This set of six books is designed to support the implementation of NCTM’s Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics. The books range in length from 56 to 95 pages and provide specific activities that illustrate how the NCTM Standards can be put into practice in middle school mathematics classrooms.

This set of materials for grades 5-8 is part of a larger series that includes books for grades K-6 and 9-12. According to the editor, the purpose of these texts is "to provide teachers with ideas and materials to support the implementation of the Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics" (p. v, all books). The books are intended to "present several topics and activities to exemplify the ideas advocated in the Curriculum and Evaluation Standards and...provide examples to help students make the transition from elementary to high school mathematics" (p. v, all books). The authors suggest that "the Addenda Series is appropriate for use in in-service staff development as well as for use in preservice courses in teacher education programs" (p. iv, all books). Mathematics teachers of grades 5-8 as well as supervisors, curriculum developers, professional developers, and teacher educators would benefit from using these materials.

The Addenda Series for grades 5-8 consists of six books that clarify and illustrate how the NCTM Standards can be implemented in the classroom. The six books in the series each deal with a different strand of the middle school mathematics curriculum: data and chance, number sense, geometry, measurement, patterns and functions, or rational numbers and proportions. Each book includes a discussion of the topic and multiple teaching activities to develop understanding of that topic.

The activities are thoroughly described with necessary materials listed and the mathematical concepts of the activity clearly explained. Margin notes give additional information on the activities and on how the NCTM process standards are incorporated into the teaching of the topic, along with space for teachers to make their own notes. Various visual representations such as charts, diagrams, photographs of students working, and graphics of children doing the activities are evident throughout the books to help clarify activities for the reader. Blackline masters are included of all necessary handouts to support the activities.

The books in this series provide practical teaching ideas focused on helping students develop conceptual understanding of important topics in the middle school mathematics curriculum. The activities are set in meaningful contexts and involve students in understanding mathematical concepts and developing problem solving skills. The activities are also designed to encourage students to make connections to other areas of mathematics, to other disciplines, and to the real world.

These materials provide a rich selection of ideas and activities that individual teachers could implement immediately. Each book in the series could also be the focus of a professional development session or sessions. One reviewer suggested that the participants experience selected activities as their students would, try the activities in their classrooms, and then meet again to reflect on their experiences. The entire series could also be used in a university course on methods of teaching mathematics to help students envision how the NCTM Standards can be implemented in the classroom and begin to build a repertoire of standards-based activities.

Reviewers noted that, although this series is based on the 1989 Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics, it remains extremely relevant and effective for implementing the 2000 version of the NCTM Standards.