Fact-filled textbooks that stress memorization and drilling are not very good for teaching students how to think mathematically and solve problems. But this is a book that comes to the rescue with an instructional approach that helps students in every grade level truly understand math concepts so they can apply them on high-stakes assessments, across the curriculum, and outside of school. Author Meir Ben-Hur--a veteran math teacher and trainer with more than 30 years' experience--guides the reader through teaching practices and lesson ideas that give students a stronger foundation for reasoning and problem solving. The book uses familiar classroom anecdotes and lots of sample problems to explain: (1) Why math instruction should capitalize on the learning of core concepts; (2) How to plan instructional sequences that build on what students already understand about math; and (3) Why it is important to engage students in discussing, analyzing, and reflecting on math concepts. Mixing tried-and-true practices with the latest research on learning, this book is loaded with lots of valuable teaching tips to use right away: (1) The right amount of time to devote to practicing a new procedure; (2) How to match the level of task difficulty to student abilities; (3) Why student errors are clues to common misconceptions about math; and (4) How to use a variety of formative assessment methods to reveal the state of students' learning. After a foreword, this book is organized into the following chapters: (1) Conceptual Understanding; (2) Concept-Rich Instruction; (3) Misconceptions; (4) Solving Problems Mathematically; and (5) Assessment. Appended are: (1) Description of Teacher Activity; and (2) Major Mathematical Concepts for Grades 6-8. The book also contains: References; Afterword; About the Author; Related ASCD Resources: Concept-Rich Mathematics Instruction; and An ASCD Study Guide for Concept-Rich Mathematics Instruction Building a Strong Foundation for Reasoning and Problem-Solving.