Proactive Mathematics Intervention, Grades 6-8
Purchase
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
Preface
- What Is This Book About?
- Who Is This Book For?
- How Does This Book Work?
- More on Priming
- How Do We Use Certain Language in This Book?
- Why Do We Choose Certain Terms?
- How Does Strengths-Based Language Change Mindsets?
- How Do We Define Terms Throughout the Text?
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
- Publisher’s Acknowledgments
PART 1: Introduction to Priming
- Chapter 1: Introduction: Proactive Intervention: Fixing Structures, Not Students
- So, What’s the Problem?
- What’s Being Done?
- What Needs to Change?
- What Is the Research Base?
- Provide Systematic Instruction
- Use Clear and Concise Mathematical Language
- Use Concrete, Semiconcrete, and Abstract Representations
- Use of Number Lines
- Deliberate Instruction on Word Problems
- Build Fluency With Computations
- When We Talk About Intervention, What Do We Mean?
- What Do We Mean by Tutoring?
- What Are Some Key Elements of the Intervention Instruction?
- Employing Multiple Representations
- Collaborating Across the Team
- Using a Preemptive and Proactive Approach
- What Should We Think About Next?
- Reflection Opportunities for Chapter 1
- Chapter 2: Characteristics of Effective Strengths-Based Interventions
- What Is Strengths-Based Teaching and Learning?
- What Is the Strengths-Spotting Process?
- Four Steps to Spotting Strengths
- Example of the Process Using a Student’s Representation
- How Do We Build Rapport and Relationships?
- What Does It Mean to Be a Warm Demander?
- How Can We Integrate Culturally Responsive Mathematics Teaching as We Engage in Intervention Activities?
- How Can We Leverage Family Involvement in Supporting Math Proactive Intervention?
- How Can We Help Students Avoid or Overcome Math Anxiety?
- Reflection Opportunities for Chapter 2
- Chapter 3: Formative Assessment: Targeting and Monitoring Interventions
- What Is Formative Assessment, and Why Is It Important?
- And What About Feedback?
- How Can We Focus on Formative Assessment in Intervention Settings?
- Observation Tools
- Interview Tools
- Show Me Tool
- Hinge Question Tools
- Exit Task Tool
- Designing or Selecting an Exit Task
- What Is the Importance of Task Selection in Assessment?
- How Can the Intervention Team Connect Assessment and Instruction?
- Reflection Opportunities for Chapter 3
- Chapter 4: Your Turn: A Proactive Preventative Mathematics Intervention Model in Action
- Considering Elements of Your Mathematics Intervention Program
- How Is Our Approach Different?
- What Does Planning for Priming Look Like?
- What Does a Planning Conversation Sound Like?
- How Do We Connect Strengths-Based Teaching and Formative Assessment?
- How Can We Communicate Student Progress?
- What Are Other Considerations We Need to Think About?
- Staffing
- Time and Location
- Program Size
- Instructional Materials
- Instruction and Assessment
- Where Do You Begin Priming Intervention Lessons?
- What Can We Learn From Listening to the Voices of Others Trying Priming in Their Schools?
- Reflection Opportunities for Chapter 4
PART 2: Putting Priming Into Action
- Chapter 5: Intervention Tasks
- Task 1: Picture This
- Task 2: Food Trucks
- Task 3: The Power of Paper
- Task 4: Mind Reader
- Task 5: When Opposites Meet
- Task 6: Ancient Shipwreck
- Task 7: At Arm’s 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, and 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: Cortney’s 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
- References
- Index
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
Preface
- What Is This Book About?
- Who Is This Book For?
- How Does This Book Work?
- More on Priming
- How Do We Use Certain Language in This Book?
- Why Do We Choose Certain Terms?
- How Does Strengths-Based Language Change Mindsets?
- How Do We Define Terms Throughout the Text?
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
- Publisher’s Acknowledgments
PART 1: Introduction to Priming
- Chapter 1: Introduction: Proactive Intervention: Fixing Structures, Not Students
- So, What’s the Problem?
- What’s Being Done?
- What Needs to Change?
- What Is the Research Base?
- Provide Systematic Instruction
- Use Clear and Concise Mathematical Language
- Use Concrete, Semiconcrete, and Abstract Representations
- Use of Number Lines
- Deliberate Instruction on Word Problems
- Build Fluency With Computations
- When We Talk About Intervention, What Do We Mean?
- What Do We Mean by Tutoring?
- What Are Some Key Elements of the Intervention Instruction?
- Employing Multiple Representations
- Collaborating Across the Team
- Using a Preemptive and Proactive Approach
- What Should We Think About Next?
- Reflection Opportunities for Chapter 1
- Chapter 2: Characteristics of Effective Strengths-Based Interventions
- What Is Strengths-Based Teaching and Learning?
- What Is the Strengths-Spotting Process?
- Four Steps to Spotting Strengths
- Example of the Process Using a Student’s Representation
- How Do We Build Rapport and Relationships?
- What Does It Mean to Be a Warm Demander?
- How Can We Integrate Culturally Responsive Mathematics Teaching as We Engage in Intervention Activities?
- How Can We Leverage Family Involvement in Supporting Math Proactive Intervention?
- How Can We Help Students Avoid or Overcome Math Anxiety?
- Reflection Opportunities for Chapter 2
- Chapter 3: Formative Assessment: Targeting and Monitoring Interventions
- What Is Formative Assessment, and Why Is It Important?
- And What About Feedback?
- How Can We Focus on Formative Assessment in Intervention Settings?
- Observation Tools
- Interview Tools
- Show Me Tool
- Hinge Question Tools
- Exit Task Tool
- Designing or Selecting an Exit Task
- What Is the Importance of Task Selection in Assessment?
- How Can the Intervention Team Connect Assessment and Instruction?
- Reflection Opportunities for Chapter 3
- Chapter 4: Your Turn: A Proactive Preventative Mathematics Intervention Model in Action
- Considering Elements of Your Mathematics Intervention Program
- How Is Our Approach Different?
- What Does Planning for Priming Look Like?
- What Does a Planning Conversation Sound Like?
- How Do We Connect Strengths-Based Teaching and Formative Assessment?
- How Can We Communicate Student Progress?
- What Are Other Considerations We Need to Think About?
- Staffing
- Time and Location
- Program Size
- Instructional Materials
- Instruction and Assessment
- Where Do You Begin Priming Intervention Lessons?
- What Can We Learn From Listening to the Voices of Others Trying Priming in Their Schools?
- Reflection Opportunities for Chapter 4
PART 2: Putting Priming Into Action
- Chapter 5: Intervention Tasks
- Task 1: Picture This
- Task 2: Food Trucks
- Task 3: The Power of Paper
- Task 4: Mind Reader
- Task 5: When Opposites Meet
- Task 6: Ancient Shipwreck
- Task 7: At Arm’s 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, and 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: Cortney’s 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
- References
- Index
Reviews
Proactive Mathematics Intervention, Grades 6-8
Priming for Success Through Engaging Tasks and Purposeful Design
October 2026 | 424 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:
- Preface
- What Is This Book About?
- Who Is This Book For?
- How Does This Book Work?
- More on Priming
- How Do We Use Certain Language in This Book?
- Why Do We Choose Certain Terms?
- How Does Strengths-Based Language Change Mindsets?
- How Do We Define Terms Throughout the Text?
- Acknowledgments
- About the Authors
- Publisher’s Acknowledgments
- PART 1: Introduction to Priming
- Chapter 1: Introduction: Proactive Intervention: Fixing Structures, Not Students
- So, What’s the Problem?
- What’s Being Done?
- What Needs to Change?
- What Is the Research Base?
- Provide Systematic Instruction
- Use Clear and Concise Mathematical Language
- Use Concrete, Semiconcrete, and Abstract Representations
- Use of Number Lines
- Deliberate Instruction on Word Problems
- Build Fluency With Computations
- When We Talk About Intervention, What Do We Mean?
- What Do We Mean by Tutoring?
- What Are Some Key Elements of the Intervention Instruction?
- Employing Multiple Representations
- Collaborating Across the Team
- Using a Preemptive and Proactive Approach
- What Should We Think About Next?
- Reflection Opportunities for Chapter 1
- Chapter 2: Characteristics of Effective Strengths-Based Interventions
- What Is Strengths-Based Teaching and Learning?
- What Is the Strengths-Spotting Process?
- Four Steps to Spotting Strengths
- Example of the Process Using a Student’s Representation
- How Do We Build Rapport and Relationships?
- What Does It Mean to Be a Warm Demander?
- How Can We Integrate Culturally Responsive Mathematics Teaching as We Engage in Intervention Activities?
- How Can We Leverage Family Involvement in Supporting Math Proactive Intervention?
- How Can We Help Students Avoid or Overcome Math Anxiety?
- Reflection Opportunities for Chapter 2
- Chapter 3: Formative Assessment: Targeting and Monitoring Interventions
- What Is Formative Assessment, and Why Is It Important?
- And What About Feedback?
- How Can We Focus on Formative Assessment in Intervention Settings?
- Observation Tools
- Interview Tools
- Show Me Tool
- Hinge Question Tools
- Exit Task Tool
- Designing or Selecting an Exit Task
- What Is the Importance of Task Selection in Assessment?
- How Can the Intervention Team Connect Assessment and Instruction?
- Reflection Opportunities for Chapter 3
- Chapter 4: Your Turn: A Proactive Preventative Mathematics Intervention Model in Action
- Considering Elements of Your Mathematics Intervention Program
- How Is Our Approach Different?
- What Does Planning for Priming Look Like?
- What Does a Planning Conversation Sound Like?
- How Do We Connect Strengths-Based Teaching and Formative Assessment?
- How Can We Communicate Student Progress?
- What Are Other Considerations We Need to Think About?
- Staffing
- Time and Location
- Program Size
- Instructional Materials
- Instruction and Assessment
- Where Do You Begin Priming Intervention Lessons?
- What Can We Learn From Listening to the Voices of Others Trying Priming in Their Schools?
- Reflection Opportunities for Chapter 4
- PART 2: Putting Priming Into Action
- Chapter 5: Intervention Tasks
- Task 1: Picture This
- Task 2: Food Trucks
- Task 3: The Power of Paper
- Task 4: Mind Reader
- Task 5: When Opposites Meet
- Task 6: Ancient Shipwreck
- Task 7: At Arm’s 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, and 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: Cortney’s 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
- References
- Index