If you are interested in implementing some small things that go along way to increase positive staff culture, then this post is for you! Personally, I believe administrators should take charge of implementing (though I’m not sure if many administrators read this blog) these school-wide activities because I think it has a greater impact on the entire staff culture. However, I do think ...
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How to Get Started with Math Intervention
For the past several weeks, we have been sharing ideas about number sense in middle school and discussing how students who struggle with math concepts generally also struggle with number sense. If your campus implements the RTI (response to intervention) process, then you know these students who struggle need a Tier 2 intervention. Today, I want to share some ideas on how to get started ...
5 Strategies for Building Number Sense
Last week, I shared my love for the book Developing Numerical Fluency and broke down the idea of number sense. This week, I wanted to share five strategies for building number sense in the middle school classroom. Upon preparing for this blog post, I did quite a bit of research and was disappointed to see that the vast majority of books on numerical fluency are geared towards K-5 ...
Number Sense in Middle School
"I struggle with finding activities to do with all levels of intervention in the classroom. For example, this year in 7th grade math, I had students who couldn't do multi-digit addition and subtraction, while a few others were flying through it. I try to always review some 6th grade skills in the beginning and then review and reteach 7th grade skills I've covered, but they ...
Rookie Teacher Mistake: Talking Over Students
Rick Smith said, “Teaching is like trying to fly a plane while building it.” You learn as you go, and unfortunately, you mostly learn what doesn’t work before you learn what does work. Cue our new series -- Rookie Teacher Mistakes. Rookie Mistakes are a series of common pitfalls that we make as teachers and tips to rectify and/or prevent them from happening. No judgment here; the ...
Using Ebates to Save Money: Teacher Edition
A little-known fact about me is that I used to be a diehard couponer. I am not sure why I started or what compelled me to work the coupon system, but I loved when I was able to get something for free. Now the only problem is when you get something for free that you won't use or don’t have a need for. I mean, how many bottles of shampoo can you really use? But, when I first ...
Change is a Verb
Disclaimer: I am not a trained counselor, psychologist, or psychiatrist. I am an educator, I attended public school for 12 years, I spent four years at a public university, received my graduate degree, and I taught nearly 1,000 students over a seven year span in public schools. Most importantly, I am a mom of a little boy. As I watch the news, I hear the details surrounding the ...
Using Calculators in Middle School
Currently, I am teaching operations with decimals, and I have relied on calculators HEAVILY to check my work. Confession: When I was creating my answer key for a lesson on multiplying decimal numbers by decimal numbers with many, many digits, I first did all the math by hand and then went back to check using a calculator. My paper was not error-free! Calculators are such useful tools for ...
Implementing a Classroom Economy
Today’s post is to answer the many questions I have received regarding my classroom economy. Economy is a loose term because it isn’t tied to students completing classroom jobs but tied to their behavior. We call this system the paycheck system. Implementing a classroom economy Disclosure: None of this information is or was my idea. My school had this already in place long before I ...
Scholastic Magazines for Middle School
Anyone who teaches middle schoolers is probably familiar with the question, “When are we going to use this?” It’s something about being 12-years -old that produces this ever-growing need to know. And we all know that good teaching practices include making real-world connections. Even many of the standards add that phrase. The truth of the matter is that sometimes those real-life ...