Ideas + Resources + More for the 5th - 8th Grade Math Classroom
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[…]
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[…]
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[…]
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[…]
