How to Check for Understanding in Middle School In my first few years of teaching, many times after teaching a “superb” (sarcastic tone) lesson, I would ask “Any questions?” and when no one responded, I assumed that all of my students understood. After passing out the independent practice and seeing many looks of confusion…I too […]
Teach Solving Multi Step Equations Without the Headache Teaching multi step equations is a breeze when students have the proper background knowledge of combining like terms, integer operations, rational numbers, and one/two-step equations from 7th grade before they get to 8th grade! I have had years when this was the case (it’s awesome!), and other years where it was literally painful to teach. I know that students NEED […]
Pencil Classroom Management that WORKS! Pencil classroom management is a tough thing to figure out! Especially in middle school! I don’t think anyone understands the pencil struggle like a teacher does. Before I officially had my first classroom, I started to collect as many pencils as I could. But as you know, teaching is one […]
Teaching the Distributive Property and Combining Like Terms with Combo Meals Teaching the distributive property and combining like terms can be stressful but it can also be a lot of fun and engaging with these ideas for distributive property activities. My two favorite strategies include combo meals and color-coding. The best way to start this […]
Combining like terms is one of my all-time favorite lessons to teach because it’s in one of my favorite units, Multi-Step Equations! Since you landed on this blog post, I’m assuming you are in search of some teaching tips. I’m excited to share some of my favorite strategies and activities for teaching students to simplify […]
With February just around the corner and the excitement from the start of a new year, you may not have had time to plan your Black History Month interactive bulletin board. Did you know that Black History Month started as Negro History Week? Back in 1926, Carter G. Woodson, known as the “Father of Black […]
Activities for First Week of School After going to bed at 7pm most days this week, I am finally well-rested enough to sit down and tell you about what we did! So, if you need some activities for first week of school, keep reading! Day One – Birthdays and Polar Bear and Fish Inquiry I […]
Engage Your Students with this Syllabus Quiz Activity Have you ever felt like a talking head when going over your syllabus? No one is listening except for that one student who cares about your grading policy. I promise. Soooo instead of just reading your syllabus, try doing this syllabus quiz activity instead: start with a syllabus […]
How I Organize Students with a Math Binder System Alright, I promise this entire post is not going to be about why I don’t use interactive notebooks to organize students in my classroom. How I spent two years trying to make them work and eventually threw in the towel and I will NEVER EVER go […]
5 Math Activities For Students with A Document Camera Tell me if you’ve experienced this in your Zoom classroom. After projecting a problem, have you ever asked your remote learners to hold their papers up to the webcam so you could see their answers and work? And then you had to squint your eyes to […]
