AMP21 Books
Dr. Kenneth Chelst
Founder and Author of AMP21
Middle School Textbooks
To request a Teacher's Edition, please email kchelst@wayne.edu
From Percentages to Algebra: Using Authentic Problem Contexts
This text is all about percentages, a common measure of performance in diverse settings. Working with percentages is an important element of the PSAT/SAT Math test which includes multi-step applications that use ratios, percentages, and proportional reasoning to solve problems in science, social science, and other real-life situations. When do students practice these skills? This book contains fifteen scenarios where students analyze, problem solve, make decisions and model situations mathematically. The scenarios include stepping stones to algebra where students transition from percentages to writing expressions involving a variable, to solving simple algebraic equations. Each scenario requires the habits of mind supported in the mathematical practices: persevering, constructing viable arguments, reasoning abstractly and quantitatively, and modeling with mathematics.
From Rates to Algebra: Using Authentic Problem Contexts
From Rates to Algebra supports teachers in engaging students with real-world, multi-step math problems that mirror the complexity of decisions made in business, science, and government. Aligned with PSAT/SAT standards, the book helps build skills in Problem Solving and Data Analysis, Heart of Algebra, and Passport to Advanced Math through meaningful scenarios that require students to model, analyze, and make data-driven decisions. Lessons guide students from working with rates to forming and solving algebraic expressions, often using graphs and tables. Each activity includes a teacher guide with a Number Talk, follows the Launch-Explore-Summary framework, and encourages collaborative discussion and critical thinking. Designed for flexibility, the activities typically span one to two class periods and adapt easily to different classroom settings.
High School Textbooks
To request a Teacher's Edition, please email kchelst@wayne.edu
Mathematical Modeling with Algebra
This book is all about solving authentic problems in real word contexts. The contexts have been chosen with two goals in mind: 1) To resonate with high school students’ interests, and 2) to demonstrate the broad applicability of mathematics. Each context meets at least one of these goals, and some meet both goals. Embedded in each context is some sort of decision so that students are introduced to mathematics as a decision-making tool. The contexts are varied and include choosing the best wireless plan, optimizing production at a skateboard factory, minimizing the cost of reducing pollutants, scheduling workers in a pizzeria, choosing the right mix of colleges to apply to, and finding the best location for a disaster response facility. Throughout the book, students will be making sense of problems, persevering in their solution, mathematically modeling real-world contexts, using appropriate tools when necessary, and attending to the precision of results.
Mathematical Modeling with Probability
This book analyzes authentic decision problems in meaningful contexts that involve randomness. It uses basic probability concepts as well as probability distributions to model a wide range of scenarios that involve uncertainty. These include managing customer service phone lines, buying collision insurance, analyzing the pattern of space shuttle disasters, dealing with absenteeism, scheduling a health care clinic, and improving graduation rates. The contexts have been chosen to align with high school students’ interests and/or demonstrate the broad applicability of mathematics. Embedded in each context is some decision so that students are introduced to mathematics as a decision-making tool. Throughout the book, students will make sense of problems, persevere in their solution, mathematically model real-world contexts, and use appropriate tools when necessary. A key aspect of this probability text is that students will simulate probabilistic situations with random number generators to develop intuition as to the nature of randomness.