Students at all levels often say that they prefer to do worksheets instead of tackling math problems with words. While it is important to have quick recall of facts and to carry out computations with ease, it is crucial that students be able to read, interpret, and solve application problems. The focus of mathematics education today must be to prepare students to apply their knowledge by solving problems in context. What does that mean to you, their teacher?

Your classroom probably reflects the changing demographics and diversity in this country and the challenges faced by teachers everywhere. Some school districts have students from all over the world speaking dozens of different languages. Even students whose first language is English may have difficulty with reading, comprehension, and mathematical reasoning. In addition, many children come to school lacking appropriate skills. In the past, learning math consisted largely of rote memorization of facts in order to compute quickly, but today's students need to know much more than just the facts. They must also be able to apply the facts and skills to solve real-world problems. This article addresses specific teaching strategies to help each of your students succeed. Even though all students have different abilities, barriers, or challenges, implementing the ideas presented here will help you to help them succeed in math.

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