Ideas + Resources + More for the 5th - 8th Grade Math Classroom
Happy Labor Day! Tomorrow is my first day back at school so I figured I would write one more summer blog post about how I am getting organized for this school year. Today’s post is about one of those simple organizational ideas that I probably should have come up with 5 or 6 years agoRead more about Assignment Checklists[…]
One of the comments I hear year after year from students and their parents alike is “you can’t study for math – you either know it or you don’t”. After hearing that comment over and over again I decided a couple of years ago to address that misconception at the very beginning of the yearRead more about Studying for Math Tests[…]
As pretty much any teacher would say, it can’t be stressed enough just how important it is to set clear expectations for your students from the first day of school. This includes expectations for behavior and routines in the classroom, as well as academic expectations. Over the years I have revised the way that IRead more about Making Expectations Clear from the Very Beginning[…]
Organization is probably the thing I struggle with most as a teacher. My method (or lack thereof) of keeping track of homework is something that I know I need to reorganize this year. I am happy with my homework policy as a whole, but just need to change the way I keep track of whoRead more about Keeping Track of Homework[…]
Something that I love to do in my math classroom is play games! Games keep the kids interested and are a sneaky way to reinforce concepts or make them think critically while they are having fun. I play lots of different games with my classes – mini whiteboard games, card games, game show games, andRead more about Games in the Math Classroom – Noggle[…]
Each summer I like to take time to reflect on the past school year…what went well and what I would like to change for the coming school year. I decided that this year I will share these reflections on my blog, so each of my next several posts will include ideas for the upcoming schoolRead more about Back to School Icebreaker Idea for Middle School[…]
I was at a meeting today where we were discussing some of the challenges that we face as math educators and things that we can do to help boost student achievement. One of the things that was brought up at the meeting was parental involvement in children’s learning of math. Many of our students’ parentsRead more about How Parents Can Help their Middle School Children Succeed in Math[…]
Pi Day (March 14th) is fast approaching!! With standardized testing all week, I really haven’t been doing much teaching, so I thought it would be fun to share how I plan to celebrate the biggest math holiday of the year with my classes next week… My Pi Day celebration begins withRead more about Pi Day: Ideas for celebrating 3.14[…]
Let me start by stating for the record that I HATE STANDARDIZED TESTS! Growing up I didn’t mind them at all. I didn’t find them stressful and I always did extremely well on them. I didn’t start hating standardized tests until I did my Junior Field Experience at a “struggling” middle school that had toRead more about Test Prep: Doesn’t Have to Be a Big Deal[…]
“What’s my average?” I can’t even tell you how many times I get asked that question by my students. In one sense, it’s great that the students care about their grades. On the other hand, this question drives me crazy…and it’s my own fault. My first 2 years teaching, I had each of my studentsRead more about Understanding Grades[…]
