tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47460278503360665372024-03-11T02:43:43.793-04:00The Elementary Math ManiacThe Math Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177173988483052908noreply@blogger.comBlogger416125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746027850336066537.post-72608019777612063102021-02-24T15:55:00.000-05:002021-02-24T15:55:12.500-05:00The Spring Math Bundle Sale Starts NOW!<p> <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Today is the start of something amazing! I have partnered with 30 other math educators to bring you a HUGE collection of math resources to help you end the year well. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">After the craziness that this past year has brought, I wanted to be part of something that would save teachers both time and money and help them finish this </span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">challenging</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> year strong. I have been teaching full time through all this craziness and know that like myself, many of my colleagues have been struggling to fit it all in. I think these bundles are just the thing to help you finish your school year strong! </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiziKQFV8nqhY16xUJP5zRAkJxJX4japg2kpb4NNmOb4DQuutxGBkogYYmQrxcTAb1T3hWKbwu7jMt-HhP7YqTNP_Owd_Uj2i-oF9WLFipyHMu9wF37PLSPqHJVQxr-oVZzG4EoeE3tt2vm/s800/f.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiziKQFV8nqhY16xUJP5zRAkJxJX4japg2kpb4NNmOb4DQuutxGBkogYYmQrxcTAb1T3hWKbwu7jMt-HhP7YqTNP_Owd_Uj2i-oF9WLFipyHMu9wF37PLSPqHJVQxr-oVZzG4EoeE3tt2vm/w640-h320/f.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;">Whether you are teaching in person, online or a hybrid of both, we’ve got you covered!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">We have bundles for everyone! Scroll down to your grade level below!</span></span></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://shop.mathgeekmama.com/2021-spring-math-bundles/mgm/27/#gradesk12" target="_blank">K-2 Bundle</a></span></span></h4><span id="docs-internal-guid-afb6fabd-7fff-5c2f-733b-4b2129ece4dc"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you teach math in grades K-2, you don’t want to miss this! In this collection, you’ll have all the tools you need to : </span></p><br /><ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Start each day well</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> with problem of the day questions</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Engage your students with </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">open ended challenges</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> & </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">number sense</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> activities</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Review & practice</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> key skills with print and play games and riddles</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Give your kids a </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">conceptual understanding</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of math topics such as place value, addition, subtraction and more</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Challenge</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> your advanced learners</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And SO much more</span></p></li></ul><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you were to purchase each of these math resources separately, it would cost you $354. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But for 7 days only, you can snag the entire collection for</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> just $19! </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That’s 94% savings!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://shop.mathgeekmama.com/2021-spring-math-bundles/mgm/27/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="796" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_kwlClQ8vk7Ru7NvmUIx3umBysUitTe8KXN8Vto2XKlmPOTUFgMpl7BC3NwC3bM3KAXJFWbok10AYqXah4ifcYCqt8JCmjPSbdph6JNiSYumD_tNMb6ZKsPEKTYMOXh3ZX8QfX64iPw9g/s320/K-2+her+image.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span><a href="https://shop.mathgeekmama.com/2021-spring-math-bundles/mgm/27/#grades345">3-5 Bundle</a></span></h4><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-de3baf9c-7fff-ecd9-fd7a-cf1f04710c9f"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you teach math in grades 3-5, you don’t want to miss this! In this collection, you’ll have all the tools you need to : </span></p><br /><ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Start each day well </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">with rich number talks & problem of the day sets</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Review & practice</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> key skills with engaging printable games </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Give your kids a </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">conceptual understanding</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of math topics such as place value, multiplication & division, fraction & decimal concepts & more</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Make math fun & exciting with </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">digital escape rooms</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Review </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">key vocabulary terms</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> with digital word walls</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And SO much more!</span></p></li></ul><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you were to purchase each of these math resources separately, it would cost you $394. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But for 7 days only, you can snag the entire collection for</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> just $19! </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That’s 95% savings!</span></p><div><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div></span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://shop.mathgeekmama.com/2021-spring-math-bundles/mgm/27/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="796" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg15CnFSinSfIPiMoc5-1XCSbXhY-OK3vfH5BIjXydxgnfqQkW2ADwV9Mvbp1lzTGlcmMZUJSL0QgQs_Vey_QVu6UpeQw_RIZ9DMxtnHlPFUyiyZ_UfBIadUylYm86iz6lrJjdvUxHj2lK5/s320/3-5+hero+image.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span><br /></span></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span><a href="https://shop.mathgeekmama.com/2021-spring-math-bundles/mgm/27/#grades678">6-8 Bundle</a></span></h4><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-eaf7813b-7fff-a7a0-3a6a-81383b86ad3a"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you teach math in grades 6-8, you don’t want to miss this! In this collection, you’ll have all the tools you need to : </span></p><br /><ul style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Start each class well with </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">problem of the day</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> challenges</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Review & practice</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> key skills with low-prep games and printable task cards</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Give your kids a </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">conceptual understanding</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> of math topics such as integers, decimals & fractions, ratios, percent, order of operations & solving equations</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Review </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">key vocabulary terms</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> with digital word walls</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Easily teach </span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">end of the year topics</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> such as surface area & volume</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: disc; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And SO much more!</span></p></li></ul><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you were to purchase each of these math resources separately, it would cost you $286. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But for 7 days only, you can snag the entire collection for</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> just $19! </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That’s 93% savings!</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://shop.mathgeekmama.com/2021-spring-math-bundles/mgm/27/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="796" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLfysaLxoct49-iryUYHBy7QTMlEAaXAeTlggcKZTiM_3ULrkyg6ZIzdNMoaUYroi8BuXwK-gifsBXTZTAUW_q7dU0f8Sdx-XFEKL_NswwHFI6zc0C7F1Y_k06yFLhB4rSVUyKH8pzw-TB/s320/6-8+hero+image.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><p></p></span></div><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Accessing & using these math goodies is easy: </span></p><br /><ol style="margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 0; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Purchase the math bundle of your choice. </span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Download the resources onto your computer.</span></p></li><li aria-level="1" dir="ltr" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; list-style-type: decimal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre;"><p dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Print the printable resources and add each digital activity to your Google Drive or Boom Learning account. </span></p></li></ol><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Then share with your students!</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Want to learn more about what’s included? </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://shop.mathgeekmama.com/2021-spring-math-bundles/mgm/27/">YES! I can’t wait to grab this math collection!</a> </span></p><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Want to hear directly from teachers who are already using these products? <a href="https://shop.mathgeekmama.com/2021-spring-math-bundles/mgm/27/#testimonials">Check out these testimonials!</a> </span></span></div></span>The Math Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177173988483052908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746027850336066537.post-4095736274646099322020-10-01T20:19:00.003-04:002021-02-24T08:50:34.544-05:00Virtual Math Class: Main Lesson<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkilg_JFm7aoc1XVWfdecAy1rWe8hkbIEcQ4QS7wUCW-7bn9MbpFBWuw9_IaHB4AgR2e_MeKTOPIazeYnBaUJOEq6IOSztS8gUSptpR-npM-l6zMEYRmYj3WcPcP28ueKHfT0XHUjIh3xf/s1536/5.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="1536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkilg_JFm7aoc1XVWfdecAy1rWe8hkbIEcQ4QS7wUCW-7bn9MbpFBWuw9_IaHB4AgR2e_MeKTOPIazeYnBaUJOEq6IOSztS8gUSptpR-npM-l6zMEYRmYj3WcPcP28ueKHfT0XHUjIh3xf/s320/5.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p>Thanks for the excellent feedback on <a href="https://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2020/09/five-fabulous-and-free-warm-up.html">part 1</a> of this series which was all about virtual math class warm up! I love reading all your messages on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/themathmaniac">Instagram</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Theelementarymathmaniac">Facebook</a> about how you are using these ideas! Even when you are teaching remotely, it is important to include a warm up to reinforce important concepts, build community and work on positive mathematical mindset. </p><p>Today we are going to talk more about main lesson. During "distance learning" or when you have to teach virtually in a fully remote or hybrid model, main lesson serves the same purpose it does when you teach in person. Main lesson is the time for kids to dig into new to them content and practice new ideas. It is a time for teachers to help connect the dots on students' strategies and help them build their new understanding on top of their old understanding by helping them connect what they know to what they are learning. </p><p>Here are some things to keep in mind when you are teaching new content in a virtual math class.</p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><b>Keep it Short!</b></h4><p>You are going to have less instructional time this year, there is no way around it. That means you can't do everything in your math program! You have to know what topics give you the most bang for your buck. </p><p>-Our math program (<a href="https://www.mathlearningcenter.org/" target="_blank">Bridges</a>) put out a pretty complete set of program recommendations about what to skip if time is an issue and what is most important. I have heard of several other math programs that have done something similar. It is a good place to start to check out your math program.</p><p>-Your district or school might also have made some recommendations about what topics are most important from a curriculum standpoint. If this has happened it is a great place to start. If it hasn't happened, it is a great thing to do with a group of colleagues because when doing work like this two heads are always better than one!</p><p>-If you need more guidance getting started with this check out the <a href="https://achievethecore.org/category/774/mathematics-focus-by-grade-level" target="_blank">content focus documents from Achieve the Core</a> or the <a href="https://www.alllearnersnetwork.com/high-leverage-concepts" target="_blank">high leverage concepts from All Learner's Network</a>. </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Choose Problems Wisely</h4><div>You have narrowed down your curriculum to the big ideas for your grade level. Now it is time to teach new concepts.... ready to lecture over Zoom? No! There is a better way.</div><div><br /></div><div>-Start with a problem in context. Providing a problem in the context of a story gives kids an opportunity to use what they already know to solve a new problem. Start with a problem and see what THEY can do. Provide or suggest a virtual manipulative if you think it might support their understanding.</div><div>-Have kids share their solutions and strategies.</div><div>-Your job is to connect kids' strategies to each other and to help them figure out which strategy is most efficient. </div><div>-By letting kids share strategies you support their fluency and flexibility and help them understand how what they are learning today connects to what they have learned before.</div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Guided Practice</h4><div>You have posed a problem or 2, allowed kids to solve, discuss and connect. Now it is time to assign some practice. </div><div><br /></div><div>- Continue to be selective! Kids do not need 20 practice problems!</div><div>- Try a gradual release. Give one more problem, have kids show you or submit their answer to you and then leave the call once you have seen it/reviewed it. Provide support to those who need it who are still on the call.</div><div>- Need to do one more with support? If kids are still on the call stick around for one more problem if they need it.</div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Have a plan for Small Groups</h4><div>One small group just happened! By providing kids with a gradual release from Zoom, you already have had one opportunity to work with a small group. Now it is time to think about what other opportunities fit into your digital life for meeting with small groups. Office hours? Scheduled calls with small groups? </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Use Tech Wisely</b></div><div>Doing a main lesson virtual math lesson like this and covering new content online means you have to have a commanding understanding of different technology. Many teachers have been learning new technology at lightning speed and many of you now possess the skills to do all these things in your virtual classes. If you don't know how to do some of these things, I find the easiest way to learn is often to Google it. I usually can find articles and videos and learn a new tech trick in just a few minutes by just searching for what I want to learn how to do. </div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">More Help!</h4><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-ece7eccc-7fff-be41-bfdf-918262eeafb4"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stop spending your evenings and weekends scouring Pinterest for ready-to-go math activities! Find time saving </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> money saving solutions in<a href="https://shop.mathgeekmama.com/2021-spring-math-bundles/mgm/27/"> our Spring Math Bundles, on sale for a limited time!</a></span></span></div><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-c5ecc709-7fff-95b8-7932-f969356c3c74"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"> <a href="https://shop.mathgeekmama.com/2021-spring-math-bundles/mgm/27/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2hMWDs8jADL78etpKWPASOXgiAOwY_Z-WHxfyB1tPKmoOu03hmBsFlw969HN7ROsjmRUWkApe60fw4dkEGLPh_Fw_Spg_5lxT3L47yvO-r4V-XNusaxPhFNk4WnpDqQ4nuQc5pCm4YnY/s320/a.PNG" /></a></p></span></div>The Math Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177173988483052908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746027850336066537.post-69492517076902418332020-09-29T00:00:00.007-04:002021-02-24T08:17:21.828-05:00Five Fabulous and Free Warm Up Activities for Virtual Math Lessons K-6I have written in the past about <a href="https://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2020/03/how-we-structure-our-multi-age-math.html">how we structure math class</a> and today I want to share with you the first in a series of posts about how we structure virtual math classes. Over the past 6 months, we have played around with the structure of our virtual lessons and have landed on a digital version of what we do in class. First thing is first and that is the warm-up!<div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbl6BAsT10qJpau2wciGAkIq5AsyumKNuXup9OBErPxUJJMVT-hJzR5xx3dCQHp5rVXIPBEJbZTDu9dSbnphpfUNyM940TNjUS1BoeURNnOAF2s7VHd0IacB65FjuVYWruBLX9chyYNHGA/s1536/4.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="1536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbl6BAsT10qJpau2wciGAkIq5AsyumKNuXup9OBErPxUJJMVT-hJzR5xx3dCQHp5rVXIPBEJbZTDu9dSbnphpfUNyM940TNjUS1BoeURNnOAF2s7VHd0IacB65FjuVYWruBLX9chyYNHGA/s320/4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><b>Why a Warm Up</b></h3><div>I like doing a warm up in a virtual math lesson for some of the same reasons I like doing them in person. It is a great way to get everyone excited about learning math, it gives us a chance to review important concepts, and it is a perfect opportunity to talk about <a href="https://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2017/02/creating-mathematical-mindsets.html">mathematical mindset</a>. It can be a chance to do a whole group <a href="http://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2015/01/number-talks-book-study-part-1.html">number talk</a>, engage kids in a <a href="http://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2018/03/yohaku-ultimate-low-floor-high-ceiling.html">low floor high ceiling task</a> or introduce a game that will be part of our math menu or choice board later. It is also a great way to honor virtual learners who arrive for class on time by having something ready for them to get started on. </div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">How Long?</h3><div>Virtual math classes seem to vary in time more than traditional ones. In general they tend to be shorter so I try to keep the warm up portion to 10 minutes or less.</div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">Best Warm Up Activities? </h3><div>Here are the activities I have been able to do live over Zoom or Google Hangouts that my kids have loved the most. </div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://stevewyborney.com/2019/09/51-esti-mysteries/">Esti-Mysteries</a></h4><div>This has been the overall favorite of my students during distance learning. You download the powerpoint presentation and hit present. The slides include a visual model and clues to help them narrow down their estimation. They practice important skills related to estimation as well as other grade level appropriate vocabulary as the clues help them narrow down their estimation. They also fit nicely into a 10 minute or less time span and get kids excited to show up on time. </div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://wodb.ca/">Which One Doesn't Belong</a></h4><div>The premise is simple but the results are amazing. Four images put together and you think about which one doesn't belong. The best part of this type of activity is that there is really not a wrong answer and there are many right answers. It is also good practice at looking at things from different perspectives. By the time we are done with one of these my students have usually found reasons why each number, shape or picture in the set does not belong. </div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://gfletchy.com/3-act-lessons/">3 Act Math</a> </h4><div>My students had actually already done most of these when we switched to distance learning. They continued to be super popular to do from home, but you need to be pretty good at using the share screen feature to make it successful which by now many teachers are. These start by seeing a picture or video clip and asking kids what they notice followed by an estimation and thinking about what other information would be useful. Additional information is provided in act 2 which leads to a narrowed down estimate or an exact calculation. Act 3 reveals the answer by showing the rest of the video clip or picture. </div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2015/01/number-talks-book-study-part-1.html">Number Talks</a></h4><div>Starting a virtual math lesson with a whole group number talk is a great way to build flexibility and fluency with calculation. It is a great time to review important concepts and help kids work on how to listen and share. The pair-share part of number talks kind of gets lost online so I keep our number talks even shorter than usual, typically no more than 3 problems. That seems to be enough for kids to try out other classmates' strategies without taking more than 10 minutes. If you have a problem string that is longer than that, it will usually work over 2 days better than trying to get it all in at once.</div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://www.youcubed.org/resource/wim-videos/">Mindset Videos</a></h4><div>Official research and my own classroom research has shown me how important math mindset is and when you are in a virtual world I would argue that it is even more important than ever. These videos are short, sweet a bit corney and pretty engaging for kids. A quick video and a group chat about it followed by the teacher pointing out when she sees kids demonstrating the desirable mindset qualities found in the video during the main lesson that day is a great way to reinforce the importance of a positive mindset and help kids believe they can learn anything. </div><div><br /></div><div>Stay tuned for 3 more posts in this series about structuring virtual math classes for distance learning! <a href="https://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2020/10/virtual-math-class-main-lesson.html" target="_blank">Next up is main lesson</a> followed by math menu or math choice boards then one final post that summarizes the structure of an online math class! </div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Something to help with virtual teaching! </h4><div><span id="docs-internal-guid-e9c5665e-7fff-9795-1a3e-8b234ffc1d5d"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-0ff13f39-7fff-5429-f449-87b99f72240a"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I don’t have time to plan and prep all the math lessons to differentiate for every student.” <--Raise your hand if you’ve thought that a time or two! </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We’ve been there</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. And we’ve got something that will help make this not only </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">possible</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, but </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">easy and affordable</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. <a href="https://shop.mathgeekmama.com/2021-spring-math-bundles/mgm/27/">Learn more here</a>!</span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://shop.mathgeekmama.com/2021-spring-math-bundles/mgm/27/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4soH7-O01csmOhQhy0zi932vvBn8r-Yom_EDxlsAdV8qqeIzESqExxwOuuaA1vSB52Ao5qI1nqCLqfzNXBF0-r5MXqeXIBIg6qSUQIGXhZx1ImEghXjL8YTK3Tg7dTiQFD7SCV6nE3KE9/s320/a.PNG" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><p></p></span></div></div></div>The Math Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177173988483052908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746027850336066537.post-67270337753359461502020-09-27T20:04:00.003-04:002020-10-24T08:34:17.748-04:00The ABC's of Hybrid Teaching<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfKGQHTh98iERwS9BtlBqsYwuYRdsOjJ0JM8xfa5FduEWwKYG3T57vhA7uLYyUNScex5xFz6HTzb89VVAAtudlmFhl5_ad3YotdO30ag6Kqd2-8FfTTue8Xe10LMZY7Xmj7ZdJHYkSUaFw/s1536/2.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="1536" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfKGQHTh98iERwS9BtlBqsYwuYRdsOjJ0JM8xfa5FduEWwKYG3T57vhA7uLYyUNScex5xFz6HTzb89VVAAtudlmFhl5_ad3YotdO30ag6Kqd2-8FfTTue8Xe10LMZY7Xmj7ZdJHYkSUaFw/w400-h210/2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><p>We are three weeks into a hybrid teaching model and oh my goodness I am exhausted. You might have noticed I have been MIA from the blog since I went back to work but today I was just processing all the things and this blog post is the result of that. I still have a lot to share about differentiating instruction, math menus, meeting kids where they are and teaching online but right now I am in survival mode! Without further ado, here are the ABC's of hybrid teaching! </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>A</b>cne: wearing a mask all day led me to having the skin of a middle schooler. I now have a skin care routine like a proper middle aged lady.(thanks <a href="https://www.grove.co/referrer/1076513/">Grove</a> for delivering Burt's bees to my door!)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>B</b>reath mints: mask wearing leads to being hyper aware of your own breath smells. Everyone now keeps mints in their desks/backpacks</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>C</b>onfusing: Our kids come in 2 cohorts and keeping track of what I have done or said with each group is still a challenge I am working on conquering. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>D</b>ry: Extra hand washing and sanitizing leads to sandpaper hands for kids and teachers! Rooms without a sink are especially prone.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>E</b>xtraordinary: in a short amount of time my colleagues have relearned everything they thought they knew about teaching and a providing quality instruction in new and interesting ways. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>F</b>rustrating: just when we think we have it figured out, the guidance changes, the structure changes or our own children's school changes plans leading us to scramble for childcare. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>G</b>awky: like an awkward middle school student my new roles and responsibilities feel a bit unnatural.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>H</b>ot: wearing a mask/face shield/goggles all day then the weather feels like summer is no joke.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>I</b>llogical: there are some regulations and requirements that make no sense. Neighboring school districts have different plans that lead to childcare nightmares for teacher parents.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>J</b>aded: the rapid pace that things change and time wasted planning things that never come to fruition has added 10 years of jadedness in 6 short weeks. I'm afraid of becoming the "I used to walk uphill to school both ways" person!</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>K</b>aput: how I feel by 2 pm every single day.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>L</b>onely: it's great to be back seeing some faces but I miss seeing all the faces and all the hugs and community building activities we used to be able to partake in. Kids who are not in the same cohort never get to hang out together and I get limited contact with other teachers. </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>M</b>asks: we have to wear a mask in the building at all times unless we are alone in a room. We are never alone in a room. </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>N</b>auseating: we are cleaning more frequently with stronger smelling chemicals while breathing in our exhaled air it's a combination that leaves me feeling nauseous at least a few hours each day. </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>O</b>bliging; teachers, kids and families have worked together to create the best of the situation we are in. </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">P</b><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">asswords: I spend an embarrassing amount of time resetting passwords and emailing parents and students with their passwords. Passwords might be my least favorite word in the English language right now. </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Q</b>uiet: less kids, more spread out and no one really in the hallways along with a ban on singing indoors has led to an almost unnatural quiet in the building. </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>R</b>ewarding: when all is said and done setting those smiling <strike>faces</strike> eyes folks my heart with joy.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>S</b>tumps: we have taken teaching outside on stump circles that our amazing PTA volunteers delivered to school. </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>T</b>enacious: teachers and kids have really demonstrated this quality during this challenging time.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>U</b>nique: we are living history right now and we have to remember that this isn't forever.</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>V</b>aliant: I have always said teachers can do anything and the obstacles my colleagues have conquered this year demonstrate this very well. </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>W</b>ild</span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>X</b>-hausting: I'm kind of glad my car ride is a little longer this year. I am so mentally and physically exhausted at the end of each day I rely on the drive home for partial recovery. </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Y</b>ear-long: We might not be in hybrid forever, we might be fully remote, in person or in a different version of hybrid but we know for sure that this school year is going to be anything but normal! </span></span></li><li><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Z</b>oom: We spend Wednesday mornings on Zoom with kids while no students are in the building. We spend Wednesday afternoons on Zoom with other people in our building. Our students who are not at school send us Google Hangout messages or try to do video calls while we are in school with their classmates. It's a wild world and Zoom is part of our lives for now. </span></span></li></ul><span id="docs-internal-guid-3cbd0d9f-7fff-b5d5-af1b-f1442f6ed53a"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For all my fellow teachers who are living this <strike>nightmare</strike> reality right now, I'm with you. I see you, I know how hard you are working, I know we will make it to the other side. I know someday we can tell new teachers our stories and I know we will come out in the end better than ever. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div></span>The Math Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177173988483052908noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746027850336066537.post-30769261833597005792020-07-24T06:30:00.003-04:002021-02-24T08:49:05.863-05:00Ten Games to Play with 10 Frame Playing Cards FREE Printable Booklet for Families<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNnbrYRdaydglSxkvZp0YqoRPxw6AiWz8f3rRZC9hgfabHgC4GQON2yQ1bnVPqI3Kj6_x_NenpBbK4xWu1j7t9kWid3NUKY8sA1XUD48ExxL0A5FgigJnE9XpsD0Np9sAeHp9t1u-LXZXB/s1536/3.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="1536" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNnbrYRdaydglSxkvZp0YqoRPxw6AiWz8f3rRZC9hgfabHgC4GQON2yQ1bnVPqI3Kj6_x_NenpBbK4xWu1j7t9kWid3NUKY8sA1XUD48ExxL0A5FgigJnE9XpsD0Np9sAeHp9t1u-LXZXB/w500-h263/3.JPG" width="500" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If you have ever read my blog before, you probably already know <a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/elementary-math-maniac-7884161/10-activities-for-pumpkin-10-frames-3566740043" target="_blank">how much I love 10 frames</a>! One of my favorite tools are 10 frame playing cards. I have created 10 frame playing card sets with <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Penguin-10-Frame-Playing-Cards-and-Activity-Set-2946681" target="_blank">penguins</a>, <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Pumpkin-10-Frames-and-Activity-Set-1492526" target="_blank">pumpkins</a>, <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-Math-10-Frame-Playing-Cards-Activity-Set-2923792" target="_blank">santas</a>, <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Valentine-10-Frame-Playing-Cards-and-Activity-Set-2958411" target="_blank">hearts</a>, <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Back-to-School-Bus-Themed-10-Frame-Playing-Cards-and-Activity-Set-2022986" target="_blank">school buses</a> and <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Spring-theme-10-Frame-Playing-Cards-and-Activity-Set-1802452" target="_blank">plants</a>. When kids are ready, I level them up and use <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Double-10-Frame-Cards-and-Activity-Set-1660747" target="_blank">double 10 frames</a> as well. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Why do I have so many different 10 frame playing cards? The reason is that there are so many different ways to use them and they are a great tool to help kids develop numeracy and additive reasoning. The other reason is that changing the pictures on the cards can make a game feel brand new and seasonally fun yet doesn't require a bunch of re-teaching on how to play the game. The third reason is that most of these games can easily be leveled up and down making it so kids can play multiple times over multiple years and still get good practice from the games.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRCIscYZeRBDe9yWHRVbuD4UW8mp-IypRbn4YRPRju7qlQF_s_YV7Chxi4zK2ZTBtEA-7CEVvH4DjdOg8n4OiwdzVeQp1cMl4JhXuS-0CwkAvDaZvkMG3td1QTG6CBcWJ1OXvQpJV76jmC/s4096/IMG_20200723_142404805.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4096" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRCIscYZeRBDe9yWHRVbuD4UW8mp-IypRbn4YRPRju7qlQF_s_YV7Chxi4zK2ZTBtEA-7CEVvH4DjdOg8n4OiwdzVeQp1cMl4JhXuS-0CwkAvDaZvkMG3td1QTG6CBcWJ1OXvQpJV76jmC/s320/IMG_20200723_142404805.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My own kids and my students love 10 frame cards because they love card games. I have long been a fan of using these at school and at home with my own kids but this spring when folks had to do more school work at home, I wanted families to be able to play these games together. My students had already played most of these games at school and I knew I could easily make more 10 frame playing card decks to send home with each family and I had teacher directions written for these games, I did not have an easy and parent friendly set of directions. To solve this problem, I created this little printable book that includes 10 different games kids and families can play with 10 frame cards. When you print double sided, it only takes 3 pieces of paper to make each booklet. All games include a picture and parent friendly directions. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This booklet features the cards from my <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Penguin-10-Frame-Playing-Cards-and-Activity-Set-2946681" target="_blank">penguin 10 frame set</a> but would work with any set of 10 frame playing cards. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5bD2ppmzWwY4kjsTog14S2AhP42nJPXxA_AJBgLtvF1K6nrkvVz-lRWHItq3AQYs_qyOTK3KrVaSGhOu8pPO6VUI_ut_zYdCZuJ-EaOlvpgPrWPvniAF1FyG8ylbKS8-LUkkh6cFkwE4E/s4096/IMG_20200723_142230499.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3072" data-original-width="4096" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5bD2ppmzWwY4kjsTog14S2AhP42nJPXxA_AJBgLtvF1K6nrkvVz-lRWHItq3AQYs_qyOTK3KrVaSGhOu8pPO6VUI_ut_zYdCZuJ-EaOlvpgPrWPvniAF1FyG8ylbKS8-LUkkh6cFkwE4E/s320/IMG_20200723_142230499.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If you would like to grab this to use with your own children or to send home with families this year, I am offering the booklet <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/10-Games-to-Play-with-10-Frame-Playing-Cards-5812608" target="_blank">as a freebie in my TPT store</a>. If you need 10 frame playing cards to go with it you can choose from the <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Penguin-10-Frame-Playing-Cards-and-Activity-Set-2946681" target="_blank">penguin</a> ones featured in the book, <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Pumpkin-10-Frames-and-Activity-Set-1492526" target="_blank">pumpkins</a>, <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-Math-10-Frame-Playing-Cards-Activity-Set-2923792" target="_blank">santas</a>, <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Valentine-10-Frame-Playing-Cards-and-Activity-Set-2958411" target="_blank">hearts</a>, <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Back-to-School-Bus-Themed-10-Frame-Playing-Cards-and-Activity-Set-2022986" target="_blank">school buses</a> or <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Spring-theme-10-Frame-Playing-Cards-and-Activity-Set-1802452" target="_blank">plants</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Looking for more to help you out with teaching during these crazy times? For a super limited time, I have partnered with a bunch of amazing math teachers to offer a spring themed bundle of resources. A great way to save time and money and grab what you need to finish out the school year strong! <a href="https://shop.mathgeekmama.com/2021-spring-math-bundles/mgm/27/">Get all the info here! </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://shop.mathgeekmama.com/2021-spring-math-bundles/mgm/27/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy2hMWDs8jADL78etpKWPASOXgiAOwY_Z-WHxfyB1tPKmoOu03hmBsFlw969HN7ROsjmRUWkApe60fw4dkEGLPh_Fw_Spg_5lxT3L47yvO-r4V-XNusaxPhFNk4WnpDqQ4nuQc5pCm4YnY/s320/a.PNG" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div>The Math Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177173988483052908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746027850336066537.post-21663731931478960812020-07-23T10:20:00.001-04:002020-07-23T10:20:35.309-04:00Math TV Shows for Kids<p style="text-align: left;">In my area, we have about 4 weeks before teachers are back at school and about 5 weeks before kids go back. Things are very much still up in the air about what we will be doing for in person/online instruction. It looks likely that we will be doing a hybrid model of in person and online learning. I am certain kids will have more time at home than usual and teachers will have more on their plate than ever. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivMBV7h4HgiRnepk8AElaP0wWQubKQYbbC9MIdQXmzRfeE0N3umd68fYZvNOXW02I-zdoGLisUyvb-dLJpPSZ8kvqFuEbki-suLr6s2yqvVhrhuusBm3hUW6YV7hrMorxZL9rgEhjUUigh/s1536/2+-+Copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="1536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivMBV7h4HgiRnepk8AElaP0wWQubKQYbbC9MIdQXmzRfeE0N3umd68fYZvNOXW02I-zdoGLisUyvb-dLJpPSZ8kvqFuEbki-suLr6s2yqvVhrhuusBm3hUW6YV7hrMorxZL9rgEhjUUigh/s320/2+-+Copy.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;">I know that this often means more screen time for kids especially kids whose parents are at work or working from home. I know parents are doing their best, but sometimes they need an hour to do a work call uninterrupted or have 5 minutes peace! Today I want to share with you our favorite math TV shows for when you just need the kids engaged in learning independently. These are also great shows to recommend to parents of your students for when they have just had enough! </p><h4 style="text-align: left;">Number Blocks</h4><div>This show recently popped up on my kids' recommended list on Netflix. Since then, I have seen parents and teachers posting about it on Facebook several times! In the name of blog research, my kids and I spent an hour on a rainy afternoon checking out a few episodes. It is definitely a show that is to young for my kids but they were still engaged enough to watch several episodes. It is a great option for kids 2-5. It does a particularly good job introducing the idea of decomposing numbers. They have quite a few episodes available on Netflix and they also have a very active <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPlwvN0w4qFSP1FllALB92w" target="_blank">Youtube channel</a>. </div><div><br /></div><div>Here is one of the videos from their Youtube channel that shows kids how to build the number blocks with playdoh. </div><div><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IkKLVHsV-AM" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Peg + Cat</h4><div>This was a favorite of my kids' when they were in preschool and kindergarten. It used to be on Netflix but doesn't seem to be currently. Luckily there are full episodes available on Youtube and on <a href="https://pbskids.org/peg/videos" target="_blank">PBS kids</a>. This one is great for pre-k up through grade 1! </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zizGS7KPWHU" width="560"></iframe></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Cyberchase</h4><div style="text-align: left;">This one is the best choice for bigger kids! There are lots of episodes, it was a show on years ago that then was canceled and then started up again! It tackles all kinds of math topics and is super engaging for kids. Great for grades 1-4! This is another one from <a href="https://pbskids.org/cyberchase/videos" target="_blank">PBS kids</a> that is also available on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/results?sp=mAEB&search_query=cyberchase" target="_blank">Youtube</a>. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">This one definitely saved my sanity during quarantine this spring! My 3 kids could all watch it together and all get something out of it. </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CBpFCFjCbHE" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Monster Math Squad</h4><div>This one is another one that is new to my family. It is available on Netflix and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCha_jVVIHfH-m_pGY8erN7w" target="_blank">Youtube</a> and is another show aimed at preschool and early elementary. Despite being to old for the target audience, my kids agreed to watch an episode for the purposes of this article. My older 2 pronounced it as terrible and only stuck around for one 12 minute episode. My youngest who just finished Kindergarten said it was okay but wanted to watch more so I think she enjoyed it but likes to be just like her big brothers. If you have kids at several ages I would start with Number Blocks instead of Monster Math Squad. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bbH7yK43Rr8" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Leap Frog Number Land</h4><div>This one was around when my kids were smaller but they were such big fans of Peg + Cat they never really got into this one. It works on early number concepts like counting and writing numbers to 10. Another option for the preschool to Kindergarten crowd. Available on Netflix with some clips available on Youtube. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IaDtjIkxwUM" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Team Umizoomi</h4><div>This one rounds out the crowd of math shows aimed at the preschool crowd! It is from Nick Jr and is available on Amazon prime video. It is a good option for those who already have Prime Video and preschool aged kids!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h4 style="text-align: left;">Odd Squad</h4><div>Another great show for the bigger kids! This one has a detective spin and explores elementary math concepts. Also available on <a href="https://pbskids.org/oddsquad/videos" target="_blank">PBS kids</a> and Youtube! We discovered it recently and it has been my kids' got to show in recent weeks! An excellent option for elementary age kids!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GNyMFB0Baug" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">What would you add to the list? Feel free to leave your favorite in the comments below or head over to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Theelementarymathmaniac" target="_blank">our Facebook page</a> and leave your thoughts there!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Want to work on differentiating instruction this year? Join our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/796665457506499" target="_blank">FREE Facebook group</a> here for discussions about all things differentiated! </div>The Math Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177173988483052908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746027850336066537.post-8098767303483839832020-07-22T06:30:00.000-04:002020-07-22T06:30:13.002-04:00Here is Your Free Multiplication GameWe have a winner! I asked last week here on the blog and over on my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Theelementarymathmaniac">Facebook page</a> which game from my new book, <a href="https://amzn.to/30DGf8f">Complete Multiplication Workbook</a> you wanted to see and the winner was this one! <div><br /></div><div>This is called Gone Fishing and is a great way to practice the 4 and 5 multiplication facts! </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjapAxomGdxBDeHFcljR5nui18fYn4LzVvyw1c_iKo14E6JQf0JdndNfjAE62_YXhsqinkOVWwrC8VzvQaOHjaMOrrz9u1TXVffC_HVEMwVYDCtym0Jc-6R4HG9dfUCK1N-FhnRfN1mALO9/s2048/9781647390402+22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1593" height="625" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjapAxomGdxBDeHFcljR5nui18fYn4LzVvyw1c_iKo14E6JQf0JdndNfjAE62_YXhsqinkOVWwrC8VzvQaOHjaMOrrz9u1TXVffC_HVEMwVYDCtym0Jc-6R4HG9dfUCK1N-FhnRfN1mALO9/w486-h625/9781647390402+22.jpg" width="486" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><br /></div>The Math Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177173988483052908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746027850336066537.post-58863418279952985982020-07-21T14:55:00.004-04:002020-10-24T08:34:59.443-04:0010 Ways we Can STILL do Math Centers or Math Menu With COVID Restrictions: In Person LearningOne of the best things we have ever done to move our instruction forward over the past few years is implement math menu. A math menu helps us meet all our students where they are. It gives a chance to provide practice for kids in their zone of proximal development. It is an excellent tool for differentiating instruction and practice and gives kids voice and choice in their learning.<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG256ceJTf3FnlKLDA_Qi18Fok_vdzOnZXcFg3n0tVSBOeDyOT95c4mqHQ2O546JgUBt7iQG49ATOq6vRGCZV6JeN_-mCszKFwRfIRjuwg8PBzReqpWa2aDmU0RHQTu1cTcPJsST1Yu4Ak/s1536/1+-+Copy.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="1536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG256ceJTf3FnlKLDA_Qi18Fok_vdzOnZXcFg3n0tVSBOeDyOT95c4mqHQ2O546JgUBt7iQG49ATOq6vRGCZV6JeN_-mCszKFwRfIRjuwg8PBzReqpWa2aDmU0RHQTu1cTcPJsST1Yu4Ak/s320/1+-+Copy.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /><div><br /></div><div>Some folks do math stations or guided math as well. These ideas should also work in those situations<br /><div><br /></div><div>In recent weeks, I have been thinking about how we can still provide this level of differentiation with restrictions due to COVID. Here are my ideas so far! I am sure I will be refining and revising these as I start working with kids and trying them out. If you have any to add please feel free to leave them in the comments below or head over to our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/796665457506499">Differentiating Math Facebook Group</a> where we will be having these conversations a lot! </div></div><div><br /></div><div>- Offer kids partner games where each partner has their own supplies. For example if kids were playing <a href="http://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2016/03/fluency-with-comparing-fractions.html">a game with cards to compare fractions</a>, they would each have their own deck of cards and would play 6 feet apart from each other or on opposite sides of a partition and they would just pile their own cards into a win or lose pile. </div><div><br /></div><div>- Kids could have everything they need for menu/centers right at their desk. Teachers could offer a menu packet that was a mix of games, review, activities with choices built in.j</div><div><br /></div><div>- Offer more individual games, especially those that are self checking like this <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Factors-Multiples-Prime-Composite-Math-Center-2345843">write and wipe</a> factor game or these <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Heart-Number-Puzzles-Kindergarten-Great-for-Valentines-Day-3000075">number puzzles</a> that only fit together when they are correct. </div><div><br /></div><div>- Kids could have more online games offered during menu time. We curate ours using a <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Factors-Multiples-Prime-Composite-Math-Center-2345843">school wide math blog </a>but building this into your Google classroom, seesaw, etc would also work and would make a transition to at home learning easier. </div><div><br /></div><div>- Choose games that require less pieces</div><div><br /></div><div>- Have kids play the game with an imaginary friend. They get twice the practice this way but don't have the benefit of actually working with another person!</div><div><br /></div><div>- Choose dice games that are easy to level up and level down. Most schools have plenty of dice in them! <a href="http://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2013/04/using-dice-to-promote-fluency-with.html">Here are a few of our favorites</a>! </div><div><br /></div><div>-Make each kid in your class their own deck of cards that can be used for lots of different games. We do this often with <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Penguin-10-Frame-Playing-Cards-and-Activity-Set-2946681">10 frame cards</a>, <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Double-10-Frame-Cards-and-Activity-Set-1660747">20 frame cards</a>, <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Double-10-Frame-Cards-and-Activity-Set-1660747">numbers to 120 place value decks</a> and <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Place-Value-Base-Ten-Numbers-up-to-1000-Card-Deck-and-Activity-Set-Common-Core-617133">numbers to 1000 place value decks</a>. It is some work to print and cut all the decks but they can be used SO MANY different ways! </div><div><br /></div><div>-Make each kid a math box! I have many more posts to come in the next month about math boxes but they have been something we have been using for the last 5 or so years, have given us a ton of leverage with differentiation and made the transition from in school to at home learning a lot smoother. I am working on a FREE ebook right now about getting started with math boxes so if you want to hear more about these, be sure to check back or head over and join our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/796665457506499">Differentiating Math Facebook group</a>! </div><div><br /></div><div>-If your students have used math centers or math menu in the past, ASK THEM for suggestions on how you can continue to offer them voice and choice with the current restrictions in your school. My students always have the best ideas and even though I can't ask them yet, I totally plan on including their suggestions. The ultimate voice and choice! </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>What ideas could you add to this list? We would love to hear from you in the comments below or over on the Facebook group! </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>-</div></div>The Math Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177173988483052908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746027850336066537.post-41963491240365166672020-07-16T06:30:00.000-04:002020-07-16T06:30:04.992-04:00BIG Changes! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj98J6SQl2U3ZDzeteTscn4tYJmtEmbZDRQCGlaglZWIgUyaSJF6xxuMZ-GojnsghmowwYdaO1Xx8VZP1k5XcrOK08NYSlvnwlu_U8orhhyphenhyphen-fj0BKKY4tM77GLJWn2Xbd-htrMlVEaoY3tX/s1536/1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="1536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj98J6SQl2U3ZDzeteTscn4tYJmtEmbZDRQCGlaglZWIgUyaSJF6xxuMZ-GojnsghmowwYdaO1Xx8VZP1k5XcrOK08NYSlvnwlu_U8orhhyphenhyphen-fj0BKKY4tM77GLJWn2Xbd-htrMlVEaoY3tX/s320/1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>So I know we are in the middle of a pandemic and we have all made some big changes in recent months like <a href="https://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2020/03/helping-kids-learn-from-home.html" target="_blank">helping our students learn from home </a>and <a href="https://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2020/03/teaching-and-homeschooling-our-current.html" target="_blank">homeschooling our own children</a> but I am in the middle of another huge change. My beloved elementary school that I have spent the last 14 years of my career in closed at the end of this past school year. It was something that was planned last fall due to declining enrollment and consolidation but it was a tough pill to swallow then when schools shut down in March, none of us knew that our last day was our last day.<div><br /></div><div>I spent a week at the end of June cleaning out my classroom, going through lots of memories and possessions that have accumulated over the past 14 years. When I started at this school, I had a small room with one table, a second grader sized desk with my computer on it, a filing cabinet full of other people's old files and a huge bookshelf filled with leveled readers. Because of declining enrollment and the wonders of time, I have a HUGE classroom filled with all kinds of things, some of which I use every day and many that I do not. </div><div><br /></div><div>Add to that my impressive collection of <a href="http://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/p/math-literature.html" target="_blank">math literature</a> and some of the professional development books I have read (I confess to also having a coffee table at home full of these!) I had a lot of things to go through. I will be following almost all the students and some staff members up the road a few miles to a larger school where I will be working with more teachers and many more students. Because this school is getting a large influx of kids all at once, they are creating several more classrooms which means my space will be a tiny room (it's not a closet because it has a window into the hallway!) that I will be sharing with a literacy specialist. This meant I had to a DRAMATIC downsizing of my possessions. I really pared things down to the things I use every day, the math literature books I look forward to reading to kids the most, the professional development books that I am always lending to other teachers and the math manipulatives, games and cards that give me the most bang for my buck.</div><div><br /></div><div>Starting sometime this week, I will be going into the new school to get things set up and will be sharing with you some of my favorite things (aka the things I kept!). If you have a small budget, are just getting started or are looking to downsize, these posts will be must reads for you!</div><div><br /></div><div>I also have been working on lots of posts and a free ebook on math boxes. I haven't shared much here on the blog about math boxes because there is so much to say and I have never been able to put a post together that says all the things but they are something we have been using every day over the past 5 years and they really saved us during the switch to online learning. They are also a personal possession of kids and are used by one student so they are something that will work well for this crazy school year we have coming at us. I have so much to say and share that I am working on a free ebook called Getting Started with Math Boxes. I REALLY want this ready to share with teachers and parents during the back to school season but you know real life gets in the way sometimes. I am working on it in the in between hours when my kids are occupied or sleeping but after 4+ months home together 24/7 I get less time to work on my projects than I would like! </div><div><br /></div><div>I also just announced that my first book, the <a href="https://amzn.to/30DGf8f" target="_blank">Complete Multiplication Workbook</a> is ready for pre-sale and anyone who orders it before August 3rd will get a free copy of my very popular <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Multiplication-Fact-Playing-Cards-Games-and-Activities-2509008" target="_blank">Multiplication Fact Deck and Activity Set</a>. You can check out all the details in <a href="http://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2020/07/buy-book-get-free-gift.htm" target="_blank">this post</a>! </div><div><br /></div><div>It has been 14 years since I have changed schools and I am doing it during a pandemic. Nothing like lots of change at once! I know there are not really pandemic experts out there yet but I bet some of you have a lot of advice for teachings changing schools. I would love it if you could share some of that advice in the comment section below! </div>The Math Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177173988483052908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746027850336066537.post-20363591935353687462020-07-09T06:00:00.001-04:002020-07-12T21:24:26.897-04:00Teaching Math With You Tube Videos: Subitizing <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim28CPkU7WONZpvUEQ0RFo0TuvcB19DZ69gjsnOxKd2wcBkZa3otnFtttMcxfluzK8q2io3vW6wK_X1GJYtC_HElYygOqpCk6S82V7BGypxxcV8ateCw8jMcetQaFw9TVyBjIuqmwZM9V6/s1536/1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="1536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim28CPkU7WONZpvUEQ0RFo0TuvcB19DZ69gjsnOxKd2wcBkZa3otnFtttMcxfluzK8q2io3vW6wK_X1GJYtC_HElYygOqpCk6S82V7BGypxxcV8ateCw8jMcetQaFw9TVyBjIuqmwZM9V6/s320/1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
About 5 years ago, I started a very popular series on my blog called Teaching Math with Youtube Videos. I have posts about</div>
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<a href="http://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2014/02/teaching-math-with-you-tube-videos.html" target="_blank">Shapes</a></h4>
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<a href="http://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2014/01/teaching-math-with-you-tube-videos.html" target="_blank">Counting</a></h4>
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<a href="http://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2014/02/teaching-math-with-you-tube-videos_18.html" target="_blank">Multiplication</a></h4>
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<a href="http://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2014/04/teaching-math-with-you-tube-videos.html" target="_blank">Addition facts</a></h4>
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<a href="https://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2017/09/teaching-math-with-you-tube-videos.html">Subtraction Facts</a></h4>
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<a href="https://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2019/09/my-favorite-new-counting-videos.html">My NEW Favorite Counting Videos</a></div>
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They are a great way to get a little movement break while still working on important math concepts. These little movement breaks have been super important as we have transitioned from summer vacation back to school 5 days a week. </div>
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I try to keep these posts up to date and have deleted and added videos to each of them a few times a year. They still get lots of visits each month and are a great way to have all the content from one topic in one area. I recently spent some time making updates to these posts and noticed that I don't have one dedicated to subitizing. Since there are some fabulous subitizing videos on You Tube now, I thought I would share with you a few of my favorites!<br />
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What is Subitizing? </h4>
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Subitizing is the ability to instantly recognize quantities. It is an important early math skill and a must master for kids in K and grade 1. The ability to subitize can further be broken into perceptual subitizing which is the ability to instantly recognize small quantities and conceptual subitizing which is when you decompose the image into smaller parts and add what you see together in your head. </div>
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We love using videos as a great way to practice this skill along with number talks, <a href="https://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2013/10/my-favorite-apps-subitize-tree-and-ten.html">a few apps</a> and our <a href="https://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2015/11/announcing-movin-it-math.html">Movin' it math</a> cards.<br />
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Start Out With Subitizing Quantities to 5</h4>
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If your kiddos are new to subitizing, start with one of these! Many of these can be done with perceptual subitizing which just a touch of conceptual subitizing required. Work on subitizing to 5 first and move up when kids are ready!<br />
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Some have answers included (after a few seconds for students to answer first) and others are open answer (it never confirms the right answer). We usually start with the original version and try the open answer as students are ready. </div>
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Subitize to 10!</h4>
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Lots to choose from here! A note on pronunciation: There seems to be 2 different ways folks pronounce subitize. I say it [soob-itizing] but some folks say it a little different! </div>
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Do you have a favorite subitizing song?<br />
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Are you a parent of a kiddo in grades 3-5?<br />
You might want to check out this recent announcement from my Facebook page!<br />
After a lot of hard work behind the scenes for the past several months, I'm so excited to finally announce that I have my first published print book coming out in just a few weeks, the Complete Multiplication Workbook. Multiplication is a must-know skill and builds the foundation for future math success. The Complete Multiplication Workbooks is the one-stop guide for making sure kids have a strong foundation in multiplication. I would love you to support my first print workbook! <a href="https://amzn.to/30DGf8f">You can pre-order your copy here</a>!<br />
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More sneak peaks inside coming in the next few weeks! </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM-Xw38oTMDo8P9SXnMRBmGy243nalGYoqDEkW0Th_ZLcNqbmQzV7_WuLwwPTOTFPGvZcCfP4zA0lWhnACdbTQ0r8fYI2Sw1-cctFxXOwbYa6LfVzNbf0WYrcrBVz-PVetUvz-f1hNLo20/s1402/7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1402" data-original-width="941" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM-Xw38oTMDo8P9SXnMRBmGy243nalGYoqDEkW0Th_ZLcNqbmQzV7_WuLwwPTOTFPGvZcCfP4zA0lWhnACdbTQ0r8fYI2Sw1-cctFxXOwbYa6LfVzNbf0WYrcrBVz-PVetUvz-f1hNLo20/s320/7.JPG" /></a></div><div><br /></div>
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The Math Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177173988483052908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746027850336066537.post-75469630915450337412020-07-07T06:30:00.000-04:002020-07-07T06:30:00.675-04:00I Wrote a Book!<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13px; white-space: pre-wrap;">After a LOT of hard work behind the scenes for the past several months, I'm so excited to finally announce that I have my first published print book coming out, Complete Multiplication Workbook. Multiplication is a must-know skill and builds the foundation for your future math success. The Complete Multiplication Workbook is the one-stop guide for making sure 4th graders understand whole number multiplication. I would love you to support my book. <a href="https://amzn.to/30DGf8f">You can pre-order your copy here</a>!</span><br />
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Stay tuned for sneak peeks in the coming weeks! I’m so excited! </span>The Math Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177173988483052908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746027850336066537.post-71148970797634392802020-05-15T06:00:00.000-04:002020-06-23T20:58:47.705-04:001, 2, 3, Animals!Everytime I take one of my kids for a well child visit with their pediatrician I get asked about reading with my kids at home. Even since they were small babies this question has been asked. I love this question because it reminds parents to read to their kids but I wish they asked another important question as well......<br />
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What are you doing to work on your baby/toddlers early math development?<br />
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How often do you practice counting objects with your child?<br />
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Are you working on subitizing with your child? Do you know what subitizing is?<br />
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I might have given the pediatrician a lecture or two about the importance of asking math type of questions during a well child visit a time or two but I am not sure it did much good!<br />
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I think all parents know they SHOULD be reading to their kids but I am not sure enough parents know about early math opportunities for their babies and toddlers. There are many counting books out there that they might be reading but they tend to focus on just one skill which is rote counting. Rote counting is important don't get me wrong but it is probably the least exciting of the early math skills!<br />
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I have been on the hunt for the PERFECT counting book to give to folks at baby showers because books are one of my favorite baby shower gifts. Recently a math blogger friend, Bethany Lake wrote <a href="https://amzn.to/2NldBB4">a counting book that sets itself apart from other counting books</a>.<br />
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Looks kind of like other counting books on the cover with its cute graphics and easy to read font but when you look inside you see something different.<br />
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This is a counting book with layers. There is the story and the counting (both forward and backward to 10) but then there is more. Bethany starts the book with a full page letter to parents. In that letter she outlines some important early math skills in easy to read parent friendly language. It gives parents ideas about what they can do while reading the book (and after!) to increase their kids interest, engagement and how they interact with the math in the text and pictures. <br />
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The story itself is super cute (written in rhymes which I always love!), and provides the opportunity to count forward and backward within 10. Many early counting books miss the opportunity to practice backward counting but I think it should be there from day 1!<br />
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The book ends with other visual models kids can use for subitizing. Showing parents all these in one book is brilliant! They will see them there and by seeing them over and over again in this book, they will start seeing them and pointing them out to their child in everyday life as well. <br />
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<a href="https://amzn.to/2NldBB4">1, 2, 3, Animals</a>! is a great counting book for toddlers and would make an excellent baby shower gift!The Math Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177173988483052908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746027850336066537.post-997197659784852352020-03-18T11:36:00.001-04:002020-03-18T11:36:45.519-04:00Teaching and Homeschooling: Our Current Schedule <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I hope everyone is staying healthy and taking care of themselves during these uncertain times. My school made the decision to close yesterday. My own children are also out of school for now. My husband has to continue to work. <br />
<br />The expectations for teachers for this week is that we will be in our buildings Thursday and Friday preparing materials for the buses to deliver to students on Monday. After that, our buildings will be only open to a select group of staff for the following week. We are providing kids with 2 weeks of review materials, both paper/pencil and some online options. We are sending devices home with kids in grades 3-6. Not all of our students have internet. We have sent/will be sending home some of the things I discusses in <a href="https://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2020/03/helping-kids-learn-from-home.html">last week's post</a>. I also sent a reminder to parents about <a href="https://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2016/07/back-to-school-math-tips-organizing.html">our school wide math blog</a> which is a great way to curate online resources for your students. <br /><br />I will dive more into how we are supporting our students online and with hard goods later this week. Today I want to share with you our current work from home/homeschooling schedule. This is going to be what we try to follow on days that I am working from home. When I have to go into school, this schedule will have to look a little different.<br />
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Morning Block 6:30-8:30ish<br />
-Morning snuggles, breakfast, get dressed, brush teeth, feed pets, morning chores and free play.<br /><br />Community Meeting 8:45-9<br />
-We are using our dining room table as out all together work area. We listen to the weather, make a schedule for the day and talk about what activities each person really wants to do that day.<br /><br />Seat Work 9-10ish<br />
-Each kid (I have 3) has a personal work space set up in a different room in the house. I start with the oldest and go over work for the day and then meet with each kid at the dining room table to help them get started and make sure they know the expectations. Then I walk around checking in with each kid as needed. I use the time after I meet with each kid while they are working independently to answer emails and do whatever needs to be done for "work" at that point. At this point they are working on a combination of things their teachers have posted, some math worksheets, writing letters to grandparents, independent reading and working on a few independent math games/activities with dice, cards and number puzzles.<br />
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Recess 10-10:45ish<br />
-We have a lot of outdoor space and plenty of opportunities for recess. I get myself outside with the kids and we all do whatever we want. We live in the woods and have a pond and a swing set so there is plenty of free play opportunities. I have been using the time to push kids on swings and rake up the millions of leaves and sticks that are currently covering the lawn.<br /><br />Device Learning 10:45-11:30<br />-My kids are using a variety of websites that they already use at school combined with a few websites that we use at my school that my kids are already familiar with. At this time we have not introduced any new learning sites but there are many offering free services at this time.<br /><br />Lunch 11:30-12<br />-Time to eat!<br /><br />Family Hike 12-1<br />
-We live in the woods on a dirt road and next to a large farm so out outdoor walking opportunities are just about endless. We are counteracting some of the additional screen time with some intentional family exercise. We own excellent outdoor clothing for all weather so we plan on a family hike in all weather although it might be shorter when weather is not great. <br /><br />Read Aloud 1-1:15<br />My school is doing One school, one book and all families are reading the same book. We hit the couch and read one section around this time.<br /><br />Quiet Time 1:15-2:15<br />My kids are beyond napping but this is a vital part of our day. Kids go to separate rooms and play or read independently. Mom can work, relax or do anything that has to get done.<br />
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Flexible Time 2:15-5<br />We will use this time to be outside again when the weather is perfect, work on larger projects like organizing the basement or do more learning things like virtual field trips or kitchen science experiments.<br />
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Family time and Dinner 5-6<br />My husband is home and can spend time with the kids. Mom gets a break if she needs it. Dinner prep and cooking lessons, hanging out time.<br /><br />Screen Time 6-7:30<br />Watch a movie as a family, play video games, make whatever screen choices kids and parents would like.<br /><br />Get ready for Bed 7:30-8<br /><br /><br />We are only getting started on this trying to work and homeschool and go nowhere journey. We shall see how our schedule changes and adapts moving forward. <br />
<br />The Math Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177173988483052908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746027850336066537.post-76208015075327178732020-03-13T14:08:00.001-04:002020-07-28T11:10:42.174-04:00Helping Kids Learn From HomeAs I write this, a small percentage of K-12 school across the US have already made the decision to close schools for several weeks. In the days to come, I am sure a great many more will also reach such a decision.<br />
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Many online learning companies are now <a href="http://www.amazingeducationalresources.com/?fbclid=IwAR3dyHEWJNtiNs-oo5BpLD7HqUxrOejkz675vtCHpe-AzQ6jPCO2ls0QjJE">offering their services for free</a> to schools that are facing these situations which I think is great but not all of our students will have the same level of access to these things. I also do not know how much elementary schools will expect from kids and teachers in terms of at home learning. I do know I want to create a culture of learning and provide opportunities for my students to continue learning while they are away from school even if this time isn't going to "count" toward school days for teachers or students. I also know that if I am in a situation where I have to stay home with my own children for an extended period of time, we are going to need some school like stuff in our days to keep us all sane and happy.<br />
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Here are a few little things that you can do now that will help give your students some offline learning opportunities if you are required to go on an extended break.<br />
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Send Home Books</h4>
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<li>Your school library is full of books! Relax guidelines on limits of books checked out and let them borrow more!</li>
<li>Many schools have a free book shelf or area. Make sure that kids get some time to go through these books today! You know which kids need these the most, make sure they get the first look! </li>
<li>Look for other books in your school that are no longer being utilized like they once were and add them to the free book shelf! You know there are some books in that science unit box you haven't taught in 5 years and there are always books that can be culled from the multiple copy area in our school!</li>
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Card Games</h4>
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<li>Over at Math Coach's Corner you can <a href="https://www.mathcoachscorner.com/2013/05/math-games-with-a-deck-of-cards/">grab a printable book</a> of games for kids in grades 3-5 to play with a deck of cards. Most kids have cards at home and if they say they don't you might consider sending a deck home from school! Decks of playing cards are super easy to replace, they sell them at Dollar Tree for 2/$1 and if you know anyone who plays poker they will keep you supplied for life! </li>
<li>For younger students, ten and twenty frame games are the way to go! <a href="http://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2014/10/10-activities-for-pumpkin-10-frames.html">Click here for a post about 10 ways to use 10 frames</a> (also 20 frames). Feel free to print this post and send it home with a set of 10 or 20 frame playing cards. <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Ten-Frame-Playing-Cards-260527">Need printable 10 frame cards</a>? <a href="http://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2014/03/combinations-of-5-10-and-20.html">Need printable 20 frame cards</a>? <a href="https://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2020/07/ten-games-to-play-with-10-frame-playing.html">Here is a FREE printable booklet</a> for 10 games to play with 10 frame cards written with parent friendly directions! </li>
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Dice</h4>
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<li>Math Coach's Corner again hits it out of the park with a <a href="https://www.mathcoachscorner.com/2013/05/math-games-with-a-pair-of-dice/">free easy to print booklet</a> offering dice games. These can be played with an ordinary pair of dice, which many kids probably already have at home but again you may need to send some from school. If you have time making <a href="http://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2014/11/you-oughta-know-about-making-origami.html">origami dice </a>can be a fun way to provide dice for home use. </li>
<li>Here is a post about <a href="http://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2013/04/using-dice-to-promote-fluency-with.html">using dice K-6 to promote additive reasoning</a>. Might be less printer friendly but offers suggestions for every grade level. </li>
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Math Practice</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJHFdh4Riq9HymFYQnUYRpFoeJ8vD7PnXpGKWKDjVbVq-EvE4ex1RansODIMCfK_zhie4tmSGifscDSdHgCjkyp10AgJj6i4XTIoKpcBahCXU0yri6GtKixpnttIYdYVs7LlZkUC-4KMad/s1600/b.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1402" data-original-width="941" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJHFdh4Riq9HymFYQnUYRpFoeJ8vD7PnXpGKWKDjVbVq-EvE4ex1RansODIMCfK_zhie4tmSGifscDSdHgCjkyp10AgJj6i4XTIoKpcBahCXU0yri6GtKixpnttIYdYVs7LlZkUC-4KMad/s320/b.JPG" width="214" /></a>
<li>We have <a href="https://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2020/03/how-we-structure-our-multi-age-math.html">structured our math classe</a>s to include more hands on learning and less worksheets but there is still plenty of written practice that comes with our math program. We take a sampling of that written practice and make individualized mini math practice books for kids that we tend to use in class once a week or so or in place of main lesson when a substitute is in charge of the class. If we get the word that we are going on an unanticipated break, these will go home in backpacks. Do you have some unused pages from your math curriculum that you could pull out of books or copy to send home? </li>
<li><a href="https://www.mathlearningcenter.org/resources/lessons/practice-books">Bridges practice books</a>: These a free and offered at K-5 levels. Maybe you have time to print 15 pages for each kid. Try to find things that are at kids independent level</li>
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Reading/Writing</h4>
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<li><a href="https://www.kristimraz.com/2020/03/13/hope-this-helps?fbclid=IwAR0ZBG47XQy17M-BOkD7Y_qDZ-fny64S4sUv3YFKVVIIj9f3Da5hCgJk0QA">I found this great post</a> which I think is the perfect way to handle something like this if you have time with you class before the break starts.</li>
<li>This <a href="http://twocandoit.blogspot.com/2011/12/weve-had-lots-of-feedback-from-our-read.html">writing bingo</a> looks like fun and is just a one page printable!</li>
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I know you probably won't have time to do all the things but these are the quicker and easier ways I have been thinking about this week.<br />
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Good luck to all my fellow teachers as we tread into this uncharted territory.<br />
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I just saw this list of <a href="https://matr.org/blog/fun-maths-games-activities-for-kids/?fbclid=IwAR3RAioMyS5P9wmu93HoPrYG7HuuBvkdVoJEI2Bi_yL4lJ6T0CE1Z3HswN4">25 ways to practice math at home</a>! </div>
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The Math Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177173988483052908noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746027850336066537.post-24053286532271401742020-03-01T21:08:00.001-05:002021-02-24T09:17:45.830-05:00How We Structure Our Multi-Age Math Classes for Upper Elementary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One of the big things changes I have made over the last few years but have had very little time to write about here on my blog is our shift from teaching math to one grade at a time to a multi-age math approach. We went to a multi-age model due to declining enrollment and after 5 years, we have really figured out how to differentiate and personalize learning for kids in a multi-age classroom. The big surprise is how it has changed the way we approach our single grade classrooms as well. The things we have learned from multi-aging have helped us differentiate and personalize learning for all learners. Differentiation and personalizing math class are the things that I can talk about all day right now. In the next few months, I will be working to share some of the things we have learned while multi-aging that will help differentiate and personalize in all math classes.<br />
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Today's topic is the structure we use for math classes. We currently have a 3-4 multi-age and a 5-6 multi-age that follow this structure<br />
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Warm-Up </h4>
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We start math class with a whole group warm up. This almost always includes all learners and is a great way to fit in cumulative review and lessons on mindset. It is also the perfect opportunity to engage kids in low floor high ceiling tasks, do a whole group number talk or introduce a game that will be part of our math menu later. Some of our favorite resources include</div>
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<a href="http://www.estimation180.com/">Estimation 180</a></div>
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<a href="https://wodb.ca/?fbclid=IwAR2q6WOgo6On28FtESP08pzEn8INa5Xk5xE9qEreQ4jqj98P8HF0P5m_YyI">Which One Doesn't Belong</a></div>
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<a href="https://gfletchy.com/3-act-lessons/">3 Act Math Tasks</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.openmiddle.com/">Open Middle Problems</a></div>
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<a href="https://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2015/01/number-talks-book-study-part-1.html">Number Talks</a></div>
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<a href="http://ntimages.weebly.com/?fbclid=IwAR0FPKBOZGtOZpWI46s5hYNDJBfoxSv1Zauzi79LwOB3K5QIojJECuxhago">Number Talk Images</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.youcubed.org/resource/wim-videos/">Mindset Videos</a></div>
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Main Lesson</h4>
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Our main lesson time is the problems and investigations times. It is when we do a mini lesson or problem launch followed by kids working on that problem. This is where we implement what we know about <a href="https://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2016/04/math-workshop-mini-lessons-and-worktime.html">math workshop</a>. Sometimes this is done as a one whole group and other times we split into 2 groups for this portion. We use a co-teaching model in math several days a week so there often is 2 adults who can do 2 different main lessons if needed. If only one adult is available, they can do main lesson with one group and send the other kids out to math menu and then switch. </div>
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How do we know when we can do one whole group lesson and when we need to offer 2 or more different main lesson options? It all comes down to what we are working on. Near the beginning of a unit, we often do one main lesson. As our <a href="https://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2013/07/using-formative-assessment-in-math.html">formative assessment</a> adds to our knowledge about what kids know and are able to do we sometimes get to a point where we need to offer more than one main lesson. <br /><br />Ready for an example? Right now our 5/6 class is jumping into an algebra unit. We have kept these kids together for main lesson a lot this year partly because we have gotten better at differentiating our main lesson and partly because our fifth graders have had several years with a more differentiated math class which has allowed them to access more challenging problems from an earlier age and has put them in a place where they are happy to take on challenging problems. For the past week and for the next several weeks, they will have main lesson together. When our formative assessment shows us that some kids really have it and others start to struggle, then we may break into 2 groups for main lesson.<br /><br />Another example: Our 3/4 class is in the midst of working on fractions. We are about halfway into our fraction unit and have decided to break into 2 groups for main lesson for the rest of the unit. We do not put the third graders in one group and the fourth graders in another group, rather we put kids in whatever group they happen to be ready to be in based on formative assessment. We currently have a smaller group of mostly third graders working on part whole and equivalence and magnitude. They are working on placing fractions on number lines and comparing them and noticing things about equivalence and magnitude using models. They are working on the traditional third grade standards. Our second group has these fraction skills down and is working on the next level of fraction stuff. They are noticing things about adding and subtracting fractions. They are using models to find sums and differences. They are connecting fractions and decimals. These kids are working toward traditional fourth grade standards. This group has a lot of fourth graders in it but it also has some third graders. <br /><br /><h4>
Math Menu</h4>
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What started out as math stations or math games 10 years ago morphed into a <a href="https://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2014/07/guided-math-in-action-book-study.html">guided math</a> type set-up about 6 years ago and has now landed on a math menu style intentional practice period. We end almost every math class with about 20-30 minutes of math menu. Kids transition to math menu when they finish their main lesson. For us, math menu is a selection of games, problems and activities that are offered at multiple levels that kids can play with a partner or independently. We offer students choice and voice during this time. They do not have to do every activity or problem we present but get to choose from a selection and within each selection, there are often multiple levels. I have a lot more to share about math menu in the coming weeks and months so stay tuned.<br /><br />What questions do you have about how we structure our multi-age math classes? Please respond in the comments below or head over to our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/796665457506499/">Facebook group</a> and join our community as we explore ways to differentiate math class!<br /><br /><h4><br /></h4></div><div>
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The Math Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177173988483052908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746027850336066537.post-39877789680138376712020-02-07T16:15:00.002-05:002020-02-07T16:15:29.795-05:00Giant Yohaku! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYOYTlOON_SgEDMnF54EHHUCtCemqERlHG1wqE8miW3pOeKHFPM3JPZ9uBW90CYmPRipwe-FkY_dHAJJ1RU2ds-hp9Bt91tSfPbKjTfNep_2Jl7vsJ2u69IHPl24l2WK8bBE-6LURjXAXo/s1600/IMG_20180418_142424355.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="1600" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYOYTlOON_SgEDMnF54EHHUCtCemqERlHG1wqE8miW3pOeKHFPM3JPZ9uBW90CYmPRipwe-FkY_dHAJJ1RU2ds-hp9Bt91tSfPbKjTfNep_2Jl7vsJ2u69IHPl24l2WK8bBE-6LURjXAXo/s400/IMG_20180418_142424355.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
A few years ago, I discovered <a href="https://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2018/03/yohaku-ultimate-low-floor-high-ceiling.html">Yohaku puzzles</a> which are an excellent way to engage all learners in your classroom. They might be the ultimate low floor, high ceiling math task. We have used these puzzles in grades 1-6 and revisit them frequently. They make an excellent addition to math menu and can be accessed by all learners. They are an easy way to start differentiating your math practice. Kids love solving Yohaku puzzles and creating their own. You can access <a href="https://www.yohaku.ca/about.html">a bunch for free here</a> or check out the<a href="https://amzn.to/2Srwswt"> collection of books on Amazon</a>. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh06t-nI47NZz_N154CkSM80iSWNlEjgwXJPCgQKllz7xuTsGQEoijkQE7YqEnhxJx-QmckswSJSESrTM1iGuxQx-5gnxfinzlL3BhyRhx0m15xLcGGIGf1gFiwrnhvXaYPEhCeLyL4rpfD/s1600/IMG_20180418_142441323.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="899" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh06t-nI47NZz_N154CkSM80iSWNlEjgwXJPCgQKllz7xuTsGQEoijkQE7YqEnhxJx-QmckswSJSESrTM1iGuxQx-5gnxfinzlL3BhyRhx0m15xLcGGIGf1gFiwrnhvXaYPEhCeLyL4rpfD/s320/IMG_20180418_142441323.jpg" width="179" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBW_zDpOT4xtPdu_xDGN6UwKV7rm6tyoNyCVDpJZboeUf4HgySwD-wHXGiGPlLC_RZbDiyuoClOF9WAlvD9iar0LoXLWRGr4jTTcdALjPVCptcPEJgeExN3eai5l43huT4tjKguPAgFGsq/s1600/IMG_20180418_142449797.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="899" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBW_zDpOT4xtPdu_xDGN6UwKV7rm6tyoNyCVDpJZboeUf4HgySwD-wHXGiGPlLC_RZbDiyuoClOF9WAlvD9iar0LoXLWRGr4jTTcdALjPVCptcPEJgeExN3eai5l43huT4tjKguPAgFGsq/s320/IMG_20180418_142449797.jpg" width="179" /></a>My students had the grand idea to create a GIANT YOHAKU board in our front hallway. We used paper from our rack of large paper rolls. They are about one square yard each. We wanted to laminate them so that we could use <a href="https://amzn.to/2H0TXY2">dry erase markers</a> on them so we made them as large as our laminator is wide. After creating a set of Yohaku puzzles that each have multiple correct answers, we made sure we had puzzles that ranged from easy to quite challenging. We put them up in order from easiest to most difficult and pinned small squares of microfiber cloth and a string with a dry erase marker. We put up a few signs to invite folks to solve these puzzles.<br />
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What happened next was truly amazing. Despite most kids being exposed to these puzzles within math class over the weeks leading up to this project, these giant puzzles made Yohaku a school community project. Suddenly, kids from different grades were comparing puzzles and parents got involved since the front hall way is where parents wait to pick up kids. Even some community members who are not usually part of our school got involved during town wide events. These puzzles got solved over and over again in many different ways. Folks were free to erase and start again at any time and the students who helped me with this project and myself would erase them all a few times a week so we could start from scratch. I wish I had taken a picture of all the different ways these got solved because that itself would have made a great follow up to this!<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14pt;">This week I also started a brand new <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/796665457506499/">Facebook group</a> for teachers who want to start working on ways to differentiate and personalize
learning. It is a place where I will be sharing extra tips and motivation and also a great place to ask questions and learn from other teachers who are walking down the same path. It is free to join and a great choice for any K-6 teacher who wants to do more to meet the needs of all his or her learners. We are just getting started so it might move slowly for a week or two but as more teachers join and contribute their ideas it is sure to become a rich mathematical community! </span><br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Themathmaniac/Category/Valentines-Day-420003"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="1600" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFwexObhcduTnNgVj1ese4g23KHSiHFb1nZyx-Yp-UdO2g1JZ98VnSzJhXN4B9d3_Wtm6vRGsrXe6JxOEhTah3bWo9M0i6GE53WwoNXvz-xhWjofQnQSfisn817UbIeOvthRf3-Z1lT3CX/s320/IMG_20170205_123139832.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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We got a lot of our <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Themathmaniac/Category/Valentines-Day-420003">Valentine's Day favorites</a> out this week and had a great time trying out some new Valentine and winter freebies that are part of <a href="https://members.mathgeekmama.com/february-math-freebies/mgm/27/">our new grades 3-5 math freebie bundle</a>! </div>
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Have you ever tried a Yohaku puzzle? What is your favorite low floor, high ceiling math task? Please respond in the comments below! </div>
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<br />The Math Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177173988483052908noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746027850336066537.post-79864878338115014042020-02-06T14:25:00.001-05:002020-02-06T14:25:12.083-05:00Reflections on Our First Global School Play Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghsAXE70eNsYEa-dn4tkOF_rFB4YwvFCBU6L9QS1HBrBuXRL8SG-fLYkAFIROO8603kmj5kBx1GxJ6xRK8yW2m3InKy5_YQZsUKy7TswoB58Hizv5u5VfnofdaHVphqL7okYhENH0410r_/s1600/b.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="1536" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghsAXE70eNsYEa-dn4tkOF_rFB4YwvFCBU6L9QS1HBrBuXRL8SG-fLYkAFIROO8603kmj5kBx1GxJ6xRK8yW2m3InKy5_YQZsUKy7TswoB58Hizv5u5VfnofdaHVphqL7okYhENH0410r_/s320/b.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Today is our first snow day of 2020 and I have to say, it is nice to have an extra day off! Yesterday was a busy day at my school, we participated in <a href="https://www.globalschoolplayday.com/">Global School Play Day</a> in the morning and then our students went home and we had professional development in the afternoon. I have been leading a group of teachers working on differentiating math class, trying out math menu and focusing on the big ideas in math class. It takes a lot more energy to lead inservice training than it does to just sit and listen so today I am taking a much needed day to slow down, snuggle my babies and reflect on our first Global School Play Day.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilpylWmydlZ52lfTts6scMJ_Ot0FDKugES4qMz_kNGibkjQUZvBMHlkqyfCr7v1lASf72Spxj9VF5wevaKoQBzhTTeynflSF6Mvj4tJtKiwq7QC6ltZE5QcWE0y_I9v_kiGIfJuTkf7st9/s1600/IMG_20200205_083141511.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilpylWmydlZ52lfTts6scMJ_Ot0FDKugES4qMz_kNGibkjQUZvBMHlkqyfCr7v1lASf72Spxj9VF5wevaKoQBzhTTeynflSF6Mvj4tJtKiwq7QC6ltZE5QcWE0y_I9v_kiGIfJuTkf7st9/s320/IMG_20200205_083141511.jpg" width="320" /></a>First, there were certainly mixed feelings for staff about spending a day "just playing" but since it was already an early release day for our students and we all know we get way less done when our schedule is interrupted, staff had a generally positive attitude about the whole thing. The other thing that happened was that many of our classroom teachers were participating in a full day of district led professional development and that meant a LOT of substitutes in our building for the morning. This meant some shifting about of staff so that there were familiar adults in each space. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiliYwx2Bg8yrceq_bdKKU8GTdobJeCz59SpCJHKuz-X2QNzBN5xRiywCNPye-L6JPOIbG-oLK7VacGhkfO-NGV95JaxCu5D-1P-cb3P1A9z1oJC5AHFnYvAF2_gL1YCD6DY48e68ntZuMp/s1600/IMG_20200205_102919914.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiliYwx2Bg8yrceq_bdKKU8GTdobJeCz59SpCJHKuz-X2QNzBN5xRiywCNPye-L6JPOIbG-oLK7VacGhkfO-NGV95JaxCu5D-1P-cb3P1A9z1oJC5AHFnYvAF2_gL1YCD6DY48e68ntZuMp/s320/IMG_20200205_102919914.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Kids were allowed to bring toys from home as long as they had no screens, batteries, plugs or weapons. This meant a lot of <a href="https://amzn.to/3bidDEE">lol dolls</a>, <a href="https://amzn.to/2vWkaEQ">legos</a> and sports equipment made their way into school. We also have various toys, STEM type building materials and a huge pile of cardboard boxes. We had a bunch of classrooms open, the gym, the music room and the playground as choices. We did two sessions and took a break in the middle for kids to go back to their homeroom for snack and attendance. Kids were welcome to move about the building freely. Areas of the building that were closed had closed doors and kids knew ahead of time which spaces would be open. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAs4kIiVLyEcRn1nH6YVkOpipZJQtg5S11W0fN2dAmvUHuC53rzgQsjGZjslpnpg9YikB8JDmzL9KOruZRVCIaWb5C9CRP7v5ghLlugKiASewjqdCUcQ-rJuQqtEOMJu9Pwl3a8Kk2qr12/s1600/IMG_20200205_090519984.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAs4kIiVLyEcRn1nH6YVkOpipZJQtg5S11W0fN2dAmvUHuC53rzgQsjGZjslpnpg9YikB8JDmzL9KOruZRVCIaWb5C9CRP7v5ghLlugKiASewjqdCUcQ-rJuQqtEOMJu9Pwl3a8Kk2qr12/s320/IMG_20200205_090519984.jpg" width="320" /></a>Adults were asked to stay out of the way unless behavior became unsafe or if a kid asked us to play. Some kids had a hard time settling in at first and moved from room to room looking for friends or the right space to play in. Some spaces like the gym got to loud for some kids and they went in search of a new spot to play. In my space, there was a lot of building going on. Of course my classroom has a lot of different <a href="https://amzn.to/3bjXfmU">STEM challenge type toys</a> anyways and the kids adore them. Also many kids brought Legos into my room and dolls. <a href="https://amzn.to/3bksbDB">Pokemon cards</a> were also very popular. There was also a pile of cardboard boxes in my room and it was amazing how the play changed when kids started dragging those out. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpyq05Qc5VbtReZ4GnWF5r-t_TOTtyW0m7tVKtFupGTkAm8_UMDg95VAfIwj3syRHpksMEtes2LO97ru4ReQANYlZlYokX4CqZGqHn9sGVagctVWGAwr0_twkTPmJBwyMrLKvAvUKuUId5/s1600/IMG_20200205_084228938.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpyq05Qc5VbtReZ4GnWF5r-t_TOTtyW0m7tVKtFupGTkAm8_UMDg95VAfIwj3syRHpksMEtes2LO97ru4ReQANYlZlYokX4CqZGqHn9sGVagctVWGAwr0_twkTPmJBwyMrLKvAvUKuUId5/s320/IMG_20200205_084228938.jpg" width="320" /></a>One groups of kids started building the Titanic out of cardboard and tape and within 10 minutes, so many kids were building things with cardboard that we had to get MORE boxes and eventually used every piece of cardboard in the school! The kids playing with LOL dolls and trucks started building houses and shops. They started incorporating other objects like <a href="https://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2013/11/have-you-heard-of-digiblocks.html">digiblocks</a>, small cups, craft sticks and more. All of the sudden, everyone was building and making stuff to go along with whatever they were playing. It really reinforces the idea of the book <a href="https://amzn.to/2UuTTHP">Not a Box</a> and why giving kids time to make and create things is so important.<br />
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By the end of the morning, kids were trying to figure out how they could transport their boxes and creations home and what they were going to add onto it and what else they were going to make out of cardboard. There was a spark of creativity and an excitement about play that was contagious. I think a lot more kids went home and played the rest of the day instead of going home to sit in front of a screen or play with electronics which is pretty common on these early release days in the middle of winter. <br />
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I think our first time trying the Global Day of Play was a success and I am sure we will be doing it again next year. If you want to join us, you can <a href="https://www.globalschoolplayday.com/">get more information here</a>!<br />
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<a href="https://members.mathgeekmama.com/february-math-freebies/mgm/27/"><img border="0" data-original-height="895" data-original-width="1600" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifoBsTPUdLN5hdMHDswi-_VzS5MVxizNiu-vZ4iBvx3sCDU0FSdNy0Q8_2LytERxoGAup0XTaQWrFiwPHb7blCwjZQ_JkWqEL3C5P8MqCbMi_lcKaTqo8K7bYtj-T53Cs-pegphcJgw20I/s320/February+Freebies+Graphic_Horizontal+%25281%2529.png" width="320" /></a></div>
If you teach grades 3-5, you won't want to miss out on this great bundle of 10 winter and Valentine themed goodies that I put together with some of my math blogger friends! <a href="https://members.mathgeekmama.com/february-math-freebies/mgm/27/">Head here to sign up and grab this freebie!</a><br />
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The Math Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177173988483052908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746027850336066537.post-67346060394798053492020-02-02T11:02:00.000-05:002020-02-05T20:14:14.791-05:00Fill Your Math Centers with FUN: 10 FREE Activities for Grades 3-5<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTa9Lyw4ribQPUFP5-LIgRkKh2gXX5YdFP5AR_u9chwZpbCZ47RRp0Xzh15YI5zi4xRSyiaLcnGeaSjbM81X6K3p5Yodp28W4EFXukKhw-_fWJSTXHSsCZHFJUpHDgbhl7I53YQ0ISUZGX/s1600/February+Math_Horizontal+Graphic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="701" data-original-width="1200" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTa9Lyw4ribQPUFP5-LIgRkKh2gXX5YdFP5AR_u9chwZpbCZ47RRp0Xzh15YI5zi4xRSyiaLcnGeaSjbM81X6K3p5Yodp28W4EFXukKhw-_fWJSTXHSsCZHFJUpHDgbhl7I53YQ0ISUZGX/s400/February+Math_Horizontal+Graphic.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Are you feeling like you’re in a winter slump as you head into the month of February? </div>
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Although we’re past the busyness of the holidays, we’re not yet into the warmth and sunshine (and home stretch feeling!) that spring brings. <br />
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Never fear! I’ve got just the thing to liven up your math lessons and re-engage your students to help you get through the next few weeks. <br />
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Several experienced math educators have put together their best freebies for February in one download, just for you. <br />
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This collection of 10 FREE games and math challenges for grades 3-5 will save you time and help your kids to practice and review essential math skills. <br />
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Some of these downloads have a Valentine’s Day theme (so go ahead and prep those now!), while others simply have a winter theme that you can use all month long. <br />
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<b>Math Skills Your Kids Will Use in These Games: </b><br />
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• Using known facts to solve harder multiplication facts <br />
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Using the doubling & halving strategy to solve multiplication facts <br />
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• Multiplication & division fact families <br />
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• Finding equivalent fractions & decimals <br />
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• Comparing, adding & subtracting fractions <br />
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• Time & Elapsed time word problems <br />
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• Multiplication & division word problems <br />
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Whether you teach 3rd, 4th or 5th grade, you’re bound to find something new and fun to help your kids build number sense and take a break from your normal math routine. <br />
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Ready to grab this set?? <a href="https://members.mathgeekmama.com/february-math-freebies/mgm/27/" target="_blank">Hop over to this page to sign up</a>!<br />
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The Math Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177173988483052908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746027850336066537.post-74972271873786195182019-09-07T14:51:00.000-04:002019-09-07T14:51:11.539-04:00My Favorite New Counting Videos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
About 5 years ago, I started a very popular series on my blog called Teaching Math with You Tube Videos.I have posts about</div>
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<a href="http://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2014/02/teaching-math-with-you-tube-videos-coins.html" target="_blank">Coins</a></h4>
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<a href="http://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2014/03/teaching-math-with-you-tube-videos-time.html" target="_blank">Time</a></h4>
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<a href="http://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2014/03/teaching-math-with-you-tube-videos.html" target="_blank">Fractions</a></h4>
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They are a great way to get a little movement break while still working on important math concepts. These little movement breaks have been super important as we have transitioned from summer vacation back to school 5 days a week. </div>
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I try to keep these posts up to date and have deleted and added videos to each of them a few times a year. They still get lots of visits each month and are a great way to have all the content from one topic in one area. The creators of these videos have done an awesome job creating new content and I just wanted to share with you some of my new favorites. Some of these are brand new videos that were released this summer and a few are new to me favorites.</div>
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This is a new series of counting videos and my students love them! The first one counts by 1's to 100</div>
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This one is a counting by 5 video with Grandma and Grandpa at the beach<br />
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Counting by 2's with Grandma and Grandpa on the farm<br />
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My students have been loving using You Tube math songs for brain breaks since Kindergarten. By the time they get to grade 2, they have seen most of them plenty of times and are ready for some harder counting series. These videos are becoming much easier to find!</div>
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Do you have any favorite new counting videos? Please share in the comments below!<br />
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<br />The Math Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177173988483052908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746027850336066537.post-79269903934367563062019-09-05T14:35:00.002-04:002019-09-05T14:35:44.130-04:00Hailstone Series Numbers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We are on day #5 of back to school and I wanted to share a fun lesson with you all today. We start each year with the <a href="https://www.youcubed.org/week-inspirational-math/">Week of Inspirational Math</a> published by You Cubed. We have been starting the year this way ever since I read <a href="https://amzn.to/2ZQT238">Mathematical Mindsets</a> and it has been a great way to jump into a new year and set classrooms up for success.</div>
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If you have used Week of Inspirational math in the past, you might know that each year they release a new week. The week consists of math tasks most of which are low floor high ceiling and videos about having a positive math mindset. This year, instead of releasing a new week, they re-did the website and it now allows you to pick and choose tasks, videos and other inspirational math options. I have been working with classroom teachers to take turns picking and choosing old favorites and trying out some new tasks. Yesterday when I was doing a quick browse on the Week of Inspirational math page, I found a task about the <a href="https://www.youcubed.org/wim/oh-hail-the-elephant-3-5/">Hailstone series</a>. This is a series of numbers that I have explored with students in the past but one that I haven't revisited in quite a number of years. I decided to try it out in my third and fourth grade math class. </div>
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If you are not familiar with the Hailstone series, let me give you a quick summary. You can start with any positive integer (counting number). If the number is even, you cut it in half (n/2). If the number is odd, you triple it and add one (3n+1). Mathematicians have found that you can start with any number and follow these steps, you will always end up with 1. They have not found a number that this doesn't work for yet, but they also haven't proven that it works for every single number. This means it is kind of an unsolved mathematical mystery which is an angle that my students always seem to find very intriguing. The reason it is nicknamed the hailstone series is that the numbers go up and down similar to the way hail is formed in a thunder cloud. </div>
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I started the class by asking kids what they knew about hail. The kids were quite surprised by this question and quickly engaged with their classmates on a discussion about what they thought they knew about hail. After sharing as a group, we watched this quick video clip about how hail is formed. Because they had already had a chance to activate prior knowledge about hail, they were very interested. </div>
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I then spent a few minutes engaging kids in a review of odd and even numbers and did a quick number talk about strategies for cutting numbers in half. I then explained how the hailstone series worked and we tried it out for a couple of single digit numbers. Once kids understood how it worked, I had them try a number in pairs. We had kids coming to the board and adding their ideas to the ones that were already up there. We came back together after a bit and kids got to share what they noticed. They were very excited to take what they noticed and try it out on a few more numbers so we made some time for that before wrapping up class for the day. This is the type of problem that was a great review of important math vocabulary and worked on computational fluency all in the context of exploring a larger mathematical mystery. It was engaging and motivating for my students, I knew I wanted to repeat it later that day for grades 5 and 6. </div>
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In fifth and sixth grades, we had even more fun and excitement because we had to spend less time reviewing things like halving, odd and even and were able to jump into the actual series faster. They are also much more fluent with computation and were able to generate numbers faster. They noticed SO MANY mathematical patterns and were making and testing conjectures left and right. After exploring the numbers to 11 as a group and in pairs, some kids were excited to continue going in order while others wanted to jump around. I gave them the option of either and they had so much fun playing around with math. They worked so hard and were so engaged and excited. At the end of class, I heard one boy say to another, "I am going to work on this all night. Why don't I facetime you and we can do it together!". Music to my ears.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNyGER5bbZ7Lf80FK13_-ADKu-pEmu10XHOhYwSsLBYlrmAHC8OqRxwM2IV2W9Tbja3pD7wQ7xcQeuIcqU_YqsXkZLu7hB_Z9rJPZFgui-MIVmVXqdVfWVRHTqixh38ENDc1WRjco7eq4R/s1600/IMG_20190904_143231732.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNyGER5bbZ7Lf80FK13_-ADKu-pEmu10XHOhYwSsLBYlrmAHC8OqRxwM2IV2W9Tbja3pD7wQ7xcQeuIcqU_YqsXkZLu7hB_Z9rJPZFgui-MIVmVXqdVfWVRHTqixh38ENDc1WRjco7eq4R/s400/IMG_20190904_143231732.jpg" width="400" /></a>This type of problem isn't done after one class period so we put some of our work up on a bulletin board in the hallway where kids can keep exploring this series and adding to our work over the next few weeks during math menu time or even at home! We listed the series of for the first 15 or so numbers on chart paper, leaving room for kids who were going in order to add to it later. We also decided to add index cards for those numbers kids did out of sequence. I can't wait to gather them around this board in a week or two and see what new understandings emerge! They have some big questions they are still working on answering and for now I am quite content to leave them unanswered and to let them keep exploring!</div>
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A big thank you to You Cubed for putting the Week of Inspirational Math out there and working so hard to promote positive mindsets. Jo Boaler, the creator of You Cubed just release her newest research on mindsets, <a href="https://amzn.to/2ZMjLOA">Limitless Mind</a>! I think this would make a great book study! My copy is due to arrive this evening and I am sure it will inspire me to do more with my students. </div>
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The Math Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177173988483052908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746027850336066537.post-64784970676386490342019-06-06T14:55:00.004-04:002020-01-17T10:03:18.670-05:00Countdown to SUMMER!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Hello friends! First blog post in 10 months! The time has just gone by so quickly this school year! After the hardest year of my teaching career last school year, I am just wrapping up the best school year I have ever had. Life lesson: The principal you work with can make a BIG difference in your happiness, productivity and general well being. </div>
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My kids are getting older and I always imagined I would have more time to devote to my blog and online lesson plans. The reverse has actually happened. Instead of being home all the time with early bedtimes, we are on the road so much for school and sport activities. Summer break is only a week away and there is so much I want to write about so look for a much more regular posting schedule this summer! </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our last day of preschool thank you gifts! We went with a handwritten thank you note from my daughter, an assortment of beautiful purple flowers and our favorite spring/summer hand soap, Mrs. Meyer's clean day in Lilac! I ordered extra in my last shipment from <a href="https://www.grove.co/referrer/1076513/">Grove Collaborative</a> and will be using these in many thank you gifts this spring! Small, inexpensive, smells great and consumable! Want to add a little something extra? Slip a gift card to <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Themathmaniac">Teachers Pay Teachers</a> or <a href="https://amzn.to/2MyU6HP">Amazon</a> in there! </td></tr>
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My youngest just wrapped up her last day of preschool today which was fun and exciting and emotional. All my kids will be in full time school for the first time this fall and that makes me super excited and nostalgic all at the same time. </div>
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Despite a super successful school year, I have been feeling like the daily grind of life has really been wearing down my gears this year. I have been working hard at being more intentional about how I spend my time and making sure I am finding time for the things that re-charge me (like blogging!). I have been using some of my <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NB86OYE?ref_=assoc_tag_ph_1524211054003&_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=pf4&tag=them091-20&linkId=bf516f1253a11f7c835128039d8691d5">Audible</a> credits to listen to some books on productivity and personal growth. I have recently finished <a href="https://amzn.to/2XsjnUN">Deep Work</a>, <a href="https://amzn.to/2ItyQhs">Girl, Wash Your Face</a>, <a href="https://amzn.to/2Wt5Gsy">Girl, Stop Apologizing</a>, and <a href="https://amzn.to/2MtKbmB">Getting Things Done</a>. Next up on my list are <a href="https://amzn.to/2EW4rY5">The Power of Habit</a> and <a href="https://amzn.to/2XtyxcL">Stumbling on Happiness</a>. It's amazing how much more reading I am getting done with Audible!</div>
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I do plan on some summer teaching/math reading as well but still working on exactly what I want to read next! I am super excited for <a href="https://amzn.to/31fQCNp">Jo Boaler's</a> new book, Limitless Mind but that is not out until September 3rd. Look for a book study on that in the fall! In the meantime, if you have any summer teacher reading recommendations, leave them in the comments below! </div>
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The Math Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177173988483052908noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746027850336066537.post-25778657070986805932018-08-01T14:31:00.005-04:002018-08-01T14:31:59.689-04:00When Teaching Gets Really Challenging <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQeqzH2Y5djjqMeeA2ICk_gDJJKuV0jjIn8wcKaCP9N4izIN9vVHXOT68HVofjD7VVAX8r3UOOcSOxibVJ-TFixCUL7f6IZ1yREzhS7p8XZUFVyXCk0lJ8tRwIEpAESM2qhi3b9pdbFjKq/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="1536" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQeqzH2Y5djjqMeeA2ICk_gDJJKuV0jjIn8wcKaCP9N4izIN9vVHXOT68HVofjD7VVAX8r3UOOcSOxibVJ-TFixCUL7f6IZ1yREzhS7p8XZUFVyXCk0lJ8tRwIEpAESM2qhi3b9pdbFjKq/s320/a.jpg" width="320" /></a>Today is August 1st, the day teachers all over the US transition to back to school. I myself am only about two thirds of the way through summer but there is something about the calendar changing to August that makes me feel a bit anxious and a bit excited at the same time. The familiar flutter in my teacher heart that happens at back to school time is definitely there this week. The new year means a fresh start, new students, new colleagues and new adventures. I am savoring the last bit of my summer and the extra time I get to spend adventuring with my family but am also looking forward to being back in the routine of school. I am looking forward to continuing my work on personalized learning and designing math blocks that work in multi-age settings. I am very happy that I am feeling this way because just a few short weeks ago, my teacher heart felt very broken as I struggled with a challenging end to the school year.</div>
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It has been 4 months since I last sat down to write on my blog and in that time, my school year went from okay to overwhelmingly challenging. There were multiple things that contributed to things going downhill so quickly but much of it had to do with an administrator who changed the climate of my school in a way that made it very hard to go to work each day. I am not ready to write about the details of the situation but I do want to share that for the first time in my career, I didn't want to go to work anymore. The climate changed so quickly, that it felt like a completely different place and I was not sure I would ever look forward to teaching again. I guess I got a strong dose of what teacher burnout feels like and it was more challenging than I ever expected it to be. I was on the edge of making the decision to leave teaching for good and it is not a place I ever want to go back to again.</div>
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I am feeling much better about things now and I am even looking forward to getting back in the swing of things. The administrator who caused the situation to unravel is not returning and I am hopeful the climate of our school can recover and we can go back to the way things were. There are a few projects I am really looking forward to tackling, I finally started back on my professional reading and I am even back on my blog writing about this journey we call teaching. I have grand plans to write more about how I managed to survive the end of the year and what I have done to help me move past it that I hope to share with you in the coming weeks. I will also be writing about re-establishing a positive school climate and teaching math of course. I am ready to get back to my series on <a href="http://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2018/03/personalizing-learning-in-math-class.html">personalizing learning</a> which has been my focus in my classroom over the past few years and that I have long neglected to share about on my blog. </div>
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If you are thinking back to school and are looking for new lessons, games or activities for this fall, the Teacher's Pay Teachers back to school event is today (August 1st) and tomorrow (August 2nd). <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Themathmaniac">Everything in my store is 20% off and if you use the code BTSFRESH you will save an additional 5%</a>. </div>
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If you have any advice to share with a teacher who has been on the edge of burnout or has suffered from a bad school climate, please share in the comments below or go to contact at the top of this page and send me an email. </div>
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The Math Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177173988483052908noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746027850336066537.post-80586915904253953712018-04-02T17:53:00.001-04:002018-04-02T17:53:09.849-04:00Autism Awareness Month<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
April is National Autism Awareness Month and today (April 2nd) is World Autism Awareness Day. Many students and families are effected by Autism and there are many things happening all month long that you can get involved in. For much more information about Autism Awareness Month, to read stories or share your own, check out <a href="https://autismmosaic.org/?utm_source=autismspeaks.org&utm_medium=wamredirect&utm_campaign=story-share">Autism Speaks</a>.</div>
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The Math Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177173988483052908noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746027850336066537.post-25418493702764320182018-04-01T20:15:00.003-04:002020-02-08T16:50:17.600-05:00Personalizing Learning With Math Centers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2QsjGVs8f0nmLqfGokW-g8LPf1O3sz5A8i2LicPnxkpy5j9d5R-1zt3LWqBUSmiRnBe-PwtSNL6b_czjxQKE2LLt1gCN5pN10nlbAx14NvaQ_03FY6Y5Jq0sFDGmsx5ELsHSReV9bHAFg/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="1536" height="167" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2QsjGVs8f0nmLqfGokW-g8LPf1O3sz5A8i2LicPnxkpy5j9d5R-1zt3LWqBUSmiRnBe-PwtSNL6b_czjxQKE2LLt1gCN5pN10nlbAx14NvaQ_03FY6Y5Jq0sFDGmsx5ELsHSReV9bHAFg/s320/a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Earlier this week, I shared how I have been working on <a href="http://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2018/03/personalizing-learning-in-math-class.html">personalizing learning</a> in my math classes. This change came about because I was challenged to teach math in a multi-age setting but has led to some great discoveries that have helped me improve math instruction for all of my learners whether they are in a single grade or a multi-age setting. </div>
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Today I want to talk about math centers. Math centers, also known as math stations, <a href="http://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2014/07/guided-math-in-action-book-study.html">guided math</a>, workplaces or <a href="https://amzn.to/2J80YpC">math menu</a> really can help with differentiation and personalizing learning. Despite the fact that there are many names, strategies and ways to do math centers, their central purpose is to provide students with differentiated practice so that learners are engaged and occupied, freeing the teacher up to meet with small groups and provide further targeted instruction or enrichment to those who need it. It also solves the age old question of what to do with early finishers.</div>
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Math centers have long been popular in the primary grades in many schools and have been mostly absent in upper elementary and middle school. At my school, we have been doing some version of math centers in K-2 for as long as I can remember. In grades 3&4 there has been some sporadic math center activity and at the 5th and 6th grade level, we have had very little math center time. All of that has changed over the past 2 years and now all of our learners K-6 participate in math centers in one form or another. Our younger students participate in something closer to <a href="http://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2014/07/guided-math-in-action-book-study.html">guided math</a> and our older students' model looks more like <a href="http://www.marilynburnsmathblog.com/using-math-menus-some-nuts-bolts/">math menu</a>. </div>
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I have found math centers are most successful when kids can be offered choices. There are many things you can either require or give choices for depending on the age of your students and the behaviors in the group.</div>
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Who To Work With</h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIorLhJTqbkDO_Q7IZjHUCputbF2pytd63KMb6xMb2sSxBlW48a7kGiGmmGJwBNeq8DgZIXE3ywE4oX8JQy67KBbfynNlhWh2BsCaQaMqDowFAR9WkrpdC1Yg3DYkXCS3m4hI9TdxCgcIF/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="571" data-original-width="810" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIorLhJTqbkDO_Q7IZjHUCputbF2pytd63KMb6xMb2sSxBlW48a7kGiGmmGJwBNeq8DgZIXE3ywE4oX8JQy67KBbfynNlhWh2BsCaQaMqDowFAR9WkrpdC1Yg3DYkXCS3m4hI9TdxCgcIF/s320/a.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Students work in pairs at a table playing one version of <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Themathmaniac/Category/Movin-it-Math-227361">Movin' it Math</a></td></tr>
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Many of your math centers will involve games or activities that lend themselves well to kids having chances to socially construct their knowledge. Who a student works with can be something you choose for them or that you let them choose for themselves. This is one of the areas where I am least likely to offer kids the chance to choose. I almost always choose groups or pairs for my students. As they get a bit older, I might offer them some limited choices about who they work with. I find a lot more work gets done during math centers when I make intentional decisions about who is working together.</div>
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I do want kids to work with a variety of other students. I want them to have a chance to work with kids of similar academic ability sometimes but other times, I want them to work with someone who may have stronger or weaker skills in math. I find that when I try only to group for academics, behaviors deteriorate quickly. I also believe that kids learn so much from each other and do my best to facilitate this learning among kids of all ability levels.</div>
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What Level To Work On</h4>
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Each of my math centers contains the same activity at multiple levels (I will be writing a full blog post about this soon!). I almost always allow students to choose the level of the activity they are working on. I do quite a bit of intentional teaching around choosing a level and find kids do very well choosing the just right activity for them. </div>
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Which Activity to Work On</h4>
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If you are offering several different math center options, you can decide which ones everyone has to do and which are optional. You can let kids choose the activities and the order or you can pick who does which activity when. In this area, my classes are kind of all over the map. In general, the older students are the more choice I offer them in terms of which activity they want to do and the order they want to do them in. With my upper elementary students, I often have a short list of "have-to's" and then a longer list of "get-to's". </div>
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The younger the students are and the wilder the class' behavior, the more I assign them a task and/or set a timer for when it is time to go onto the next class. With my most challenging behavior classes, or when math centers are new to a group, I make more of the choices for them. As the year progresses, I transfer responsibility of the choice more and more to the students.</div>
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Where to Work</h4>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOKtRlpIVgUASBbdy1eJ_DIR3QhLsGb1wjXKp7MaNJUR0uVsQZ9o5hPO1Etn-aFRy4PuZvNnZRhLdpHU-n8q7W0p6I4oK0DNiQe-TC59WuHRPEyPQxM9fIyOzV5IMuzZpEt8yKWyA-bhyphenhyphen9/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="301" data-original-width="675" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOKtRlpIVgUASBbdy1eJ_DIR3QhLsGb1wjXKp7MaNJUR0uVsQZ9o5hPO1Etn-aFRy4PuZvNnZRhLdpHU-n8q7W0p6I4oK0DNiQe-TC59WuHRPEyPQxM9fIyOzV5IMuzZpEt8yKWyA-bhyphenhyphen9/s320/a.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On a beautiful day we may even <a href="http://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2013/09/beautiful-fall-day-time-for-track-math.html">take math centers outside</a>! </td></tr>
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My classroom has several large tables in the center, some desks along the perimeter and plenty of wide open space on the carpet. While I often set math centers up on the tables, my students will often make a choice to work on the floor nearby or at one of the desks on the perimeter, particularly if they are working independently. This is another area that I feel like kids in general make good choices. I almost always let kids choose where to work and only very rarely will I have to ask someone to move to a different spot. The variety of sitting a table, standing at a table and working on the floor seems to help keep my students engaged. </div>
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The Math Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177173988483052908noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4746027850336066537.post-1154471075592173032018-03-27T06:00:00.000-04:002018-04-15T15:49:32.739-04:00Personalizing Learning in Math Class<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZiFfV-cIiE-VGdV7T-cyKk4bhEj8kXcjvlTAWu_feoLJaRxa2A2vqHpz0lddoELtQ4IaEwNavPFAcAiiWxL-QAKQQm5naHBxfA6i-PKKcitjZWI_Sx3ePe8wnLEecsRBb0aA257mmRSn5/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="806" data-original-width="1536" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZiFfV-cIiE-VGdV7T-cyKk4bhEj8kXcjvlTAWu_feoLJaRxa2A2vqHpz0lddoELtQ4IaEwNavPFAcAiiWxL-QAKQQm5naHBxfA6i-PKKcitjZWI_Sx3ePe8wnLEecsRBb0aA257mmRSn5/s400/a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Over the last few years, the enrollment at my school has continued to decline. This led us to create several multi-age classrooms. I had not experienced a multi-age classroom since I was an elementary student myself so I did what any professional reading junkie would do and looked up books on Amazon. I was surprised to find that almost all the books written about multi-age classrooms were published in the early 90's. This must have been the last time there was a big push to make classrooms multi-age. After doing some research, I ended up purchasing <a href="http://amzn.to/2CAovg0">Multiage Portraits</a> which gave me some good information to start with. I also visited a classroom at another local school who had been doing multi-age classrooms for years and learned a great deal there.</div>
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As we began doing multi-age classrooms, classroom teachers found a way for most subjects to work in a multi-age way. The subject they were struggling the most with was math. We ended up in a model where we were pulling kids into grade level groups for math. This meant I was doing primary instruction for several grades and eliminated a great deal of the time I used to have for co-teaching, intervention, coaching and the myriad of other tasks being a math specialist in a small school entails. </div>
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These factors along with the fact that there are already huge spreads in ability in a single grade, led me to believe that we could teach math in a multi-age setting. I recruited one of my most enthusiastic colleagues and last school year we co-taught a Kindergarten/first grade combination math class. There were a few bumps in the road along the way, but in the end it turned out better than we could have ever imagined and we learned a great deal about personalizing learning along the way. The lessons we learned from doing this combined math class together have helped me create a 2/3 and a 5/6 combination math this school year. In addition, it has helped both of us better meet students' needs in single grade classrooms as well. We might have needed the push of attempting multi-age to get us there, but personalizing math class benefits all learners.</div>
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Over the next few weeks, I will be writing detailed posts about what I learned last year and how I have been using that to personalize learning for students from K-6 this year. Here are some of the basics of what we did, each of them will be posted on in greater detail soon! </div>
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-<a href="http://theelementarymathmaniac.blogspot.com/2018/04/personalizing-learning-with-math-centers.html">Math Centers</a></div>
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-Leveling Games</div>
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-Curating Online Resources</div>
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-Color Coding</div>
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-Math Boxes</div>
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-Teaching Mindset</div>
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-Independent Practice</div>
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-Number Talks</div>
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-Flexible Groupings</div>
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-Formative Assessment</div>
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-Math Journals</div>
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-Co-Teaching</div>
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-Low Floor, High Ceiling Tasks</div>
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The Math Maniachttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06177173988483052908noreply@blogger.com0