Incentives for middle school are vital for your classroom! In the early months of my first year of teaching, class periods competed for points that were awarded based on seamless transitions, highest test averages, and being on task. While my students were working on earning points, I had learned that the cupcake reward was not feasible due to a school policy. *Cue palm to ...
Keeping Up with Absent Students
Absent students - it’s that time of year! Managing absent students’ make-up work, incoming parent emails, catching them up when they return - it is a lot! (In fact, as I write this post, my daughter is missing school due to Flu A and strep.) Here are some tips for preparing for all the inevitable, seasonal absences. Stay On Top of Planning This is my advice for just about ...
Step-by-Step Vertical Alignment
Vertical alignment - let's discuss how to vertically align curriculum in a professional learning community. VERTICAL ALIGNMENT FIRSTHAND It was the beginning of my second year of teaching and my first year in sixth grade. I clearly remember thinking, “I should do a warm up to practice division so I can see where they are at.” Well, what I thought would be a quick warm ...
Student Surveys: An End-of-the-Year Reflection
The end of the year will be here before we know it! Summer is soooo close. With the end of the year approaching, the time for reflection is upon us. Let’s dive into student surveys – why we love them, how to implement them, and how to grab our free middle school survey (+ Google Form option too!) WHAT IS A STUDENT SURVEY? A student survey is a great tool to get students thinking ...
Practical Math Homework
Math homework is quite the debated topic these days - we asked if teachers should even assign homework in this blog post. I worked at a school that attempted to standardize homework by assigning a different content area to each day of the week. Homework is something that schools are always trying to figure out. Today, I am sharing a few tips for math homework and how I have utilized ...
How to Create a Unit Plan
Creating any part of a curriculum from scratch is a challenge! Unit plans are no different. Changing standards, multiple preps, and a too-short planning period are not a recipe for success. However, creating a unit plan will save you time in the long run. Let’s create a unit plan that helps students learn the course material while also saving your sanity. What exactly is a unit ...
Ideas for Teaching Transformations
Transformations is a big meaty unit in 8th grade math that students will revisit in Algebra 1 with quadratic functions. Let’s talk about all the ways you can help your students succeed with transformations! CCSS and TEKS Standards Let's take a look at what the standards actually say regarding transformations: Released STAAR Question from 2019 Backwards planning (looking ...
Properties of Exponents
There is a great paradox in teaching math: the more simple a topic, the more likely it will cause complete confusion in your classroom. Cue - properties of exponents. If you have experienced students mixing up all the laws of exponents or if you are about to teach them for the first time, then you are in the right place. Laws of Exponents Standards The standards are pretty ...
Teaching One- and Two-Step Inequalities
What I love so much about inequalities are the infinite solutions. For so much of students’ previous math experience, there is one exact answer. When it comes to inequalities, it is fun to push students to think of their answers beyond “x<4” and brainstorm all of the infinite solutions that x can be and then connect it to the graph. Below, I have outlined a few ideas and ...
Tips for Using Math Activities with All Access
Classroom activities are where math comes alive! Personally, I loved the discourse, the teamwork, and the application that occurred with my students when working through an activity. Here are some broad stroke tips for how to implement activities in your math classroom. Filter the Activities On the New Platform The All Access platform makes finding aligned activities easier ...