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The Teacher Studio

Learning, thinking, creating

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Classroom Organization: Designing Spaces to Maximize Student Learning

Today I want to talk to you about mindful classroom design and organizing your classroom--classroom organization that leads to efficient teaching and learning. We often get so caught up in planning lessons and activities that we forget that the space we teach those lessons in can really impact our teaching--and student learning! Every classroom is so different--it's hard to give clear direction ... Read the Post

Word Problems and Problem-Solving

Here we go!  On to challenge 3 with a focus on word problems and problem-solving.  If you are just joining us, I have linked to all the other posts related to this summer math challenge at the bottom so check them all out1 Today's challenge is all about reflecting on problem-solving--how we teach it AND how we make it accessible to students.  I am hoping something in this post resonates with ... Read the Post

6 Tips for Creating a Classroom Culture for Math Talk

So now that many of us have sketched out our year and have done some thinking about the sequence of instruction, resources we have at our disposal, and so on--it's time to start considering the math culture and math talk we want our classroom to have.  This is a little less tangible than writing things down on a calendar, so I have a little food for thought as you ponder this idea. 1. ... Read the Post

Crafting a Yearly Math Curriculum Plan

One thing I try to do for ALL subjects in the summer is to create a yearly math curriculum plan that helps me with curriculum pacing and other teaching decisions. Today's CHALLENGE is for you to find a way to do the same!  I'll talk to you a bit about what I do--and then you are going to head off and find a way to do this for your year of math.  If this doesn't fit your needs--no worry!  ... Read the Post

Refine Your Math Instruction in 7 Steps! A Summer Challenge…

Anyone else looking to improve their math instruction next year? Most summers I do some sort of a book study on the blog, but this summer I decided to try something new!  I know a lot of people have big dreams of making sweeping changes in their classrooms or their instruction and hope that summer will provide them the time to do that. I have a little "challenge" for those of you who are ... Read the Post

More Than a Math Center: Help to Unpack and Teach Algebraic Thinking and Operations

So often teachers are asked to teach math standards—whether they be from the Common Core or other rigorous standards—and aren’t given enough help or the resources to do it well. Algebraic thinking?  For real?  I've talked to teachers who roll their eyes and tell me that they don't really even GET what that means. Help for teachers If you sometimes struggle to know exactly what the standards ... Read the Post

Improving and Combining Sentences: A Gradual Release of Responsibility Writing Lesson

I wanted to share today about a twenty-minute lesson I did that was super effective--and reviewed two key writing skills we worked on earlier this year related to combining sentences. These are: 1.  I can combine two sentences into one improved sentence. 2.  I can add details to simple sentences to make them more interesting and descriptive. Improving and Combining Sentences to Improve Our ... Read the Post