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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Unit Overviews in All Access
Our All Access Unit Overviews received a makeover this month! At Maneuvering the Middle, we strive to create AND update resources that teachers use for planning and teaching. Let’s talk about what is new, what has been removed, and some tips for implementing the unit overviews in instruction. FEATURES OF THE UNIT OVERVIEW The unit overviews serve as a comprehensive guide to each ...
Accommodations that Reach All Learners
Middle school math students come to your class with varying needs and abilities! Accommodations are adjustments made to the environment, curriculum, or assessment that make it possible for students to learn and succeed. How is this different from a modification? Years ago, the special education teacher on my campus, Ms. Mease, explained the difference between accommodations and ...
10+ Decimal Activities and Lessons
Decimal activities are crucial to the practice necessary to master decimal operations. There are so many real-world applications. Today I am listing all of the decimal lessons and activities I found after scouring the internet, and of course, Maneuvering the Middle! Adding and Subtracting Decimals Teaching Adding and Subtracting Decimals blog post - Before you start teaching ...
Questioning Strategies for 100% Engagement
With the new school year upon us, let’s discuss some ways to level-up our questioning strategies we are using in our instruction. What are questioning strategies? Effective questioning is a skill or practice that a teacher employs to gauge the understanding of material from students at any given time during her lesson. Simply put, teachers drive student understanding through ...