Getting to know your students

Robert Cooper August 2nd, 2017 Math Grades 6-8 1438 4

The first days of school are great for getting first impressions of your new students. Collecting information from students is interesting and fun when they are given open ended sentences to complete. You can gain insight on their personality (i.e.…

Solving with Multiple Methods

Joe Ratasky August 1st, 2017 Math Grades 3-5, Math Grades 6-8, Math Grades K-2 2070 8

If you are familiar with the Common Core Progressions documents, you may recognize the name Bill McCallum. He is a Common Core Standards author as well as an author of the Progressions. He frequently posts to the site Common Core…

Dividing Fractions for Understanding

Robert Cooper July 27th, 2017 Math Grades 6-8 1662 1

Student understanding of dividing with fractions is usually regulated to something to the effect of, "You need to flip the fraction and you need to multiply." As a teacher, I am usually excited if students can even recall that information.…

Are your students “Number Shoppers” instead of “Problem Solvers”? Try numberless word problems!

Jackie LeJeune May 27th, 2017 Math, Math Grades 3-5 3106 3

"Number Shoppers"....we've all encountered them: students who just plow through a story problem, pulling numbers out as if they were just grabbing their favorite snacks off the shelf and tossing them into a shopping cart; no regard for the value…

Connecting Academics and Parents- 4th Grade Relating Fractions to Decimals

Jackie LeJeune May 8th, 2017 Math, Math Grades 3-5 1576 2

Digging deeper into decimal fractions? ...there is a CAP for that! View the "Train the Trainer" video on "Relating Fractions to Decimals" below to ensure that your instruction has truly met the depth of the 4th grade MAFS standards. Yes,…

Inside Mathematics Illuminates the Standards for Mathematical Practice

Jackie LeJeune May 3rd, 2017 Math, Math Grades 3-5 6929 2

$Inside Mathematics Illuminates the Standards for Mathematical Practice$

Do you ever find it difficult to to wrap your head around what each of the 8 Standards for Mathematical Practice might look like in your specific grade level? Or do you struggle with how to incorporate the SMPs into…

Reboot Your Regrouping Reteach!

Math Coach Miles May 2nd, 2017 Math Grades K-2 1611 3

What is the one math concept that you still feel students have not quiet mastered in second grade? "Regrouping," you say. Well before you pull another small group to line up place values and regroup to the tens, consider rebooting…

Math Journaling in Kindergarten

Lesley Lynn May 1st, 2017 Math Grades K-2 1271 1

Check out this video on using Math Journal in Kindergarten as a tool for informal formative assessment!

Connecting Academics and Parents- 4th grade Equivalent Fractions

Jackie LeJeune May 1st, 2017 Math, Math Grades 3-5 1296 0

Students struggling with using fraction models to explain WHY two fractions are equivalent? ...there is a CAP for that! View the "Train the Trainer" video on "Equivalent Fractions" below to ensure that your instruction has truly met the depth of…

3 Strategies to Keep Math Convo Moving

Jackie LeJeune April 24th, 2017 Math, Math Grades 3-5 1528 0

Most of us have some "go-to" questions to initiate math conversations..."How did you get that?" "Did anyone solve it another way?" "Does anyone disagree and why?"... But what do we do when that conversation dies out before our students discuss…

Connecting Academics and Parents- 4th Grade Division

Jackie LeJeune April 21st, 2017 Math, Math Grades 3-5 1108 0

Looking to build your content knowledge of 4th grade division strategies? YES...there is a CAP for that! View the "Train the Trainer" video on "Division Strategies" below to ensure that your instruction has truly met the depth of the 4th…

Nervous about Number Talks? Now is the time to give them a try!

Jackie LeJeune April 19th, 2017 Math, Math Grades 3-5 2007 1

You most likely have heard the buzz about number talks, but the pressure of state testing may have had you feeling like you didn't have the time to implement them in your classroom...well no more excuses! The Mathematics Florida Standards,…

Connecting Academics and Parents- 4th Grade Multi-Digit Multiplication

Jackie LeJeune April 17th, 2017 Math, Math Grades 3-5 1065 0

Have you checked out the CAP Parent Trainings on the Elementary Mathematics Icon? Don't worry....it's not too late! While it is true that these trainings were designed with parents in mind, each training also has an accompanying "Train the Trainer"…

Building Math Talk

Lesley Lynn April 14th, 2017 Math Grades K-2 1175 1

As part of the Standards for Mathematical Practice, students should be able to construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others. Check out the video below to think about how the Same or Different task can be used in…

Assessing Mathematical Fluency

Lesley Lynn April 14th, 2017 Math Grades 3-5, Math Grades K-2 2209 1

It is the end of the school year. You've spent time and energy teaching various math concepts so that your students have a conceptual understanding of content. Students in your class have explored foundations of operations using concrete models and…

Stop Perpetuating Math Anxiety

Shelley Fritz April 14th, 2017 Math, Math Grades 3-5, Math Grades K-2, Uncategorized 992 1

“Do not worry about your difficulties in mathematics; I assure you that mine are greater.” – Albert Einstein Are teachers increasing students’ anxiety levels in mathematics, especially as state testing approaches? Teachers may very well be swelling the negative feelings…

Subitizing and Shapes

Lesley Lynn April 13th, 2017 Math Grades K-2, Uncategorized 1640 2

Check out this video by Graham Fletcher on connecting subtizing and geometry! https://gfletchy.com/fresh-ideas/

Using 5 frames to build fluency

Lesley Lynn April 13th, 2017 Math Grades K-2, Uncategorized 4653 2

By the end of Kindergarten, students are required to fluently add and subtract within 5. Throughout the year, students have built conceptual understanding of addition and subtraction through joining and separating situations. They've also have ample experience working with Five…

Multiplying Decimals 3 Act Task

Darrell Frost April 13th, 2017 Math Grades 3-5, Uncategorized 4863 0

Earlier this year, students built conceptual understanding of multiplication of whole numbers and decimals and multiplication of decimals by decimals. They used concrete models and grid paper to model the multiplication to find the product. The standard, MAFS.5.NBT.2.7, requires students…

FREE Common Core Aligned Online Interactive Math Practice

Jackie LeJeune April 13th, 2017 Math, Math Grades 3-5 2105 0

Checkout these two FREE interactive websites for additional math practice: www.tenmarks.com and www.frontrowed.com Both websites allow you to set up a free teacher account. You can then enter in your student roster, assign specific standards-based practice to each student, and…

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