The Best Books For Math Teachers Effortless Math

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Oct 30, 2025, 1:01 AM

the best books for math teachers effortless math

Whether you’re a seasoned math teacher or just starting, there is always something new to learn in the world of math. You can enhance your skills on topics you already know, learn something new so you can change what grades you teach math, or you can even learn a new way to teach your math... The biggest problem you’ll find isn’t that there is a lack of books available, but there are too many. So you need a way to buy the best books for math teachers without spending too much money or wasting money on books that aren’t going to meet your needs. You’re already busy spending your day teaching students, and your after-hours are probably spent grading papers or creating lesson plans for your next math class. So we’ve provided a selection of the best books for math teachers so you can quickly buy, study, and start implementing your new knowledge.

Keep reading so you can get the skills you need in the most effective and fastest way possible. By Med Kharbach, PhD | Published: June 18, 2023 | Updated: June 6, 2024 Books for math teachers is the topic of our blog post today! Now, I know what you’re thinking—I’m more at home dissecting sentence structures than quadratic equations. That’s right, my wheelhouse is language, but I’ve donned my researcher cap to curate a list that’ll have every math teacher reaching for their “#1 Teacher” mugs. Why?

Because great teaching knows no boundaries and I wanted to delve into what makes math classrooms tick. After sifting through top-ranking lists, diving into reviews, and even picking the brains of some math-savvy colleagues, I’ve put together a collection of books that are making waves in math education. These reads range from exploring the cognitive science behind math learning to giving you hands-on activities that even Pythagoras would high-five you for. So even if you, like me, have felt that math is like a foreign language, these books aim to make it a universal one. Whether you’re a math teacher, or just math-curious like me, you’re going to find something in this list to spark your interest and maybe even improve your craft. Teaching practices, standards, and technology are constantly changing and evolving in education – especially the math classroom.

If you are looking for professional development books for math teachers to enhance your math instruction, then I highly recommend starting with these six books. There are SO many books out there, but I reference these books often and use their practices daily. This is a list of my favorite books that are useful in any math classroom and teachers can implement immediately. Some of these links are affiliate links. That means I receive a commission at no extra cost to you. I am a learner along with my students and I will research and change my practices to meet the needs of my current students.

How I learned in school may not be the best practice for teaching my students in today’s world. Teachers should always strive to improve their craft. The day I feel like I have perfected my instruction should be the day I leave the classroom because there is always room for improvement. In Mathematical Mindsets, Jo Boaler uses brain science to show how our attitudes and approaches matter when learning math. If you’ve wanted to instill a growth mindset in your students, this is the book to read. This book helped me realize the importance of mistakes and working through struggles.

It made me want to provide experiences for my own students to change their mindset about math. The book can help any math teacher create a positive, encouraging classroom. Our approach to teaching is transformed when we know that every student can learn math. It helps us value the different ideas of students. We can encourage students to think deeper rather than calculating faster, and we can help them see themselves as mathematical thinkers. I love Jo Boaler’s enthusiasm for math.

The examples in the book show the importance of creativity and thinking outside the box. The book has lots of tasks and ideas that any math teacher could use. If you teach students who lack fluency and want a real solution, this is the book for you. When I first heard about Number Talks routines, I only saw them being used with elementary students. I wasn’t sure if it was something that would work with middle and high school students (but I had so many older students that lacked number sense and fluency). Making Number Talks Matter is intended for teachers of grades 4-10.

It gives a guide for establishing Number Talks in your classroom. This is by far the best mathematics teaching resource book that has been written in many years. It is an easy read of only 115 pages with many practical classroom and teacher examples. The best part is it was NOT written by a single author from a single point of view. It was written by multiple authors who are all recognized as some of the best math education experts in the field right now. To get so many math education experts to agree on anything tells you the power of this book.

Best of all it is research based. The last 20 pages of the book lists all the research that was used to write and justify what is said in the book! It can be downloaded from http://www.nctm.org for only $4.99. Principles to Actions: Ensuring Mathematical Success for All offers guidance to teachers, specialists, coaches, administrators, policymakers, and parents: Builds on the Principles articulated in Principles and Standards for School Mathematics to present six updated Guiding Principles for School Mathematics Supports the first Guiding Principle, Teaching and Learning, with eight essential, research-based Mathematics Teaching Practices

INSIDE: Looking to relax and grow as an educator this summer? These professional development books for math teachers are perfect beach reads! Are you a math teacher who finds it hard to fully shut off your “teacher brain” during summer break? If so, you’re not alone—and you’re in the right place! Summer is the perfect time to recharge and refresh your practice with some inspiring math professional development books for teachers. If you’ve ever wondered why professional development is important for teachers, especially during downtime like summer, the answer is simple: growth never stops.

I’ve compiled a list of my favorite professional development books for teaching math that are not only informative but also engaging enough to enjoy while lounging by the pool or catching some sun at... These books have greatly influenced my career as a math teacher, and I hope you find a new book to add to your reading collection. (Note: The links included in this post are NOT Amazon Affiliate links.) Of all the professional development books for math teachers that I own, this one was my biggest influence and inspiration at the beginning of my teaching career. No other book I own has more highlighting, notes, and is more well-loved than Teaching Student-Centered Mathematics. It shaped how I structured my lessons by focusing on developing conceptual and relational understanding before teaching mathematical procedures.

In fact, procedures often didn’t need to be explicitly taught, as students usually discovered them on their own through various investigative tasks. Many of the activities I have created over the years are directly based on the ideas discussed in this book. Teaching Student Centered Mathematics is broken into two parts: May 18, 2019 Chris Skierski Math Teaching Resources 2 Teachers are always looking to improve their craft, and there are a ton of resources out there. But finding the time to weed through them all, so that you know which ones will be the most benefit for you can be time consuming.

So I have this list of 5 books for math teachers that will guide you through actionable steps to help improve your math teaching. All 5 books are extremely practical, and easy to begin implementing immediately. Unleashing Student Potential through Creative Math, Inspiring Messages, and Innovative Teaching One of the most popular books for math teachers around the globe, no doubt you have heard of it. But have you read it yet? If not, you should.

The Best Books For Math Teachers Effortless Math

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