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The Teacher Studio

Learning, thinking, creating

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Why Do We Use Number Lines?

One component of math instruction that is often overlooked is having teachers nurture creative thinking in students.  By encouraging students to create their own meaning and solution strategies rather than just "fill in the blank", depth of understanding is cemented.  This is true for many math concepts, but is often overlooked when teaching using number line activities. Check out this post for ... Read the Post

Graphing Lessons and Activities

One thing that I know to be true is that students need to learn to read, do math, and be critical thinkers.  Quality graphing lessons combine all three!  Unfortunately, what our textbooks often do is present students with a graph and ask them low-level, “right there” questions.  There is a time and a place for that—but I think our students can do so much more.  After all, we want students to learn ... Read the Post

Open-Ended Math Tasks: The Benefits

Open-Ended Math Tasks!  Are you using enough rich math tasks in your class?  Check out this post with a ton of reasons (OK, TWELVE of them!) why we should be incorporating more of these open-ended problem-solving experiences.  Check out all the amazing things we can accomplish with them! Gets students tackling problems that have more than one solution So often we give students problems where ... Read the Post

Daily Math Warm-Ups: Tips to Keep Them Fresh!

One question I get often is “How do you organize your math block?”  It’s a tricky question because I am a person who likes to shake things up and do things differently all the time.   If you come to my class on Tuesday, it will definitely look very different than it did on Monday. I love that--and my students do too. They never know what to expect in terms of how lessons will be delivered--and ... Read the Post

6 Amazing Back-to-School Reading Lessons and Activities

At the beginning of the school year, teachers need to establish so many routines and procedures.  When it comes to planning back-to-school reading lessons and activities, it can be overwhelming to say the least! Check out this blog post with 6 strategies to consider when planning your back-to-school reading! 1. The Power of “Status of the Class” To begin, one of the most powerful routines ... Read the Post

9 Ways to Build Classroom Culture

Working to build classroom culture in the first weeks of school is critical.  Research shows that a number of components related to classroom culture, student discussion, and more are highly correlated with academic success.  Not only that, but we want our students to enjoy their time in our rooms, right?  Let's take a peek at nine strategies that will help build your classroom community and lead ... Read the Post

Getting Students to Engage with Read Alouds

Selecting amazing read alouds can be a fun yet daunting task. There are so many top-notch books...and it’s sometimes hard to choose.  We often rely on our “oldies but goodies”, and that’s a great approach when you have something that is tested and effective.  Sometimes, however, it’s fun to try something new I can’t lie--I ALWAYS start my year by reading Fish in a Tree (and here’s a blog post ... Read the Post