Thanksgiving Math Activities That Reinforce Skills (and Keep Students Focused)
The week before Thanksgiving break can make it feel like an extra challenge to keep students focused. Your students are thinking about turkey, pumpkin pie, family gatherings, and a few days away from school. Meanwhile, you’re trying to squeeze in meaningful instruction before everyone heads out the door. You still have math skills to practice. […]
Low Prep October Math Activities Your Students Will Love
October has a funny way of making an ordinary math lesson compete with pumpkins, costumes, candy, and approximately seventeen conversations about Halloween. Meanwhile, you still have standards to teach and skills your students need to practice. This is when low prep October math activities can make your teacher life much easier. You can bring a […]
Back to School Math Survival Guide: Daily Math Routines That Work
Have you ever looked at your lesson plans for the first week of school and wondered how you are supposed to fit everything into one math block? Your students are returning after months away from the classroom. Many need a refresher before they are ready for new learning. At the same time, you are teaching […]
Keep Math Fresh With Summer Review Activities for Upper Elementary
As summer approaches, many of us start asking a similar question. How can we help our kiddos maintain their math skills without turning summer break into summer school? After spending an entire year building confidence and mastering new concepts, it can be discouraging to watch our learners return in the fall, having forgotten skills they […]
3rd Grade Measurement Word Problems That Don’t Bore Your Students (or You)
A surprising part of teaching 3rd grade measurement is realizing your students understand the math when the skills are isolated, but everything changes once it shows up inside a word problem. I remember watching my students confidently measure objects, compare liquid volume, and solve elapsed time problems. But when those same skills were in a […]
Earth Day Math with a Purpose: Color by Number Activities That Reinforce Regrouping
You finish modeling a regrouping problem, ask your students to try one on their own, and within minutes, the room splits. Some students are ready to confidently solve these problems independently. Others are still trying to remember where that “extra one” comes from. On top of that, it’s April. The end-of-year energy is starting to […]