1+ hour, 54+ min ago (487+ words) You can adapt the curriculum you have to create rich tasks that invite reasoning and build students" problem-solving skills. I know that teachers play the most significant role in any learning situation, and studies have shown that investing in teacher learning is more important than investing in new curriculum, books'or anything else. I also know that the best learning outcomes happen when teachers have autonomy to choose tasks, adapt tasks, and bring in new tasks. But what should you be looking for when choosing tasks? And how do you adapt tasks to meet the interests and needs of the students in your class? So many math teachers are told to use textbooks that are filled with short, narrow questions that don"t interest students or create opportunities for deep or critical thinking. I started my career as a math teacher…...

2+ mon, 3+ week ago (377+ words) Math isn't just about answers'the process matters, too. These strategies spotlight reasoning and reveal student thinking. For many students, correct answers often take center stage in math class, while reasoning becomes an afterthought. Even when "showing your work" gets factored into grading, kids may put in minimal effort'or, as elementary school teacher Mona Iehl writes in a recent MiddleWeb article: "they scribble something, anything, just to meet the requirement." But showing mathematical reasoning is more than a formality, Iehl notes'it's how students "make sense of the problem, communicate ideas, and prove their reasoning to allow others to learn from them." In the professional world, mathematicians, engineers, and carpenters aren't paid for quick answers, she adds, "they're paid for the thinking that gets them there." Here are classroom-tested strategies designed to adjust the focus from speed and correct answers to reasoning…...

3+ mon, 3+ week ago (465+ words) Ensuring that elementary students understand the Five Strands of Math Proficiency can help them build confidence in their skills. Every math classroom has a range of learners. Some students can compute accurately and efficiently. Others reason through complex problems and generate multiple solutions. Some persevere through tasks, trying one strategy after another. But which students are the best mathematicians? According to Adding It Up: Helping Children Learn Mathematics, the strongest mathematicians are well-rounded, able to demonstrate proficiency across five interwoven aspects of math learning called the Strands of Mathematical Proficiency. Our students bring a wide range of skills to the classroom. That's why we need to create spaces where every learner is seen as a capable mathematician. When we lead with the belief that math belongs to everyone, we build a classroom rooted in equity. Here are some ways I…...

4+ mon, 3+ day ago (159+ words) Offering effective instructional supports to secondary students in algebra helps build learners" confidence and math identity." Offering effective instructional supports to secondary students in algebra helps build learners" confidence and math identity. Small group tutoring within the school day, a research-supported practice that many school districts implement, should be retained to support students" success. In my school building, due to some fortunate funding availability, we created a hybrid approach by keeping our math support classes very small, with intentional and targeted mini-lessons and homework help. Offering effective instructional supports to secondary students in algebra helps build learners" confidence and math identity. Small group tutoring within the school day, a research-supported practice that many school districts implement, should be retained to support students" success. In my school building, due to some fortunate funding availability, we created a hybrid approach by keeping…...

5+ mon, 4+ week ago (215+ words) Promoting student voice in the math classroom through discussion-based activities helps learners understand fundamental concepts. We've observed that providing intentional times for learners to converse around math topics can help promote student voice in the math classroom and build their confidence. Below are three activities we use to empower mathematicians to use their voice during math class. The Math Around the Room activity is structured to allow students the chance to move around the room and talk about the math problems they see displayed. It's best for problems to be posted in vertical spaces in a way that gives students space to huddle around a common math problem. Conversation should flow organically, and students can be coached to balance their own talking time with listening time. They can also be on the lookout for peers who want to jump in,…...

8+ mon, 3+ week ago (389+ words) Students bring different combinations of strengths and weaknesses to the math classroom, and teachers can help all of them grow. How diverse is your math class? What range of experience, motivation, interest, and ability do you see? For most of us who teach kids math, we witness a wide spectrum of skill, and our challenge is how to address needs and help students grow as mathematicians. For the past eight years, I've taught fifth and sixth graders math in the same class at the same time. In each of my classes, I see students who are ready for algebra and students who are learning multi-digit multiplication. While most schools are not designed for multi-aged classes, I suspect that all math classes include a range of student abilities. Over the years, I have paid attention to strategies and practices that help…...

8+ mon, 3+ week ago (730+ words) These strategies help teachers focus on building students" language comprehension skills during math lessons. Practical word problems are often considered one of the most complex parts of elementary school mathematics. They require students to understand the context of a math problem, identify what the specific problem is asking, and then apply mathematical skills to solve it. With that in mind, educators should consider shifting their thinking and instructional approach to teaching math word problems. Below are several strategies, progressions, and scaffolds designed to help students work through an always-tricky part of elementary school math. This step-by-step metacognitive approach can help teachers model how to take on a math word problem. Step 1: Read (and reread) the word problem. First, encourage students to read the word problem in its entirety, in order to gain a greater understanding of the context. Rereading word…...

10+ mon, 3+ day ago (940+ words) From interactive calculators to skill-building games, these digital tools can help make math more accessible and engaging for students. Math captivates some students, but for many others, the subject can feel hopelessly abstract, boring, or downright nerve-wracking'especially if students have trouble visualizing possible solutions, or struggle with the motivation to keep going when the work gets hard. We recently asked math educators in our community to share the tools that have become their go-to resources'and received hundreds of responses, spanning all grade levels. By far the most popular tool among our community was Desmos, receiving a shoutout from a quarter of all respondents. Desmos is perhaps best known for its highly interactive 2D graphing calculator, where students can easily plot multiple functions on the coordinate plane and add sliders to see how changing certain variables would affect the graph. Desmos also…...

11+ mon, 1+ week ago (480+ words) Sousa suggests, "Look for opportunities to present and solve problems outdoors or in a large indoor area like the gymnasium." Movement and social interactions tend to increase engagement and enhance ... Teachers can work together to reveal the ways that math concepts are already present in PE activities. Many, if not all, math standards can be applied through PE games and activities: particularly measurement and data, but also computation'e.g., measuring, collecting, and representing data related to fitness goals, keeping scores, statistics, etc. PE environments are highly accessible to math because they are naturally brain-friendly. Teachers can model cooperation and relationship-building by working together to plan and teach lessons that apply mathematics within PE settings. Consider taking some time to print the PE and mathematics standards on separate cards. Teachers can brainstorm lesson ideas by sorting the cards based on how the…...

11+ mon, 4+ week ago (310+ words) Using basic Python to check work in math class is fun and introduces students to valuable coding basics. Your content has been saved! To get started with Python, you need computers with internet access. Teachers can install Python on class computers. However, I recommend using JDoodle, which is free on the web. It is simpler and will work well for our purposes. Making an account for JDoodle will be a time-saver for both students and teachers. Once you are set up with JDoodle, you can dive right into Python. Variables: In Python, variables do not have to be declared, which makes it different from many other computer languages. You can just use an equal sign to assign values; for example, sum = 2 + 2. The variable (sum) being assigned a value is always at the left of the equal sign." Now that we…...