For the last 9 months, Maneuvering the Middle has worked to support teachers who have shifted to online or hybrid learning. To best serve teachers and students, we have created brand new digital math resources and shifted our paper-based activities to digital resources through Google Classroom. To learn more about these updates as well as some of our favorite online tools that make ...
Teacher Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Often when I feel like a class period is not going well, I tend to blame so-and-so students or a lackluster concept. However, more often than not, the problem starts at the top -- the teacher -- me. Yikes! The good news is that I am in full control of myself, so I can make the necessary changes to improving said class. Here are some teacher mistakes that I made/make and some ideas on ...
10 Ways to Use Task Cards in Your Classroom
There seems to be no shortage of task cards out there as a resource for students and teachers. The question is how to incorporate these tools as meaningful and engaging work in your classroom. Here are some ways to get you started! 10 Ways to Use Task Cards 1. Extension This is a no-brainer. Print, cut, laminate, and put task cards on a ring. Store them somewhere in your classroom ...
Rookie Mistakes: Grading All Student Work
Grading student work can give you valuable feedback concerning your teaching and your students’ progress. However, I don’t want to give you the impression that everything that students touch should be auto-graded or hand graded in order for this to happen. Let’s talk about a common pitfall that teachers fall into: grading everything. Note: Rookie Mistakes is a series of common ...
Math Problem Solving Strategies
How many times have you been teaching a concept that students are feeling confident in, only for them to completely shut down when faced with a word problem? For me, the answer is too many to count. Word problems require problem solving strategies. And more than anything, word problems require decoding, eliminating extra information, and opportunities for students to solve for ...
How to Teach Slope
Slope is a heavily emphasized standard in high school math, but its origins (like all math really) predate high school by years. In fact, students are already seeing the precursor to slope in 6th grade -- rates, unit rates, and graphing an independent and dependent variable on a graph. Today, we are going to explore slope in all of its math glory. HOW TO TEACH SLOPE Here are a few ...
Teaching Functions in Algebra 1
Not only are functions fun, they are the basis of all of Algebra 1 - linear, quadratic, and exponential. Out of 49 Texas standards in Algebra 1, 20 involve functions -- that is over 40%! It is important that students have a firm grasp on understanding how to identify, evaluate, and graph a function to prepare them for more complex problems. Teaching Functions in Algebra ...
Are Digital Interactive Notebooks Right for You?
Let’s talk about interactive notebooks - both physical notebooks and digital notebooks! Do you use them with your students? I tried an interactive notebook one year while teaching math, and I couldn’t handle the glue consumption. Now that I am seeing so much talk about digital interactive notebooks online, I want to ask the question -- are they right for you? Are Digital Interactive ...
Free Back to School Digital Activities
The first days of school are upon us! (If you haven’t already started teaching, make sure to check out our post on remote learning routines and procedures to teach your middle schoolers.) This post will answer the question: “What is a fun activity to start the year off with my students online this year?” Here are our top picks for back to school math digital activities Desmos Four ...
15 Remote Teaching Videos to Get You Started
The school year has either started or is about to start. No time to waste! Here are 15 remote teaching videos that will hopefully help you make some of this technology transition a little bit easier. Note: We receive questions about "how to do _____?" so frequently. Below are our most popular. We also have a video library for any other FAQs related to using our resources that you ...