“Don’t teach your children to read. Teach them to question what they read. Teach them to question everything.” –George Carlin The Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts and Mathematics are about thinking, questioning, and higher level learning. These are passions I have and things I am excited to see happening in classrooms. In […]
Mathematics
"I'm Done!" – Challenging Students Who Finish Early
“We have noticed our child is not reading near the amount of books he read last year,” a set of parents commented at conferences. “He still has a passion for reading and he reads at home, but we are not getting new books as often.” This same student loves Tuesday in my classroom. Tuesday is […]
Concept vs Speed: The Math Timed Test
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] Accuracy, speed, process, meaning…these are all words that have been passed around the age-old discussion of math time tests. Do students need to be able to prove their worth with sixty […]
A Parent’s Guide to the 1st Grade Math Common Core
So your precious Kindergarten student has successfully graduated and moving on to First Grade. They can count to 100, fluently add and subtract within 10, and even identify many geometric shapes. However, now they are in First Grade. That Kindergarten year sure did go by quickly! Here is what your now 1st grade student can […]
A Parent’s Guide to the Kindergarten Math Common Core
You may have already heard about Common Core. In fact, your student may already be involved with the Common Core Standards. So, as a kindergarten parent, what do you need to know? What will your student be taught? And, what can you do to prepare your student prior to kindergarten? Just to clarify, the Common […]
Common Core – An Initiative Gone Wrong?
[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”] For the past 10 years, I have taught Pre-Algebra and Algebra at the eighth grade level. For the last two years, I have also been teaching a section of Advanced Algebra […]
Mathematics Adventures for All with MTSS A.K.A.RTI
Education is known for their acronyms. Today our adventure will use two interchangeably and demonstrate how to focus skills in mathematics to reach all learners. Teacher are superheroes and this method enables you to meet all students needs through the power of many. Welcome to an exciting adventure in education…MTSS also known as RTI. RTI (Response […]
Why Do You Need Algebra?
When are we ever going to use this? A common statement by students in my Algebra class. My response to them is this… No, you are probably not going to write out a multi-step equation on a napkin and solve it to determine the cost of your dinner. No, you will not break out your […]
