Ideas + Resources + More for the 5th - 8th Grade Math Classroom
I take some time every year (usually around the second week of school) to send emails to the parents/guardians of all of my students. It’s a good way to open the lines of communication on a positive note. I don’t write lengthy notes, basically just a quick hello; something similar to this: Dear Mr. andRead more about Parent-Teacher Communication: Getting Off On The Right Foot[…]
With all the buzz on interactive notebooks lately, I thought I’d share how I do notebooks in my math classes for people who are looking for an alternative to cutting and pasting foldables into a notebook. I have gone back and forth a few times between having my students use binders or notebooks, but forRead more about Ideas for Setting Up Math Notebooks[…]
Organization has never been my strength as a teacher…(it’s a rare day when my desk isn’t covered in papers)…but every year I get a little bit better about it. It only took me 6 years to get my dismissal routine organized in a way I am happy with! I’m not sure how dismissal works atRead more about Tips for an Organized Dismissal Time[…]
“When am I ever going to use this?” It’s the question every math teacher is asked, and while it may be annoying to hear, it is a good, valid question. It’s important for students to understand the reasons behind the math they are learning and that they know how to apply it to real-world situations. Read more about Making Middle School Students Better Problem Solvers[…]
As it is almost time to start preparing classrooms for the coming school year, I thought I would share my top 10 list of things I couldn’t live without as a middle school math teacher. 10. Class sets of rulers, protractors, and compasses We don’t use these all that often but they definitely come inRead more about Top 10 Things Every Middle School Math Teacher Should Have For Their Classroom[…]
One of the things that is new to me this school year is that my classes are now 1:1, as each of my students has their own chromebook. I love the fact that I have that technology available to me and there are lots of different things that I have students do online, but myRead more about Daily Warm-ups for the 1:1 Classroom[…]
After one week in school (well, actually 4 days), I thought I’d share how my school year is going so far. The first day of school was spent mainly with my homeroom. I did the “who am I” getting to know you activity with the class that I described in this blog post. The kidsRead more about First Week Reflections[…]
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[…]
