I love hands on math activities. While you can purchase games, these are 10 easy structures that can be used for any math content at any level. You just need a few materials to create your own activities for the classroom. I promise it's better than a worksheet!
Virtual Stations
I love teaching with a workshop model, and I love teaching in small groups. Stations are so much fun to me. I love feeling like the class is shifting in time and being productive. I wanted this virtually, too, but how? I knew what I needed to get started. Here are some ideas for how to get going and what kids can be doing while you're with small groups. I'd love to know how it's going for you, too.
7 Ways to Use Breakout Rooms
If you're like me, you're teaching online, and breakout rooms are one of the few things that make my online classroom feel real and interactive. Here are 7 ways I'm using this tool and 9 recommendations for gradual release.
11+ Free Math Resources for In Person or Online
Number Sense Routines have become my passion. Over the past couple of years, I've been exposed to more and more websites with so many free resources. Now, I am obsessed! There is so much variety. I love how these routines and puzzles teach students so many skills. Most of these could be used in an online environment, so no matter how you're teaching this year, these will work for you!
10 Ways to Use Individual Whiteboards
One of the first things I wanted kids to have at home while teaching virtually was whiteboards, so I was psyched when my administration planned to make sure every kid got one in their "to go" kit to take home. I love using them in class, and kids love working with them. While whiteboards can of course be used as a replacement for paper, here are 10 specific ways to utilize them.
7 Ideas for Using Google Slides for Collaborative Work
Google Slides are great for Collaborative Work! Think about collaborative story writing, number sense routine discussions, jigsaw reading, and more! See my periodic table project for one such idea.
5 Reasons I use Digital Readers’ Notebooks
I love having kids reflect in journals on paper and take notes in notebooks; however, I've enjoyed using Google Slides as digital reader's notebooks. Read here to get a set of slides you can adapt and use for free.
Saying Goodbye to Good Things
Often the advice to new teachers is to just survive your first year, learn more your second year, hone your craft your third year, then just get golden. Absorb all that knowledge. Keep learning, growing, expanding your resources. Build your toolbox! You’ll do great! Now, I love sorting through resources. I can flip through a... Continue Reading →
How I teach reading to a class that spans 7+ grade levels
Currently, my 2019-20 classroom of 27 spans K-9th grade reading levels. In this post, I share my plan for different levels of readers, structures that guide my planning, and the importance of flexibility in meeting student needs.