Differentiating True and False Questioning for the Math Classroom
True and false questioning is probably not what pops into your head when you think about a differentiated and rigorous math activity. The most plain of all question types really can become a thought provoking and multi-level activity that you can use with almost any...
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My Number One Classroom Management Tip for Back to School
I am not someone who would claim to be a classroom management expert. Student discipline is actually one of my least favorite aspects of teaching, so having simple things that I could do to improve my students' behavior is important to me. After ten years of...
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Pi Day in the Upper Elementary Math Classroom
Pi Day is coming soon! Did I make a delicious typo? No we're not talking about pie--we're talking about pi--the irrational number the represents the ratio between a circle's circumference and its diameter. Pi Day is celebrated on March 14th each year because the...
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Tips to LOVE Teaching, Even During Test Prep Season
When state testing is around the corner, two things seem to happen: stress levels rise, but student and teacher happiness falls. Some of this is inevitable. High stakes testing is by definition stressful because it is a quantitative measure of things that are near...
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Long division, a long battle
The dreaded words that send chills down the backs of students and teachers alike... Long Division! There are so many barriers to students effectively learning how to do long division, and each grade level that has to teach this skill has its own set of difficulties....
read moreExpanded Form or Expanded Notation?
Before Texas adopted its new TEKS and before the common core became common across the US, place value instruction was generally presented differently that it is today. Teachers all around the country have had to adjust to their new standards. One place where the...
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