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The Teacher Studio

Learning, thinking, creating

End of Year Word Problems and Problem Solving Tips

We all know that students are hard to "engage" at this time of year--so asking them to solve end of year word problems seems unrealistic, right? WRONG! When we create math problems related to topics students care about--they are FAR more likely to engage.  I love doing problem solving at the end of the year because it's the perfect time to apply all those Standards for Mathematical Practice.  ... Read the Post

Teaching Students About Planning Narrative Writing

During our historical fiction unit, our curriculum gives students the opportunity to do a unique type of narrative writing.  They take a key "scene" from one of the books we have read (either as a read aloud or their book club novel) and rewrite one scene from a different character's point of view.  To really guide and scaffold their work, I wrote my own narrative from our read aloud as they wrote ... Read the Post

Focused Instruction: Teaching Effective Writing Minilessons

Well, I knew it was coming. We got the news that we are "virtual" for the rest of the year. Not a surprise, but devastating nonetheless. It's time to look at the remaining curriculum, streamline it, and figure out how to get the most "bang" for the delivery method with truly focused instruction. One thing that is becoming clear to me is that short and sweet is the way to go when teaching ... Read the Post

Accountable Talk: Teaching Speaking and Listening

Do you explicitly teach speaking and listening in your classroom? Many of us are familiar with the term "accountable talk" as it refers to discourse in the classroom.  Many districts have begun implementing "accountable talk" initiatives. Teachers are working hard to explicitly teach students how to engage in quality educational discussions.  I think most educators will be in agreement that this ... Read the Post

Teaching Patterns and Patterning in Upper Grades

Why Teach Patterns? "Patterning" is something that has typically been a focus of primary classrooms.  Pass by any kindergarten or first grade room early in the school year and you can expect to see SOME sort of patterning work happening.  The simple truth is that we sometimes forget WHY we get our youngest students thinking in terms of patterns.  We NEED students to be able to recognize and ... Read the Post

Word Problem Mistake: Making All Your Word Problems Match Your Content

Over the years I have noticed that students tend to look for routine in math class. If it’s a division unit, they will divide any two numbers they find! If it’s a subtraction unit, they try to regroup everything!  So what does this mean for word problems? It means we need to put students in a position where THEY need to think and decide what operation and strategies to choose. If we constantly ... Read the Post