I know this may come as a shock to you--but we teachers are swamped. I'm confident that 99% of us truly want to do a great job, but there is JUST. SO. MUCH. One of my missions is to help teachers provide quality instruction that is engaging and effective. One area where I think many schools struggle is finding meaningful comprehension activities that push student thinking, discourse, and ... Read the Post
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“Thirst” by Varsha Bajaj – A Social Issues Novel Study
Several years ago the book "Fish in a Tree" became one of the most popular books for addressing social issues with upper elementary students. Since then, millions of students have been exposed to this fantastic text. I am so grateful to have been able to guide teachers through the novel and give them help to get the most out of it. (Check out this blog post about why I love it so much in case you ... Read the Post
Using a Low Floor, High Ceiling Math Task with Whole Class Instruction
By definition, a low floor, high ceiling math task is a math activity where all group members, despite background and skills, can begin and then work on at their own level of engagement. Tasks present possibilities for the students to do much more challenging mathematics as it unfolds. In order to make these powerful tasks meaningful, there are some things for teachers to keep in mind. Remember, ... Read the Post
Using Math Warm-Ups: Best Practices
How we spend our valuable math minutes is a decision we make every single day. Using math warm-ups to kick off a powerful math class is a tried and true way to activate students' deep math thinking. Much like an athlete needs to get themselves ready for their workout, using math warm-ups prepares our students to do the "real" work of our lessons. Sometimes I like to vary how I do these ... Read the Post
Solving Word Problems: A Boot Camp!
Solving word problems is an essential part of elementary math, but so often we fail to give students the tools needed to be successful. One strategy to help is to do a word problem "boot camp" to get them off on the right foot! Here's what I mean. We know students have been solving problems since kindergarten (we hope!), but often in the primary grades, we don't showcase different strategies ... Read the Post
Summer 2022 Teacher Planning Challenge!
This simple blog post is your home base for all things "challenge" this summer! You can refer here for video explanations, for the weekly challenge images, for the tracking document, and more! Rafflecopters can be entered here as well, so bookmark this page for safekeeping! Here we go! Your Recording Sheet and Bingo Board! Click HERE to get the PDF version or HERE to get a ... Read the Post
5 Place Value Activities for Deep Understanding
If you teach upper elementary math, you know that a solid understanding of our place value system is essential. Unfortunately, many math series focus a great deal on "fill in the blank" place value work. This could involve reading and writing big numbers, writing numbers in expanded form, or putting greater than or less than signs between two or more numbers rather than deeper, more meaningful ... Read the Post
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