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 If you teach middle school math in the great state of Texas, then this is for you! The STAAR (State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness) has made some pretty significant changes ...
Pi Day Activities
Pi Day (3.14 - March 14) is on a Tuesday in 2023. Embrace the chance to celebrate this mathematical holiday by circling back (see what I did there?) to these FREE activities for your students! We are happy to share that we have the perfect FREE activities (that’s right, plural!) for your students! Download your free resources below and read our best tips on teaching ...
4 Ways to Make Math Relevant
We encounter math on a daily basis, but it can be a challenge for students to connect what they learn in class to the outside world. Here are 4 (update: 5!) ways teachers can engage students by making math relevant to their lives. LISTEN ON: APPLE PODCAST | SPOTIFY 1. Share Your Enthusiasm The key to modeling what it looks like to be a math person is to share your excitement! ...
Factoring Polynomials with Special Cases
If you haven’t had a chance to read part 1 Teaching Factoring Trinomials, then go back and do that before reading anymore. Today we are going to discuss Factoring Polynomials with special cases. Factoring Trinomials When A>1 I hesitated to put a>1 in this blog post since it isn’t necessarily a special case, but I considered that you probably would teach this AFTER you teach ...
Teaching Factoring Trinomials
Factoring trinomials relies on many prerequisite skills (distributing, multiplying polynomials, finding a greatest common factor, exponent rules, and integer operations… I’m sure there are more). It also sets the stage for future success in solving quadratic equations and graphing quadratic functions. This makes factoring polynomials so important for students to conquer. As a student, ...
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 ...
Classroom Routines and Procedures for the Spring
January is here, which means the spring semester has started! After a long winter break, students need to be refreshed on how your classroom runs, so let’s talk about teaching (or reteaching) those beloved routines and procedures. Is this really necessary? You know your students and what is happening in your classroom best. For me, it was always a yes. I didn’t go into nearly as ...
Coordinate Plane Activities to Try
The coordinate plane is a personal favorite of mine. It is hands-on, reinforces the ordering of rational numbers, and spans all of secondary education. If there is a unit that I look most forward to - it is this one! Today I will share some tips for teaching the complexities of this grid and some engaging activities that you and your students will love. Three Tips for ...
Tips for Successful Co-Teaching
Co-teaching is a great opportunity to reach more students by having an additional educator in the classroom. Let’s talk about ways to create a successful co-teaching relationship! Note: These tips are more general in nature. Please follow any guidelines provided to you by your school or district. Inside of the Classroom Be Inclusive My first experience in co-teaching was ...
Math Activities to Survive December
The end of the semester is upon us! While the energy in your classroom may be brimming with anticipation, there is still math to be taught and deadlines that loom. Here are some December math activities that will get you to winter break. Math Activities to Survive December Business as Usual - Perhaps, you have timed it perfectly; the end of the unit or your midterm falls on the ...