Customer Reviews

Every Minute Counts: Making Your Math Class Work

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is one of the most informative books that I have read addressing how to keep a class on track. It gives ideas for class interaction, homework, quizzes, group work, and others. I have found his ideas very helpful, this being my first year of teaching. There are also two more books that follow.

I read this book about 11 years ago before I started teaching, and this little booklet has influenced my teaching more than anything else I have read. I credit this book with much of the success I have had as a teacher.

Follow Mr. Johnson's classroom organization and teaching philosophy and you will have a math class that works. He tells you how to start your class on time with the bell and have nonstop learning the entire period. The books are very short (66-98pages) but packed with techniques you can use right away.
You can use his techniques on any grade level and with any subject, not just math.

i've read books on classroom management, on how to handle the work load, and how to interact with my students, but his is one of the few books that has managed to answer all my questions, in under 100 pages. i read this book in one sitting, and it has revolutionized the way i teach my classroom. my colleagues come to my class, and wonder where i got such great ideas--that's when i loan them my well-worn copy of this book.

This book, and its sequel, Making Minutes Count Even More, are full of effective techniques and startegied for helping you to be a more effective math teacher. My copies were given to me when I was a fairly new teacher and they helped me immensely. I've recently lent my copies to a new teacher at our school. Every new math teacher should read these, and even experienced teachers will find useful techniques and ideas.

If I could read only one book on pedagogy in my lifetime, this would be it. I urge you to believe the hype.

I doubt that any semester-long course in pedagogy at an ed school could be as useful as this slim 60 page book. Johnson's suggestions are practical, intelligent, and easy to understand.

After I read this book, I realized that my HS calculus teacher clearly had read Johnson's books and followed his recommendations to the letter. That class was one of the best courses I have ever taken. Ten years later I can still nail any calculus problem you care to give me (okay, except for some of the hairier integrals) because the techniques in this book are just that good.

Buy it.

I am going on my 9th year in education, and I have never read a book or article that covered so many details of classroom instruction. If you are looking to find tips that will give you bang for your buck, then read this book. It is taylored specifically to mathematics, which is refreshing (and unusual), but many of the methods could be applied to other disciplines as well. This book is completely worth it!!

I am not as thrilled with the follow up books. All good, but this is the gem that works in all subjects with a bit of thinking and adaptation. Saves time for the teacher. As important, it enhances effectiveness and helps student-center your approach in all the right directions. Buy it, love it, loan it around! Let's hope this rare gem never goes out of print!!

I read this book at least once a year and learn new things every time. I just finished it for this year last month and implemented new things in my classroom that makes it even MORE efficent than it was last year. These ideas helped me spend more time teaching in my classroom.

With 11 5-star reviews all stating that this book transformed their classroom, I was eager to read it. In the half-hour it took to read it, I learned nothing. I know this book is old so maybe it was ground-breaking for its time, but there is nothing in here that current teachers shouldn't already know. Also, the ideas described in this book are all based on a textbook-driven, lecture-centered environment. Yes, the author tells you to have students complete each step before the teacher so that there is more student work time to break up the lecture, but it still describes a traditional classroom.

Give bellwork. State the objective. Ask open-ended questions. Ask why. Have other students elaborate. Have all students work on the same problem while you circulate. Have students correct their own work. Teach students how to take notes and do notebook checks. That's it. Now you don't have to buy the book.

If you are stuck in a rut of a long homework correction time followed by a lecture, followed by independent practice, this book may help you, but there are many more teaching books for the same price or less that go into great detail about how to make your classes more student-centered and meaningful.

This book is Teaching 101. Not worth the money.