It’s no secret that addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division word problems present a considerable challenge to students. Students often rush through word problems and immediately try to find an answer, rather than thinking about the meaning of the problem. Students see a word problem and want to immediately grab the numbers and do something with […]
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These number sense activities are a blast for students! Most upper elementary teachers notice a lack of number sense in their students, and that lack of number sense makes high levels of math extremely difficult for children. We’ve all seen the blank stares when students are not able to grasp or connect to the concept
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I was right in the middle of grading papers during my planning when I overheard the fifth grade math teacher across the hall. Keep in mind this is a regular occurrence. I love her dearly, but she does have a tendency to get excited and…a bit…loud while teaching. She asked a student (one of mine
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Strategies for multiplication are so important for students. As a math teacher, multiplication facts have always been a source of concern. We know that a deep understanding of multiplication is essential for students, but there is also need for students to have at least a moderate (ideally more) memorization of multiplication facts, as well as
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Do you have any topics that you teach and you teach, but you never feel like your students really “get it”? Or, do you have any standards that you never feel like you have time to teach? I’ll be the first person to acknowledge that I do. It’s just one of those things that comes
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The first few days of school are crucial for developing the classroom routines and procedures that will guide the class for the rest of the school year. This is especially true for your math instruction. The very first day or two of school, I focus on general classroom routines and procedures and move into content
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When I first started teaching I needed (wanted) all the math manipulatives. My mission in life was to have as many manipulatives as possible. Because more = better. Right? Not really. I found myself going back to the same math manipulatives over and over again, while the others that I worked so hard to obtain collected
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When you teach upper elementary math, teaching addition and subtraction can be….awkward. Generally speaking, your students already understand the concept. Whether you want them to or not, they know and use the standard algorithm. Of course, there are some students who have not yet mastered the algorithm, and those students need small group instruction. But
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The first 30 days of school are never easy. In fact some might call those days exhausting and overwhelming. And that’s when we know what to expect and what to plan for. With talks about distance learning, alternative schedules, and hybrid models, this school year may be a whole other ballgame. Yikes! To help you
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There are so many fun and engaging place value worksheets, resources, and lessons to incorporate into the classroom that it’s hard to find time to squeeze it all in. In this post, you can learn more about supplemental place value worksheets and activities that can be added to your place value unit. Emoji Place Value
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