Smartphones, social media, and student minds - let's talk about it! The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt was recommended to me in a Parenting in a Tech World Facebook group. I purchased the book and put it on my shelf vowing to read it when my 1st grader was a little older. Fast forward to a few weeks ago, said 1st grader asked me what TikTok was. “Where did you hear that ...
The Pros and Cons of Advanced Math
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 Alignment 6th 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.2 Summarize ...
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, ...
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 ...