3 Simple Steps to Teaching Classroom Routines in Math
Teaching Classroom Routines will create a student centered classroom community that will engage your students for the entire year. In the analogy of building a student centered math class is just like a house, we are in step 2- the structure. When you’re building a house first you need a solid foundation. In this case, […]
Math Stories: Using Our Pasts to Empower Students
Reflecting on our math stories can help us analyze how we got to where we are in math. Our past experiences, current mindset about teaching are all part of our math stories. Our Math Stories: Past, Present, & Future Let’s start by reflecting on where’ve we’ve been, our past. What memories do you have of […]
Daily (Morning) Meetings
Our daily meeting is by far my most favorite way to start the day. I love sitting down next to my students in a circle. Spending time checking- in and “seeing” each other before we jump into the busy day of learning and work. This special time, each day, allows us to learn about how […]
Parent Communication- Newsletters
Do you send out a newsletter? Monthly? Weekly? Bi-weekly? I’ll be honest, I always struggle to be consistent with a newsletter. It gets to a point in the year when I think to myself, is anyone really reading this? The answer is always yes. So, I’m going to share with you my best tips to […]
I’m Obsessed with Circles
I’m obsessed with circles. It’s true. When I started having my students sit in a circle my teaching changed and learning increased. What? Just a circle on the rug? I’m literally talking about just changing from having students sit in rows to sitting in a circle. That being said, I’ve always had rectangular carpets in […]
Me Museum: A Back To School Activity
July is almost over and all I can think about it what will our first week look like? We recently got word that we will start doing digital learning. We will have 2 weeks to build our classroom communities online. In addition to building community, we will use this time to teach students how to […]
Self Assessment– Levels of Understanding
Have you ever wondered how you can get your students to care about their grades? I wonder, have you taught them what their grades mean? As a class, have you walked through what it looks like to meet the goal, or be skill developing in a skill? Self assessment is a key part of establishing […]
Math Attitude Survey
Got a math ‘tude? Let’s face it we ALL do. Read how I start the school year by helping my students face their math story and begin to rewrite it.
Apologies Have 4 Parts
What do you mean 4 Parts?! We’ve all heard someone (or maybe it was us?!) tell a child to “say sorry”. The kid quickly, or begrudgingly, forks out a “SORRY!” along with a facial expression that clearly communicates the child is not in support of the words coming out of their mouth. We use 4 […]
End of the First Day
Are you wondering about the first day of school? The school year JUST ended and I’m already wondering what the first day will look like (thanks global pandemic). The anticipation we all feel for the first day is… special. It doesn’t matter if it is your first year or 10th year, virtual or in person […]