures
  • Task 27: Triangle Strong
  • Task 28: Layer it
  • Task 29: School Store
  • Task 30: Level it Out
  • Appendix A

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