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 Middle ...
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 prep ...
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 various ways ...
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 Alignment6th 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.2Summarize numerical data with ...
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, it ...
15 Creative Incentives for Middle School
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 PlanningThis is my advice for just about everything ...
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 about ...
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 StandardsLet's take a look at what the standards actually say regarding transformations:Released STAAR Question from 2019Backwards planning (looking at how a question has ...
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 StandardsThe standards are pretty clear. Note: In ...