Proactive Mathematics Interventions, Grades 2-5 : Priming for Success Through Engaging Tasks and Purposeful Design

Shifting from remediation to preparation so all students can thrive in mathematics

Traditional math interventions often focus on remediation, addressing gaps only after students have fallen behind. Proactive Mathematics Interventions, Grades 2–5: Priming for Success Through Engaging Tasks and Purposeful Design presents a game-changing approach that shifts the focus from "fixing kids" to fixing systems. Designed with a strengths-based perspective, this resource equips educators to prime students for success by preparing them with the foundational skills and confidence needed for grade-level success and beyond.

Grounded in the latest research, the book tackles critical challenges such as systemic inequities, math anxiety, and gaps in student readiness. By integrating formative assessment, asset-based strategies, and practical intervention tasks, this comprehensive guide supports teachers, math coaches, interventionists, and school leaders to create proactive systems that meet every learner where they’re at.

Packed with 40+ adaptable tasks, more than 100 printable instructional resources, and actionable strategies, this guide

• Provides a strength-based intervention model to help uncover and build on students’ existing strengths to cultivate their mathematical confidence
• Gives step-by-step guidance on creating a proactive intervention system―from collaborative planning to formative assessment
• Includes engaging and adaptable low-floor, high-ceiling tasks to support grade-level instruction on critical mathematical topics.
• Offers voices from the field with real-life success stories from educators implementing proactive strategies in their classrooms, their intervention sessions, and their tutoring sessions.

Start transforming your approach to intervention today to make a lasting impact on your student′s mathematical successes and identities. This is a must-have tool for educators committed to addressing inequities and redefining intervention, this book ensures every student can be a confident, capable doer of mathematics.

Karen S. Karp is a mathematics educator who focuses on the intersection of mathematics education and special education. She is a former professor at Johns Hopkins University and at the University of Louisville, where she is professor emerita. Early in her career, she received a Development Award from the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation to support more seamless integration between general education and special education. She is the author or co-author of numerous publications including Assisting Students Struggling With Mathematics: Intervention in the Elementary Grades and Elementary and Middle School Mathematics. Karen was on the writing team of the NCTM/CEC joint position statement on Teaching Mathematics to Students with Learning Disabilities. In 2024, she chaired the Topic Study Group on Teaching Mathematics to Students with Special Needs at the International Congress on Mathematical Education in Australia. She holds teaching/administrative certifications in elementary education, secondary mathematics, K–12 special education, and K–12 educational administration.

Francis (Skip) Fennell is professor of education and Graduate and Professional Studies, emeritus at McDaniel College in Maryland. He is a former classroom teacher, principal, and supervisor of instruction, and past president of the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE), the Research Council on Mathematics Learning (RCML), and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). He is a recipient of the Mathematics Educator of the Year Award from the Maryland Council of Teachers of Mathematics (MCTM), the Glenn Gilbert National Leadership Award from NCSM: Leadership in Mathematics Education, the Excellence in Leadership and Service in Mathematics Teacher Education Award from AMTE, the James Heddens Distinguished Service Award from RCML, and Lifetime Achievement Awards from both MCTM and NCTM. Skip’s many publications including Achieving Fluency: Special Education and Mathematics (NCTM, 2011), and The Formative 5: In Action (Corwin, 2024) have been influenced by his classroom experiences and decades long focus on assessment, number sense, fractions, elementary mathematics specialists and teacher education.

Beth McCord Kobett serves as Professor and Dean in the School of Education at Stevenson University, where she works closely with early childhood, elementary, and middle school preservice teachers. She brings experience as a classroom teacher, mathematics specialist, and university supervisor.  Beth served on the NCTM Board and served as president of Association of Maryland Mathematics Teacher Educators. Beth has authored ten mathematics education books and supports professional learning efforts nationwide. She has been honored with awards such as the MCTM Mathematics Educator of the Year and Stevenson’s Rose Dawson Award for Excellence in Teaching. Deeply committed to her students, she strives to create a supportive, strengths-based learning environment that fosters curiosity, collaboration, and meaningful growth. 

Delise Andrews is the 3-5 Mathematics Coordinator for Lincoln Public Schools in Lincoln, Nebraska. During her career, she has worked in both rural and urban districts and has taught mathematics to students at every age from Kindergarten through the 8th grade, undergraduate mathematics methods and mathematics content courses for pre-service teachers, and graduate level courses for teachers of mathematics. Delise is a recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching and is a Robert Noyce Master Teaching Fellow. Delise is an active member of the NCTM, serving as a past member and chair of the Professional Development Services Committee, member of regional conference committees, chair of the St. Louis annual conference committee, Professional Services facilitator, and Associate Editor for the Mathematics Teacher: Learning and Teaching K-12 journal. She is a co-author of the Grades K-1 and Grades 4-5 books in the Classroom Ready Rich Math Tasks: Engaging Students in Doing Math series.

Jennifer Suh is a mathematics educator at George Mason University, leading efforts to enhance K-8 math instruction through strength-based formative assessments and bridging activities. In partnership with the Virginia Department of Education, her project, Bridging for Math Strength, focuses on using rich mathematics tasks across grade levels, unpacking the learning progression to enhance teaching and learning. Jennifer uses this project for math intervention and multi-tiered instruction, working closely with special education and general education math teachers to meet diverse learners′ needs. She directs the Center for Outreach in Mathematics Professional Learning and Educational Technology (COMPLETE), conducting Lesson Study in schools emphasizing problem-based tasks to promote equitable access to 21st-century skills, including creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration, particularly for diverse student populations.