As I've been in schools the last few weeks, I've heard teachers talk about the most dreaded part of the school year, State Testing Season. As a teacher of 17 years in testing grade levels, I know the stress of testing season. I know the weight you feel to plow through the content. I understand… Continue reading Fraction Flowers
It's that time of year again! My friend Kristin, of Hilty Consulting, and I are hosting the 4th Annual Digital Number Sense Summit June 13-14. Every year this is one of our favorite things to do, put together a conference to fit the needs of what we are seeing in classrooms and what teachers are… Continue reading Digital Number Sense SUMmit 2023
How is math learning showcased in your building? Does each teacher put up their own displays? Do you have building-wide displays for visitors to view? I love walking into buildings where you can see the learning taking place before you ever enter the classroom. Throughout my career I worked hard to improve what I put… Continue reading Math Picture Puzzles
Who doesn't love a good mug of hot chocolate in the cold winter months? When I was teaching in the classroom still, I was always trying to tie in real-world experiences into my math lessons and what's better than combining math and hot chocolate? Do you have that one bulletin board in your building that… Continue reading Mathematicians Love Hot Cocoa
I had a friend who teaches 5th grade recently reach out and ask how we can help students who struggle with dividing by a 2-digit divisor. I made a quick 9 minute video to help her make the connection between a 1-digit divisor. While we were going back and forth with our messages it was… Continue reading Division continued…
This may be an unpopular opinion, but the traditional algorithm for division is outdated and needs to go away. Let me explain. The traditional algorithm for any computation (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) is a procedure and when taught alone does not make math meaningful and make math make sense to students. We as adults… Continue reading Division with Multi-Digit Dividends
