Student learning is no accident!
I’m always on the lookout for a handy student group work strategy. This one, Clock Partners, is one of my favorites! Sometimes when you prepare for group work, you stay up too late the night before making sure everyone has just the right partner. Have you been there? I have! And, honestly, even if it goes well- it leaves me… Read More
This is one of my favorite strategies to teach my classes- and my life as a teacher has become so much easier since I implemented a few key steps. My teaching partner and I experienced our very first Turn and Talk as participants in a workshop by Bobb Darnell in 2008 and we’ve been using it with students and adults… Read More
Do you want your students to behave or do you want more than that? If you spend all day managing behaviors, you are EXHAUSTED by 3:00. I know!!! I’ve been there. It takes so much mental energy, so much executive functioning to anticipate every fire that might start- and to put out all of the ones that do. So, take… Read More
“The ones that are doing the talking are doing the learning.” I know that. But, no matter how many times I say it, the impact on student learning in front of me is profound and somehow surprising. There is no example stronger than that of talking about fractions in math class. I’ve spent most of my career spending part of… Read More
If teaching fifth and sixth graders has taught me anything, it’s that fractions and decimals can be ABSTRACT and TRICKY… and that kids have to be developmentally ready to perform operations on them. The good news is- the standards aren’t encouraging us to get kids to add, subtract, multiply and divide 5/32 and 16/71! We make equivalent fractions as a… Read More
You know that buzz of collaboration and learning that you hope for everyday? It happens when we play this game. Every. Single. Time. If you like Boggle, you’ll love this game. Word Wrangle is a fun classroom word game inspired by my love of Boggle and also my love of quiet. Once upon a time, I bought SIX Boggle games… Read More
It’s DONE!!
The Differentiated Fraction Flashcard Games that I’ve been working on for weeks are finally posted in my TPT Store.
🤷🏼♀️If your students (by chance) are not all learning in the exact same way, on the exact same day- this is for you!
🤯If you are talking about common denominators (again!) and someone just added the denominators... this is for you.
💡Spend some time building conceptual understanding. Meet those kids where they are. John might need the cards with the visual models on them, and Dan might be cool with the bare number cards. Whatever!! They can still play ALL the fraction games. And John might not need the visuals in two weeks.
🤦🏼♀️But if we keep asking him to use that chart 🗃📉📖in his binder to make common denominators instead of building conceptual understanding (AKA addressing the fact that he has no idea WHY denominators matter), then we are not actually helping!
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So... 50% off for the first 24 hours- get ‘me while they’re HOT!!
Common denominators?? What?
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Just a little PSA: It’s not you!! It’s them! Well, not exactly. If you’re teaching fractions now, or will be teaching fractions for months, or are OVER teaching fractions... you might be a fifth grade teacher!😂🤣😂
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And it’s a LONG haul. If I’ve learned anything over the past 15 years of teaching fractions (Right? And a few months is rough??!) it’s that all kids WILL develop a stronger fraction sense... if you let them take their time building conceptual understanding. 🥰🌈
👍🏻(No one ever suddenly understood that multi step problem because I gave them a common denominators cheat sheet)👍🏻
💡Not everyone is going to subtract mixed numbers with different denominators while regrouping this year. They’re just not. And if no one else has told you this yet- THAT’S OKAY!!! 🎁It’s fine. If they aren’t ready, why force them to literally move digits around a page while developing a hatred for math and a negative self-concept?
Those same kids might actually compare fractions and justify their comparisons if we let them!! They *might* be able to explain WHY they made common denominators before adding fractions if we let them. 🥳🤩🌈🦄😍🖐🏻
Watch for a few new #differentiated #fraction posts and products in the next few days! Remember, they’ll be 50% off for the first 24 hours!
