This year is year four for me using Google Classroom, and every year I learn a little more and do a little more!  A few months ago, I took the plunge and took the exam to become a Google Certified Educator and am glad that I did so. Whether you are just getting started with Google Classroom or have been using it for a while, there is always something new that may come in handy! Below I have compiled 10 ideas that you can start to use in the Google Classroom today. 1.  Create Classroom for Subjects I teach 3rd grade, so I have 6 separate classes set up.  I have a class set up for each subject:  Reading, Writing, Word Work, Math, Science, and Social Studies.  This allows me to easily include links, assignments, and post questions for each specific subject.  For example, when we are doing Math, my students know that all related resources are found in the Math classroom.   2.  Exit Slips Take the paper out of exit slips.  After......

Let's face it.  We all want engaging ideas for teaching elementary math and reinforcing numeracy, but students come to us in so many different ways that it can be hard to meet all of their needs at the same time.  But what if I told you that meeting those diverse student needs and getting them engaged isn't as tall of an order as you think?  (And no, the solution here isn't to clone yourself a few times so you can sit with all of your students and give simultaneous one-on-one instruction...even though that sounds pretty cool.) The solution is math centers ! Let me read your mind for a second and recite some of the common gripes about centers: they're a time sink, they can be super frustrating to organize and do, students constantly interrupt your teacher led group  I know exactly how you feel, because I've had some of those gripes too! Sure, everyone would love to have fun, math-tastic centers that make even the most number-phobic students engaged, but ......

Math centers are a large component of guided math, but in order to differentiate and meet the needs of our students on a daily basis, creating and keeping up with math centers can be so time consuming.   So, how can you simplify math centers in order to make them realistically manageable?   Here’s my solution:   GO DIGITAL! Technically, what constitutes a math center?   Math centers provide opportunities for student to practice skills that have been previously taught.   That's it!   There are an abundance of printable math center available.   I love them, because I just love making things cute.   What I have noticed though, is that I can’t keep up with the demands of putting them together.   I have to print them, cut them out, laminate them (I don’t want to have to start the process over again), and then store them.   It’s all so time consuming, and I always feel that I’m behind.   I’ve discovered ......

tw When it comes to math, geometry seems to be in a whole different league. Some kids fall in love with it instantly, while it seems challenging for other kids. One of the great things about geometry is that there are so many hands-on activities we can provide for our students, which makes it lots of fun! Here are some of my favorite geometry activities: 1. Start With Shapes I like to have students start with shapes they've known since they were tiny, like triangles, squares, and circles. We draw these on whiteboards as a whole class. Next we draw the more advanced shapes like pentagons, hexagons, octagons, trapezoids, and even the rhombus! This brings us to a discussion of polygons and we can classify shapes that way. Besides whiteboards, there are lots of ways for kids to work with shapes, like Popsicle sticks (which are also great to use to illustrate lines like parallel, intersecting, and perpendicular), LEGOS, Geoboards, and even clothespins which can be clipped t......