Elementary and Middle School Mathematics, Canadian Edition, 7th edition

Published by Pearson Canada (April 30, 2025) © 2026
  • John A. Van de Walle
  • Karen S. Karp
  • Jennifer M. Bay-Williams
  • Lynn M. McGarvey

Title overview

For courses in teaching math methods (preK-8).

Guide teachers to help all PreK to 8th grade learners make sense of math

Elementary and Middle School Mathematics illustrates how children in PreK to 8th grade learn math, and then supplies concrete, effective methods of teaching math using problem-based activities. Examples of real student work, common challenges, and hundreds of classroom-ready hands-on tasks help readers visualize developmentally appropriate mathematics instruction and assessment that supports and challenges all learners.

Hallmark features of this title

  • Big Ideas. Much of the research and literature espousing a student-centered approach suggests that teachers plan their instruction around big ideas rather than isolated skills or concepts. At the beginning of each chapter in Part II, you will find a list of the big mathematical ideas associated with the chapter. Teachers find these lists helpful to quickly envision the mathematics they are to teach.
  • Mathematics Curriculum Connections. These figures at the beginning of each content chapter highlight the key ideas in the topic and the approximately grade level they appear in curriculum across Canada.
  • Adaptations for Students with Difficulties and English Learners. Chapter 6 provides some background and strategies for how to support diverse learners, but many adaptations are specific to an activity or task. Therefore, Part II chapters offer differentiation strategies within activities (look for the icon) that can meet the needs of students with difficulties and English learners.

New and updated features of this title

The following are highlights of the most significant changes in the seventh Canadian edition.

  • Focus on Reasoning Strategy Instruction. As described in Chapters 2 and 3, developing procedural fluency is important and requires that students learn reasoning strategies. We have increased attention to what real fluency looks like in these early chapters, and then increased attention to teaching reasoning strategies to students across all chapters, beginning with basic fact reasoning strategies in Chapter 9, whole-number reasoning strategies in Chapters 11 and 12, and reasoning strategies for fractions in Chapter 15.
  • Less Talk, More Action. In every revision, we receive wonderful suggestions on what we can add and rarely a suggestion on what to cut. We have continued the tradition of having this book serve as a reference for teaching all mathematics concepts in K–8. But it is a lot, so in this edition, we worked hard to pare down on narrative, in particular in Part II. The overall pages may not be too different, because we have added more activities and tasks, new figures, and reflection questions. In the end, we believe these changes make this edition more accessible to our readers, whether they are just getting started, looking for ideas for their 20th year of teaching, or preparing a professional learning workshop for their colleagues.
  • Technology Turnover. The technology used to support mathematics instruction continues to evolve with so many new apps and more graphing tools are available. Throughout Part II of the book, the suggestions in the activities and the Technology Notes have been significantly revised.
  • Children’s Literature. Children’s literature that is perfect for integrating into mathematics lessons is peppered throughout the book. For example, in Chapter 6 you will find a collection of children’s books that can form the beginning of a culturally diverse mathematics literature library. Additionally, every chapter in Part II includes an updated selection of children’s literature. This includes two new extensive listings of children’s books at different reading levels on a variety of measurement and geometry topics.

Table of contents

  1. Teaching Mathematics in the 21st Century
  2. Exploring What It Means to Know and Do Mathematics
  3. Teaching through Problem Solving
  4. Planning in the Problem-Based Classroom
  5. Creating Assessments for Learning
  6. Teaching Mathematics Equitably to All Students
  7. Developing Early Number Concepts and Number Sense
  8. Developing Meanings for the Operations
  9. Developing Basic Fact Fluency
  10. Developing Whole-Number Place-Value Concepts
  11. Developing Strategies for Addition and Subtraction Computation
  12. Developing Strategies for Multiplication and Division Computation
  13. Algebraic Thinking, Equations, and Functions
  14. Developing Fraction Concepts
  15. Developing Fraction Operations
  16. Developing Decimal and Percent Concepts and Decimal Computation
  17. Ratios, Proportions, and Proportional Reasoning
  18. Developing Measurement Concepts
  19. Developing Geometric Thinking and Geometric Concepts
  20. Developing Concepts of Data and Statistics
  21. Exploring Concepts of Probability
  22. Developing Concepts of Exponents, Integers, and Real Numbers

Author bios

Dr. John A. Van de Walle (1943 to 2006) was a professor emeritus at Virginia Commonwealth University. He was a leader in mathematics education who regularly gave professional development workshops for K to 8 teachers in the United States and Canada focused on mathematics instruction that engaged students in mathematical reasoning and problem solving. He visited and taught in many classrooms and worked with teachers to implement student-centered mathematics lessons. He co-authored the Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley Mathematics K-6 series and contributed to the original Pearson School mathematics program, enVisionMATH. Additionally, John was very active in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), writing book chapters and journal articles, serving on the board of directors, chairing the educational materials committee, and speaking at national and regional meetings.

Dr. Karen S. Karp is a professor at Johns Hopkins University (Maryland). Previously, she was a professor of mathematics education at the University of Louisville for more than twenty years. Prior to entering the field of teacher education, she was an elementary school teacher in New York. She is the coauthor of Strengths-Based Teaching and Learning in Mathematics: 5 Teaching Turnarounds for grades K-6, the three-book series The Math Pact: Achieving Instructional Cohesion within and Across Grades, and the What Works Clearinghouse Practice Guide on Assisting Students Struggling with Mathematics: Intervention in the Elementary Grades. She is a former member of the board of directors for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and a former president of the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators. In 2020, she received the NCTM Lifetime Achievement Award and in 2021 became a member of the United States National Committee on Mathematics Instruction. She continues to work in classrooms to support teachers in ways to instruct students with special needs in math.

Dr. Jennifer Bay-Williams is a professor at the University of Louisville. She is a leader in mathematics education, continually working to support mathematics instruction. Beyond her work on this book and the related Teaching Student Centered Mathematics book series, Jennifer has most recently authored a book series called Figuring out Fluency in Mathematics K-12 and Math Fact Fluency: 60+ Games and Assessment Tools to Help Learning and Retention. For teacher leaders, she has authored Everything You Need for Mathematics Coaching. In the area of financial literacy, she authored a three-book series titled On the Money. Over the years, Jennifer has taught elementary, middle, and high school in the U.S. and in Peru. She continues to work with teachers around the world and in her local school districts to support their work. Jennifer has been actively involved in NCTM, NCSM, AMTE, and TODOS: Mathematics for All. Currently she is serving as an associate editor for Mathematics Teacher: Learning and Teaching in preK-12.

Lynn M. McGarvey is a professor of mathematics education at the University of Alberta. Her research focuses on the mathematical reasoning of young children. She has written many articles for research and professional audiences, particularly on the topics of algebraic thinking, spatial reasoning, and patterning in the early years. She is a long-time member of NCTM and has served on a number of task forces and committees, including as editorial panel chair for Teaching Children Mathematics. She is a former junior high school teacher who now spends a considerable amount of time working with children and teachers in preschool and primary grades. Lynn has taught mathematics curriculum and pedagogy courses to thousands of pre-service and in-service elementary teachers and has won multiple teaching awards for this work.

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