A great way to begin a discussion on differentiated assessments is to answer, “What does the word assessment mean to you?” This question holds a lot of meaning for a lot of different people. For some teachers, assessment means giving students quizzes and tests. For others, it means much more. In order to determine how […]
Mathematics
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Unit Fractions: A Math Teacher’s Grand Slam!
As I slowly walked down the hallway to my classroom I told myself, “Last school year was a complete disaster but this year is going to be different!” If I could paint a picture of the students that I had last year, it would look like a scene from Major Payne. Every morning when I […]
Posted inSpecial Education
My Math Learning Disability: A Student Perspective
As a student with a math learning disability, there are a lot of difficulties I experience in the classroom that get in the way of my learning, including “memory, language, attention, temporal-sequential ordering, higher order cognition, and spatial ordering” (WGBH Educational Foundation, 2002). Many times, as I sit in the classroom, I feel like I […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Math Standards in Middle School
I taught middle school math for 30 years. During my career I used many different types of math standards. These standards included school district standards, NCTM standards, a new set of district standards, textbook “programs,” and finally the Pennsylvania state standards. The PA standards very closely resemble the current Common Core standards with one exception. […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Math Disorders – How to Help
Last week I wrote about recognizing math disorders from Pre-K through high school. This article will explain what other skills may be affected and how to help those with a math disorder achieve success. Every Day Skills A math disorder may affect any of the following areas. 1. A child who repeatedly fails in math […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
Math Disorders – More Than Dyscalculia
Math disorders used to be lumped together under the term dyscalculia. As advancements are made in both educational research and brain science we now know that dyscalculia is just one of many math disorders. By definition someone with dyscalculia has difficulty doing calculations and remembering basic math facts. If you are looking for information specific […]
Posted inInstruction & Curriculum
A Diamond in the Rough: Personalized Math Professional Development
My school year has ended and I look forward to the summertime not only because school has ended but because I am able to reflect on the past school year and create goals to improve my instruction for the next school year. I thought that this was the norm for most teachers but when I […]
Posted inKindergarten
Kindergarten Readiness: 10 MORE Things Your Child Should Know
Last week, I explored the academic side of Kindergarten readiness. But school readiness is not all about regurgitating facts because some things just cannot be measured. One child’s brain development differs from another’s, but there are many things that teachers look for that have nothing to do with intelligence. Here are 10 more things to […]