Category: Teaching Tips & Tricks
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How Posing Purposeful Questions Transforms Learning
Since beginning my math education journey, something I’ve prioritized is giving my students opportunities to work through sense making and problem solving mathematical puzzles. One that I developed for my Algebra 2 class surprisingly had application across all ages of students that I teach, including my 6th graders whom I introduced to the puzzle on…
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How to Lead Students to Discover Exponent Multiplication and Division Rules
It’s no secret that you’re much more likely to remember something that you figured out on your own. Math discoveries are much the same, though they are less common. One of my favorite parts of teaching is taking the time to carefully craft learning opportunities that guide students toward finding patterns and discovering math rules…
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Building Math Skills Through Short Tasks
I used to laugh at, and repeat all the jokes about math and numbers. You know – “there’s an infinite amount of real numbers – why make up imaginary?!” Or the “I liked math until they started adding letters!” and so on. I thought that, after I scraped by Calculus 2 in college with a…
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Why I Use Greek & Latin Root Study in Math & Science Classes
I was one of the lucky ones. Reading came easily to me, and I loved to do it. Learning naturally followed – I spent my later elementary years reading to learn rather than learning to read. I didn’t know it until I began working on my Master’s of Education in ESOL, but my own ease…
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A Fun Activity to Start the Year
When I learned I would be teaching math for the first time, I wanted to do something different. Teaching math seemed to me to be all of the least fun parts of teaching: lecture, worksheets, and the worst of all….. grading. If your kids can add, subtract, multiply, and divide, they can do this activity.…
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Mathtilda & Her Pumpkins – A Fall Themed Math Thinking Task
Once upon a time, there was a young enchantress who loved tending to her magical pumpkin garden. As fall approached, she hatched a brilliant idea – she wanted to adorn her precious pumpkins with hats! But these weren’t just any hats; they were special hats embellished with numbers. You see, both Mathilda’s pumpkins and her…
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Teaching STEM: Navigating a Path to Success Part 2
Welcome to Part 2 of my series of blog posts in which I discuss a few tips which I feel have been essential to building confidence in your teaching sprinkled with tidbits from my own experience. If you missed Part 1, check that out below. Promoting Inquiry-Based Learning: Strategies for Engaging STEM Students Incorporating hands-on…
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Positive Affirmations For the Classroom
Why do I post positive affirmations in my secondary classroom? Promoting a Positive Learning Environment Posting positive affirmations in the classroom creates an atmosphere of encouragement, support, and optimism. Students are more likely to feel motivated, confident, and valued when surrounded by uplifting messages. This positive environment can foster a growth mindset, where students are…
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Teaching STEM: Navigating a Path to Success Part 1
Do what I like to call taking the ‘temperature’ of the class as students enter the room each day. No, I don’t mean that you should literally measure their bodily temperature as they walk in (thank you COVID for that flashback to the 2020-2021 school year).
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How I Use Building Thinking Classrooms in My Math Classes
I am a science teacher. If you would have asked me 5 years ago.. okay, even 3 years ago if I would ever consider teaching math, I would have laughed! But, things change, and it’s amazing what new things you will consider when doing what is best for your family demands it. Today, yes, I…
The Small Town STEM Teacher 