If you are already thinking about your classroom and gathering ideas on Pinterest for a classroom management system, this post is for you. We have rounded up some of our favorite back-to-school blog posts and put them in one spot for your ease and enjoyment. On Preparing your Mindset Prepare yourself to lead your classroom confidently and effectively. Back to school ...
Student Organization in Middle School
Do you struggle with student organization? When I taught high school students, students would throw away their papers as they left my room – IN FRONT OF ME. Has this happened to you? Today, I am sharing what student organization system has worked for me and how other teachers have students organize notes and other papers using Maneuvering the Middle ...
20 Must Have Teacher Supplies
If I had to draw one broad generalization about teachers, it would be that teachers love school supplies. To this day, I am exhilarated by walking down the school supply aisles. I have compiled a list of my favorite teacher supplies, all priced under $20. These are all supplies that I have found useful in my classroom, along with some great ideas for incorporating them. Some supplies ...
Smartphone and Social Media Solutions: What Teachers and Parents Can Do
Let's talk smartphones and social media solutions! Welcome to our book study on The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt! In part 1, I wrote about the harmful effects of smartphones, technology, and social media on today’s adolescence. Today I will be summarizing recommendations that the author outlines in the books for what we can do as parents, teachers, and schools to combat ...
Smartphones, Social Media, and Student Minds
Smartphones, social media, and student minds - let's talk about it! The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt was recommended to me in a Parenting in a Tech World Facebook group. I purchased the book and put it on my shelf vowing to read it when my 1st grader was a little older. Fast forward to a few weeks ago, said 1st grader asked me what TikTok was. “Where did you hear that ...
The Pros and Cons of Advanced Math
In 2023, Texas passed a law requiring school districts to develop an advanced math program for middle school students that enables students to enroll in Algebra I in 8th grade. If you work backwards, that means students would be responsible for learning 6th, 7th, and 8th grade standards in just a two-year period. Let’s talk about the pros and cons of this, and what Maneuvering the ...
How to Use Our Middle School Math Test Prep Unit
Middle school math test prep season is upon us! Maneuvering the Middle’s test prep unit literally saved me for the 4 years I used it, so I thought I would share what’s included with some ideas for using it in your classroom. Update: Maneuvering the Middle has updated their test prep units, so keep reading to learn what's new!Hopefully, these components will help streamline your test ...
Grouping Students in Math
Grouping students in math can be a very complex process. If you take all the factors that are necessary for a group to function…personality, math ability, and ability to work in a group together, then you may find that no perfect combination exists. Here are some reasons you may decide to group students: Regardless of your beliefs, let’s talk about the pros and cons of ...
Mean, Median, and Mode: Teaching Measures of Center
Mean, median, and mode - my favorite measures of center! Let’s discuss this 6th and 7th grade skill as well as tips for teaching and real-life applications. Vertical Alignment 6th Grade Standards - Understand that a set of data collected to answer a statistical question has a distribution which can be described by its center, spread, and overall shape. 6.SP.2 Summarize ...
4 Division Strategies for 5th Grade
I will never forget my first day learning long division in third grade – the multiple steps, the division, followed by multiplication…then subtraction?? What? Fortunately, while that is the only way I ever learned division, there are now numerous other options for division, so students can feel successful. And though I believe the standard division algorithm is a necessity for math, ...