Are your students struggling with adding and subtracting decimals? It can seem so straightforward to us teachers, but it is a skill that has many misconceptions to combat. Let’s discuss common misconceptions and tips for teaching decimal addition and subtraction. CCSS and TEKS Let’s check out what the standards say about decimal addition and subtraction: The Common ...
School-Wide Policies to Agree On
Consistency is key when it comes to school-wide policies! Routines, procedures, and policies are much easier to remember and enforce if they are consistent across a grade level or even a school. Ambiguity between what’s allowed and not allowed in various classrooms can create problems down the road. I recommend deciding as a grade level how the following will be ...
Attention Getters for Middle School
Attention getters are a middle school classroom necessity! Getting students to turn off their voices, so you can provide direction or instruction, is a major component of classroom management. There is no limit to the creativity that can go into these visual and audio cues, so I thought I would provide a list of some of my favorites. Why use an attention getter? Effective ...
Easy First Week of School Activities for Middle School
The beginning of the school year is the perfect time for team-building activities that also teach and reinforce classroom expectations. The best thing about all of these first week of school activities is that you can use them to teach routines, build relationships, and develop class pride. Make sure to grab the activities mentioned below here! 1. How to work in groups ...
Tips for Transitioning to a 4 Day School Week
Since 4-day school weeks have been implemented all over the country, affected teachers have inquired how to use MTM’s All Access with fewer school days than what is typical. While I didn’t teach a 4-day week (I would have loved it!), I did teach a block schedule where I needed to fit 5 days of lessons into 4 days of school, so I do have some thoughts on how to go about teaching math ...
No Time Wasted: Instructional Class Time
Whether your instructional class time is 45 minutes, 60 minutes, or 100 minutes, you will benefit from these tips on not wasting a minute of instructional class time. If you frequently find yourself running out of time or feeling frazzled during class, then let’s chat! Make sure to come back this summer as we waste no time during: Prepare Everything If you fail to plan, you ...
No Time Wasted: the First and Last 5 Minutes of Class
The first five minutes of class are arguably some of the most important, but the often overlooked time of your class period. And the last five minutes of class can literally pass without notice until you hear the jarring sound of the bell. Let’s make sure not a minute of this time is wasted! Make sure to come back this summer as we waste no time during: First 5 Minutes ...
No Time Wasted: Teacher In-Service
Teacher in-service time is going to vary greatly based on your school. Your school might start late and only have 2 days of in-service before students arrive, or you might have 2 weeks and have ample flex time built in the schedule to get ready for the school year. Either way, you still have lots to do and not a lot of time to do it, so let’s tackle some ways we will not waste a ...
No Time Wasted: Teacher Planning Period
A teacher’s planning period can be extremely productive with the right mindset and tools. In our first post in the “No Time Wasted” series, we want to provide strategies on how to best utilize every single minute of a planning period. Make sure to come back this summer as we waste no time during: When are you most productive? Before I begin, it is important to evaluate your ...
5 Ideas for Your Next Professional Learning Community
Professional learning communities or PLCs can be a treasure of knowledge for the most experienced to the most novice math teacher. In fact, I learned more about teaching math from my 5th grade counterpart than I did from professional development I attended. If you are at a small school, your PLC might be with math teachers who teach different grade levels which will support you ...