Word problems are a key part of rigorous standards everywhere, but teachers and students alike often dread tackling them.  Even textbooks sometimes save them for the bottom few problems on a page or a separate lesson toward the end of a chapter.  The thing is--word problems (at least good ones!) are the "real world" part of math.  One type of word problems,  comparison problems, can be particularly challenging for students.  Let's look at some teaching tips that might make them more accessible! 1.  Critical Reading of Math Problems As teachers, we should always be striving to help our students understand that the skills we are teaching are them are FOREVER...not just to complete a math page or worksheet.  One skill that we really want to make sure our students understand is the need to critically read math problems to figure out what is being asked, what information is given, and to make a plan for solving.  So often we do the thinking for our students.  Just look a...
Chances are, when you first started dreaming of becoming a teacher, your vision did not include excessive meetings, lots of data collection, and a clutter-filled classroom that caused you even more stress. Even if you were not picturing yourself as the proud owner of a space that looked like something Martha Stewart, Pinterest and Joanna Gaines collaboratively created, I would put money on the fact that you didn’t imagine frantically trying to find your students’ homework packets under the stack of assessments you didn’t have time to correct because you were too busy looking for the lesson plans you had placed down…somewhere.   And you certainly didn’t imagine you would be repeating this same scene every. single. day. for the better part of the school year. Are you finding yourself… A) staying later than you would prefer each afternoon (or let’s be honest, each evening)? B) walking into school each morning and feeling defeated by the site of your classroom bef...
It's difficult to keep students' "reading life" energized through the entire year. The beginning of the school year is the easiest, with bright eyes gazing into your newly introduced classroom library with excitement, hands barely able to hold back from grabbing books here and there. But after a few months, it's easy for students to slide into indifference toward their independent reading, especially if the contents of the classroom library and the routines surrounding it never change. In my (epic!) series of blog posts on how to make the most of your classroom library , I share gobs of practical ideas to keep your classroom library thriving , which in turn pumps life into students' independent reading. One of these ideas is to use a "Current Favorites" shelf. A "Current Favorites" shelf is a spot in your classroom where you keep your own personal favorite children's books. An important part of the idea is that the books change....
Teaching before a break or vacation is always difficult. We have came up with some strategies and activities on how to engage students before a vacation. We hope that you will be able to use some or all of the ideas! Journaling For most students a break from school is exciting. There are probably lots of things that they are looking forward to. Take this opportunity to have them journal about what they are looking forward to. Here would be some journal starters: Over break, one thing I am looking forward to is... because... During vacation, I plan on playing... because... I am excited to be able to.... over break because.... If there is one thing that I wish I could do over break, it would be... because... This activity could be as short as five to ten minutes, or you could turn it into thirty minutes or longer by adding some cool stationery for them to write on, or giving them to draw and color a picture about their break. You could also play some music in the back...
As soon as school resumes after the new year, teachers everywhere will be asking their students to write New Year's Resolutions!! I know this is something that I ask my students to do each and every year. For us, the new year is the start of our second semester. It is the perfect time to encourage students to set goals for the remainder of the school year!! This year when you are asking your students to write goals and resolutions, make sure that they are writing SMART resolutions. You can have students use this FREE organizer to make sure that their resolutions are S pecific, M easurable, A ttainable, R elevant, and T imely. When given the task to write resolutions for the New Year, students tend to stick with the same generic goals: Get better grades, work harder in school, improve my behavior, and so on! Using the SMART format encourages students to come up with resolutions that they can use to hold themselves accountable. Specific Students should be sure to c...
Technology can be awesome. It can help bring excitement to any subject, but it can also bring frustration if you don't take the time to review basic computer skills. In this blog post I will go over some basic skills that you should review before sending off students to complete digital assignments. I hope you find the free printables helpful. The problems: Students accidentally delete text boxes Students take too long copying and pasting images The solutions:  Students may not be aware of the 'magical' undo shortcut. If they accidentally delete an item, students can quickly use the undo shortcut or click the undo icon. Students can use the copy/paste shortcuts to quickly make copies of images. Click the image below to download a free printable with keyboard shortcuts. It includes both a Mac and Windows version.  Help students understand what their computer is doing by reviewing the many faces of a cursor icon. The cursor ico...
The drill and kill of multiplication facts can get old very quickly for students.  Especially those that struggle memorizing them.  Adding games into your math block will not only excite them, but provide great learning opportunities.   Here is a list of 5 multiplication games that are super easy to implement and require very little prep.  A win for both the teacher and the students! Games with Dominoes Ordering Products Students choose five dominoes, turn them over, and multiply each side together.   Order the products from least to greatest or greatest to least. Want to make it a game?  Partners order their dominos then find the difference between their greatest number and least number.  The partner with the greatest (or least) difference wins. Multiplication War Students begin with dominoes face down.   Each student chooses a domino. On the count of three, students turn over their domino and multiply the dots on one side by the dots on the o...