I’m always looking for ways to build my students’ skills in fun and engaging ways. I like to use games in my classroom, especially in math. Bump is a super popular game that builds students’ fact fluency. Part of what makes it so popular is that there’s not many extra tools needed. Some people use a spinner to play and others use a dice. Or, a deck of cards. While we’re working through online learning
Mastery in multiplication and division is built on a solid foundation of addition and subtraction. Understanding the concepts of multiplication and division rely on a solid mastery of understanding the concepts of whole and total from addition and subtraction. Unfortunately, we don’t always have the luxury of spending a lot of time reviewing addition and subtraction in third grade before we start multiplication and division. Because of this, it’s so important for me to connect
Some people, districts, textbooks (take your pick) teach multiplication and division together in one unit and at one time. I prefer to teach division a few weeks after multiplication; after students have had some time working with multiplication, exploring equal groups, and building a deep understanding of what multiplication means. You can also read more about how I introduce multiplication. For division, however, my go to is always, always food! Lesson engagement is at an
The first time I taught the distributive property to my third graders I had no idea what I was doing. There was one (and I think only one) lesson in our textbook and it had students relate the distributive property to basketball where students figured out how many points were scored based on the number of two-pointers and three-pointers. In theory, it’s a great idea, and I’m sure I could have livened up that lesson
A while back, I was walking through Wal-Mart and saw 50 packs of those Halloween spider rings for $1! $1! And I was struck with an idea, for this price, they’d be a great manipulative when we introduce arrays and multiplication! Our kiddos were introduced to arrays last year in second grade and they aren’t brand new to them, but I knew they’d help solidify things as we’re expecting students to master many areas of
I’ve spent the last 15 years teaching in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grades, and working beside elementary classrooms as an instructional coach and resource support. I’m passionate about math, literacy, and finding ways to make teachers’ days easier. I share from my experiences both in and out of the elementary classroom. Read more About Me.
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