Confession: Manipulatives made me nervous. In my first years as a teacher, I basically ruled out anything that would require additional classroom management, so no algebra tiles would be found in any of my lessons. I think more than anything, though, I didn’t completely understand them. In fact, when I was a student, my teachers didn’t use them, so I didn’t think they were necessary. ...
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Making Algebra Relevant
In my years of teaching, I had the opportunity to teach Algebra 1 as an on-level course for 9th grade freshman and as a pre-AP course to 8th grade students. While the two ages and settings (middle school vs. high school) differed, the content remained much the same. As a math teacher, Algebra 1 is the definition of fun! For me, all of the pieces come together, and you have the ...
Desmos Activities to Try in Algebra 1
I am in awe of what a treasure Desmos is! If you are an upper middle school or high school teacher, and you haven’t explored all that Desmos has to offer, run to the website right now. Desmos is a FREE interactive tool used to graph, model, collect data, and question students over collection of higher math concepts including but not limited to the nine topics found ...
My Teacher Student Loan Forgiveness Story
It is no secret that teachers aren’t in it for the money. So, during my first year as a teacher, I struggled to make ends meet -- I was planning a wedding, and I was trying to pay my minimum balance for my student loans. I went to a state school where my parents helped me with some of my expenses, but when I graduated, I had around $32,000 in student loan debt. Note: ...
Benefits to Online Teacher Collaboration
About a month ago, we launched a Facebook group with a simple mission: connect middle school math teachers who are using Maneuvering the Middle curriculum. Teachers can often dwell in a vacuum — there were days that I barely saw another adult when I was teaching. It can feel isolating, so we set a goal that our Facebook group would be a place of teacher collaboration and ...
Digital Activities in the Math Classroom
Update 5/13/2020: Since remote learning has taken effect, our digital activities have been wildly popular to support teachers as well as students. Here are a few things teachers have said about using our digital activities: "This resource was wonderful for distance learning! The students found it easy to use and I had a great turn-in rate! Thank you!" -- Cynthia M. "Total lifesaver ...
5 More Teacher Organization Hacks
When I hear the word “organization,” I think of beautiful containers filled with immaculate supplies organized in rainbow color order. While that might be very pinnable, it is not often the reality in a classroom or in the life of a teacher. Function and time saved trump beauty in my classroom. I need organization to save time or to save my sanity. I asked some of my teacher friends to ...
How to Teach Integer Operations
Are you eager for students in your classroom to conceptually understand integers and master the skills required for integer operations? Keep reading and get individual sized and classroom sized vertical number line. STUDENT Background WITH INTEGERS If you are in a state that teaches Common Core, 6th grade is when the conceptual understanding of integers begins. Students are ...
Classroom Ideas from an Experienced Teacher
Can it already be time for another middle school classroom tour? Welcome to Ms. Henry's 5th grade math classroom! She has basically been my other half when it comes to math talk at school, and I am so glad that we are featuring her room today. Many of her classroom ideas are not only brilliant but also practical! A few things to note: Ms. Henry has been teaching math for 15 ...
Teaching Kindness to Middle Schoolers
This last school year, I had my first grade level of students who had been together since kindergarten with no merging of kids from different elementary schools to shake things up. You might think that these students would all be friends since they had many years together, but the exact opposite was true. This group had a very complex history that would not be characterized as kind. ...