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 ...
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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 ...
Ideas for Teaching Transformations
Transformations is a big meaty unit in 8th grade math that students will revisit in Algebra 1 with quadratic functions. Let’s talk about all the ways you can help your students succeed with transformations! CCSS and TEKS Standards Let's take a look at what the standards actually say regarding transformations: Released STAAR Question from 2019 Backwards planning (looking ...
Properties of Exponents
There is a great paradox in teaching math: the more simple a topic, the more likely it will cause complete confusion in your classroom. Cue - properties of exponents. If you have experienced students mixing up all the laws of exponents or if you are about to teach them for the first time, then you are in the right place. Laws of Exponents Standards The standards are pretty ...
Teaching One- and Two-Step Inequalities
What I love so much about inequalities are the infinite solutions. For so much of students’ previous math experience, there is one exact answer. When it comes to inequalities, it is fun to push students to think of their answers beyond “x<4” and brainstorm all of the infinite solutions that x can be and then connect it to the graph. Below, I have outlined a few ideas and ...
Unit Overviews in All Access
Our All Access Unit Overviews received a makeover this month! At Maneuvering the Middle, we strive to create AND update resources that teachers use for planning and teaching. Let’s talk about what is new, what has been removed, and some tips for implementing the unit overviews in instruction. FEATURES OF THE UNIT OVERVIEW The unit overviews serve as a comprehensive guide to each ...
Accommodations that Reach All Learners
Middle school math students come to your class with varying needs and abilities! Accommodations are adjustments made to the environment, curriculum, or assessment that make it possible for students to learn and succeed. How is this different from a modification? Years ago, the special education teacher on my campus, Ms. Mease, explained the difference between accommodations and ...
Questioning Strategies for 100% Engagement
With the new school year upon us, let’s discuss some ways to level-up our questioning strategies we are using in our instruction. What are questioning strategies? Effective questioning is a skill or practice that a teacher employs to gauge the understanding of material from students at any given time during her lesson. Simply put, teachers drive student understanding through ...
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 ...