Easy math activities - is this an oxymoron? It doesn't have to be. You don’t have to be a teacher long to see that a worksheet full of problems does not incite the excitement and enthusiasm of many of your students. However, try any of these easy math activities, and you will experience unprecedented levels of excitement from your class. Now that I am a parent, I see this ...
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4 Time Wasters to Stop as a Teacher
The beginning of the school year is when we have the best intentions for how the school year will go. Let’s keep this energy up by committing to stop doing these 4 time wasters. These time wasters lead to stress and burn out - I can personally attest! LISTEN ON: APPLE PODCAST | SPOTIFY Point 1: Stop Bringing Your Work Home This may seem like the opposite of a time waster since ...
How to Differentiate in Middle School Math
Today on the blog (and podcast), we have Marissa McCarthy! She is an amazing teacher who uses Maneuvering the Middle resources to teach and differentiate for her 6th grade students. She is a whiz at small groups and a wealth of knowledge. Marissa has just wrapped up her 13th year of teaching math in Ohio. She has earned her masters in gifted education, previously coached her ...
Are Math Video Lessons Effective?
Teaching has changed so much in a year and a half. With many schools going back to face to face next year, it begs the question - are video lessons here to stay? Will the use of this technology continue and if so, what will it look like? LISTEN ON: APPLE PODCAST | SPOTIFY Maybe a way to phrase the question is - are video lessons effective? Effective teaching practices stick ...
4 Things I Always Do When Lesson Planning
Lesson planning is like cleaning the kitchen. You are never done. As teachers, we are both proactive and reactive in planning lessons. We plan ahead, then execute, then go back to our plans to edit when students are not mastering concepts. We. are. always. lesson. planning. It might sound like a complaint, but it is just a reality of instruction - you must always have a ...
Rookie Mistakes: Grading All Student Work
Grading student work can give you valuable feedback concerning your teaching and your students’ progress. However, I don’t want to give you the impression that everything that students touch should be auto-graded or hand graded in order for this to happen. Let’s talk about a common pitfall that teachers fall into: grading everything. Note: Rookie Mistakes is a series of common pitfalls ...
Teaching Functions in Algebra 1
Not only are functions fun, they are the basis of all of Algebra 1 - linear, quadratic, and exponential. Out of 49 Texas standards in Algebra 1, 20 involve functions -- that is over 40%! It is important that students have a firm grasp on understanding how to identify, evaluate, and graph a function to prepare them for more complex problems. Teaching Functions in Algebra ...
Middle School Math Curriculum
I'M READY TO JOIN ALL ACCESS MATH CURRICULUM Comprehensive math resources forgrades 5 through algebra 1 I'M READY TO JOIN STRAIGHTFORWARD. STREAMLINED. STANDARDS-BASED. ACHIEVE SUCCESS IN YOUR MATH CLASSROOM ENGAGING FOR STUDENTS | STREAMLINED FOR ...
20 Must Teach Middle School Routines
With almost 30 years in the middle and high school classroom between the Maneuvering the Middle team, we have many thoughts on the routines and procedures necessary to run a successful classroom. This list is not exhaustive but will hopefully provide you with a place to start. One recommendation is to think backwards. Start by thinking about how you want your classroom to look ...
Online Courses for Middle School Math
Even without the historical end to the 2019-2020 school year, I think teachers can agree that most students experience the ‘summer slide’ when they return to school in the fall which means there is a need for online math courses this summer. If you are not familiar with the term summer slide, here is Scholastic’s explanation: “The concept of the summer slide has been on researchers’ ...