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Teaching math in the upper grades doesn’t have to be difficult. In these articles, you will find resources to help you get started with math centers, activities to engage your students, and strategies and tools to give you the confidence you need to teach all of your students.

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Take your math teaching game to the next level with these creative ideas...

  • Get (and keep) your guided math instruction organized and running efficiently with these FREE guided math binder forms!
  • This post breaks down how one teacher teaches math in 5th grade and how her weekly math instruction is structured, including the math resources needed.
  • Do you want your guided math centers running smoothly from the start of the year to the end of the year? *raises hand*. Then, you need a strong launch. This post looks at important guidelines to follow when you launch guided math centers in your classroom AND links to example sequences for launching as well as FREE starter packs for grades 3-5.
  • Guided math allows teachers to meet the needs of all of their learners. This collection of posts and resources will help you implement guided math in your classroom!
  • FREE Launching Math Centers Starter Pack for 3rd-5th Grade. Use these FREE guided math centers to get math centers up in running at the beginning of the school year.
  • FREE math partner games for multiplication and division facts. These partner games are super low-prep and engaging. They work great for math centers, math partner games, and even early finishers.

Do you have students who still haven’t mastered their math facts?

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Browse the archives below for even more great ideas

Conceptual Understanding of Division Intervention Assessment

Division can be very scary for students, even basic division. A strong conceptual understanding of division will help build students' confidence with division and help as they progress into multi-digit division (and even division of decimals and fractions). This post shares a quick 2-page division intervention assessment that I use to assess gaps in my 4th and 5th ... Read More

Multiplication Strategies for 4th and 5th Grade

Do your students struggle with their multiplication facts? Despite what I thought my first years teaching, they don’t need more flashcards. They definitely don't need timed drills or tests. Instead, they need strategies to help them use what they do know  (easier multiplication facts or addition facts) to solve any problem. Check out this post to read about the 6 ... Read More

Conceptual Understanding of Multiplication Intervention Assessment

One of the biggest struggles with teaching 4th and 5th grade math is that a lot of our students don't know their multiplication facts. They don't have their multiplication facts memorized and (more importantly) they don't have strategies to find the answer quickly. Students often struggle with multiplication fact fluency and automaticity because they lack a conceptual ... Read More

The Day After Halloween Math Activity (Free!)

One of the many things that they don't teach you in college is just how crazy it can get before and right after a holiday, especially a holiday that is a kid favorite. The day after Halloween is probably one of the craziest days in the classroom. The students are excited about their trick-or-treating adventures from the previous day and more than likely, they are ... Read More

Free Math Intervention Activities for Grades 3-5

Sometimes, our students in 4th and 5th grade have gaps in their learning or they need to work on their math fluency. These gaps can often hold them back with grade level skills. On this post, you will find a few free math intervention activities (and I will be adding more throughout the year) to provide additional instruction and intervention to your students with those ... Read More

Math Strategies | Helping Students with Math Practice or Homework

Learned helplessness is something we want to avoid at all costs. How we interact and work with students and the language we use can help combat learned helplessness and encourage student confidence and independence. This post shares math strategies for helping students with math practice (independent work at school or homework). The next two sections provide ... Read More

Free Math Tools for K-5

Being a classroom teacher for seven years taught me the importance of having tools or references for my student to use while they were working independently or in small groups. In the regular classroom, those tools were often anchor charts and students' interactive notebooks. However, after spending a few years in support positions where I "pushed in" or "pulled out" to ... Read More

Around the Room : An Engaging Review Activity

Reviewing is a must in any classroom and subject area. My favorite ways to review are review activities that are low-prep, collaborative, and involve movement. Around the Room is one of my favorite ways to review that incorporates all of these characteristics. Keep reading to learn more about this low-prep engaging review activity that gets students moving and ... Read More

Free Back to School Math Activities

One of the best parts about the beginning of the school year is having the time to get to know our students and their interests, including their interests in different subjects. I love using activities that allow me to get to know my students' interests as well as their math skills. This post shares my favorite back to school math activities for grades 4-5 (free download ... Read More

Free Math I Can Statements for 4th Grade

Having ready-made I Can Statements can help speed up your lesson planning and prep-time. Grab FREE 4th Grade Math I Can Statements (based on the common core standards) to help enhance your math instruction and save you time. Need 4th Grade Literacy I Can Statements? Click here! About the Math I Can Statements The Math I Can Statements are aligned to the 4th grade ... Read More

Free Math I Can Statements for 5th Grade

Posting I Can Statements on a regular basis can really help keep your students informed about what they are learning each week. This post will share FREE 5th Grade Math I Can Statements (based on the common core standards). Need 5th Grade Literacy I Can Statements? Click here! About the Math I Can Statements These I Can Statements are based on the common core ... Read More

Free Error Analysis Math Printables for Multi-Step Word Probems

One of my (and my students') favorite math centers and activities is definitely the Find the Error math activity that requires the students to analyze example work to find and explain the error made by the "student". On this post, I will share how you can get multi-step error analysis math tasks for free! Why Use Error Analysis in Math? Error analysis is when ... Read More

Welcome friends! I’m Jennifer Findley: a teacher, mother, and avid reader. I believe that with the right resources, mindset, and strategies, all students can achieve at high levels and learn to love learning. My goal is to provide resources and strategies to inspire you and help make this belief a reality for your students. Learn more about me.

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