Problem: I love cute and colorful bulletin boards but I don’t have a lot of time or money to spend on them. Solution: With the number of hours a teacher spends in his/her classroom, I think it’s so important to have a fresh and aesthetically pleasing classroom environment. To put some color on the walls,…
Problem: It’s sooo hard for some of my students to memorize their multiplication facts! They can’t do harder math because the basic facts take them too long to figure out. Solution: Sometimes a silly rhyme is all it takes. To this day, when I need to solve the fact 6 x 8, I think to…
Problem: It’s so hard to come up with enough for my students to do when I’m making sub plans! Solution: On sub days I’m all in favor of activities that are simple, take some time, and involve at least some skill practice. Here’s a fun freebie to help you out. It’s a math fact color-by-number.…
I remember a professional development session where the presenter projected a piece of text with lots of blanks where words should have been. A quick glance at the format told us that it was a letter. The first line said, “Dear ______,” Someone instinctively said, “Dear John!” The presenter filled in the word “John.” It…
A strategy to teach elementary students for increased math fact fluency. Problem: My students spent so much time counting on to add. It’s not efficient! Solution: While there are a variety of strategies for adding, one of my most recent discoveries is what I call the “in betweens” strategy. Here’s how it works: …