The first performance task that I ever implemented was district provided and meant to replace the standard benchmark assessment. It did not go well; students felt defeated and I felt frustrated. Here is what I should have done: Before I begin, let’s talk about what a performance task is: “A performance task is any learning activity or assessment that asks students to perform to ...
3 Benefits of Math Word Walls
Word walls contribute function, beauty, and support students’ acquisition of math content. What is not to love?! Let’s chat about why every math classroom can benefit from a word wall. You can also read more tips about implementing a word wall here. What are the benefits of a math word wall? 1. BUILD A COMMON VOCABULARY BANK Word walls are a necessity for math. In middle ...
Using a Word Wall in Middle School
Word walls can feel like one more thing to maintain in the classroom, but when I see a student reference the word wall for help, then the word wall is well worth the extra effort. Here are a few tips I have for creating, maintaining, and maximizing the use of a middle school math word wall. 1. Structuring Your Word Wall A word wall that includes the math term, the definition, ...
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 ...
Using Test Corrections as a Tool for Mastery
Teaching students to do test corrections doesn’t have to be time consuming or result in a paper pile! Test corrections are actually one of my favorite tools for pushing students and measuring their progress. Giving math tests can be equally rewarding and frustrating. As a teacher, you can see what skills your students really understood and what skills you thought ...
Personal Financial Literacy Activities for Middle School
It doesn’t get more real-world in math than Personal Financial Literacy! I appreciate that real life concepts that impact growing teens and adults are incorporated into Texas state standards. Today, I am sharing ideas that support the personal financial literacy standards for middle school. Let's take a moment to at what is included in the Texas Personal Financial Literacy ...
Student Data Tracking You Can Keep Up With
Student data tracking helps drive instructional decisions. I’ve been using daily exit tickets for years, and they would help me decide if I needed to reteach a skill, but I wasn’t tracking the data in a way that motivated my students and doing it daily seemed impossible when I tried. This year I have a system that I have managed to tweak, maintain, and really push my students and ...
Ideas for Organizing Math Intervention
If you are a classroom teacher, then you are probably very familiar with documenting student data and progress. Documenting the differentiation you are providing for every single student while also teaching said students can feel impossible. Hopefully, these tips for organizing your math intervention documentation will make it all more manageable. Plus, there are a few freebies to get ...
5 Ideas for Teaching Surface Area
Surface Area is the amount of space covering the outside of a 3D shape. This math concept allows students to visualize and is concrete, but that doesn’t mean all students will immediately excel. Let’s talk about some of our best tips for teaching surface area of prisms, cylinders, and pyramids. Standards Let’s start with the standards. While surface area is covered in 8th CCSS, it ...
Utilizing Our STAAR Question Bank
STAAR is a registered trademark of the Texas Education Agency. Maneuvering the Middle® is not affiliated with or sponsored by the Texas Education Agency or the State of Texas. For Texas Teachers The STAAR (State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness) is moving online with a variety of new open-ended question types. Maneuvering the Middle has designed a bank of questions to ...