ABSTRACT
The projects including Connected Mathematics, Mathematics in Context, and Six Through Eight Mathematics (published as MATH Thematics) have developed curricula intended to foster significant mathematics learning for all middle-grades students. These programs are designed to support and extend the experiences encountered by students in elementary schools and to serve as a bridge between middle school mathematics and more formal and rigorous high school mathematics. Influenced largely by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Standards, the content in all three curricula is very similar. From the onset, each middle-grades project was committed to developing a comprehensive mathematics curriculum, featuring rich topics and connections not typically addressed in traditional middle school curricula. Preservice teachers should compare Standards-based curricula with more traditional texts; they should explore the depth of the mathematics found in Standards-based curricula to extend their own understanding of mathematics.
