Get It Together: Math Problems for Groups, Grades 4-12

I teach 7th grade mathematics and purchased this book because my professor had us do some of the activities. I have used it a few times in my classroom already and kids really enjoy it!

This book is a fantastic resource for any teacher. Elementary or Secondary, the problem solving and critical thinking skills used to work through each problem are evident every time our class tries to solve a problem. I am using this book with my 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade GATE students. I believe this book can be used in the regular ed classrooms as well; all the way through the secondary level. You can select the problems that relate to what ever math topic you are teaching. There is a handy chart in the back of the book that categorizes the problems in 8 groups: Logic, Numbers, Geometry, Algebra, Probability, Measurement, and Functions. There are suggested grade levels provided too. There are recommendations if the puzzle would be a 'Good Starter" or a "Good Jigsaw" activity as well. Each problem has 6 clue cards; 4 main clues and 2 bonus clues. There is an instruction / explanation page that goes with each problem that tells you the concept areas covered, what you might need to give to each group (besides the clues), a brief description, and some good discussion ideas for when the problem is over. It's a little uneasy for a lot of us that the book comes with no answer key, but my students came up with the idea to solve the problems in the book and make their own answer key book for our class. So far, it's working well. I am also planning to purchase another book called United We Solve, for more math problems to solve. The book has similar types of problems. That book has an online database where kids / groups can go on and submit their answers and rationale online. I think my older students would enjoy that part.

I use this book in my 5th grade classroom and have really enjoyed it. Whenever possible, I start my math class with a puzzle which my students solve in small groups. The puzzles promote higher-order thinking and group work. Here are some other thoughts:*There are no answers in the book. Therefore, when a group thinks they have solved it, I always have to say "Let's check if your answer makes sense." Then I walk through it orally with them. If they are right, I write the answers in the book with a yellow marker (yellow will not be picked up on future copies).*Most puzzles are organized into groups of 6. I do not have a number of students divisible by six, so I must always give two groups an extra question.*The puzzles correlate well to my curriculum. They are organized into puzzles for number relationships, geometry, graphing, and grouping.*Some puzzles require manipulatives: counters, blocks, shapes, etc. Things as simple as crayons work for many of the needed items. My students also like to work on their individual white boards to work out their ideas.*On average, my students take 3-5 minutes to work out one puzzle.*After using Get It Together: Math Problems for Groups, I am looking into other books by the author!

This is a wonderful book for cooperative group work on math strategy and logical thinking. Each problem has six different clues. Students usually work in groups of four. Each student reads his/her clue(s), and the group tries to find the answer together. There are problems for different grade levels and for different math strands. There is an index that helps you find a concept quickly, such as geometry or number sense. Each of the six clues are coded so that you can easily tell if groups have accidentally mixed them. The only thing that might make you uneasy is that there is no answer key. The point is for the group to agree on an answer, and this ensures that the teacher doesn't "spill the beans" too soon. It encourages the kids to justify and explain their reasoning to the teacher before they move on to the next problem, which is a good thing. This book makes a great addition to your regular curriculum.

Used in advanced math classes, grades 3 - 5. Grade 3 enjoyed it the most. An answer key would be helpful.

Such a great resource to get kids thinking. Would take a little bit of modeling to get started, but otherwise very cool. (Was planning to use the week after our school closed for covid 19. :( )

I plan to use this resource this fall when school begins. It has wonderful, thought provoking tasks for the students to complete in groups. The one reason that I gave it a 4 star review instead of a 5 was because it would be helpful to provide an answer key. Of course, as a teacher, you would do the project prior to teaching, but having an answer key as a reference is helpful!

If you have never used cooperative groups, or want to fine-tune the group dynamic skills, this is the perfect book. And it has been for many decades.

A quick delivery and a great team teaching resource for maths teachers. Used years ago and looking forward to using it again.

The book is a resource of activities that encourages students to work together for a problem. They have several activities for different grades (they say grades 4-12) from different strands like numeracy, logic, measurement, functions. There's a tabled index at the end of the book that recommends the strand and grade for each activity.It's really just one type of activity but with many examples on how to use it. The activity itself is pretty basic : There are six clues to a puzzle which are written on a sheet. You must cut them out and put them in an envelope. The students must work together with their clues to solve the puzzle. For example in functions, students have to read aloud their clue without showing it, and they must sketch the graph based on the given facts.As a math teacher, I think it's a good resource for collaborate work where every team member works or has a say. Students learn much better through sharing their information and active learning - so it's a good strategy. It's interesting to see how they incorporated ideas for the higher levels as well, because this type of activity is mostly used in the elementary grades.But there's only so many activities for each grade in the book that I don't need. The strategy itself can be manipulated for any type of math problem - but it requires my time as a teacher to create 4 to 6 clues for a given problem. That's not necessarily a big deal, but as teachers, time is a luxury and we buy books like this so we can quickly get ready-made questions, and it can take time modifying and creating new questions if you're not used to it.I'm also disappointed that the activities are not diverse. It's really just the same strategy for different grades. There are a lot of ideas and you can manipulate them - but it would have been interesting to see if they could have made several books for different grades (elementary, middle, high). That way, we could get more ready-made questions for the same grade levels.The strategy in this book is a good way to encourage student-centred learning. Once you get the idea of the strategy, you could easily manipulate your own ideas. I don't know if the price of the book was worth it for just the same method 50 times, but it's definitely worth a read.

good

Great product. Efficient shipping time.