WANT FREE MATH CENTERS FOR GRADES 3-5? CLICK HERE!

Teaching with Jennifer Findley

Upper Elementary Teaching Blog

Home

Math

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.

Featured Products From the Shop

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?

Sign up for 30+ FREE partner games to help strengthen your students’ multiplication and division fact fluency.

By entering your information, you agree to receive email communication from me. Per my privacy policy, you can unsubscribe at any time.

Browse the archives below for even more great ideas

Planning for Small Group Math Instruction

Small groups are honestly the backbone of my math instruction. Small group math instruction allows me to really meet the needs of all of the learners in my classroom. Together with whole class instruction and math centers, small groups help me ensure my students master the standards and skills in deeper levels. In this 4-part blog post series, I will share an in-depth ... Read More

Free Factors and Multiples Game with Jenga

Jenga is one of those games that I use in the classroom and wonder how I ever reviewed without it! It is right up there with Spoons games as my students' favorite games to play. Since they love it so much (and the Jenga sets are not super cheap), I want to get as much mileage as I can from my sets by using them to review tons of skills (see the bottom of this post for a ... Read More

2-D Shapes Game with Jenga Blocks | Free Printables

My students are pretty much obsessed with playing Jenga to review. I have been on a mission to create as many Jenga games as I can (see the full list at the bottom of this post), and my newest game is a 2-D shapes game that is perfect for 4th graders or review for 5th graders. Keep reading to learn more about this game and download the printables for free! Amazon ... Read More

Comparing Fractions Activity with Brownies

One of my goals as a teacher is to make fractions more engaging and relatable to my students. One of the easiest ways I have found to do this is through food. I am fortunate to have always worked in schools that allow food as part of lessons and my students love it. On this post, I will share a comparing fractions activity using brownies that is perfect for 4th grade ... Read More

Review Games and Activities with Beach Balls

Beach balls are so much fun on the sand or in the pool and they can be just as much (well almost as much) fun in the classroom. This post will help you bring a little summer fun into your classroom with these five review games and activities that include beach balls. Beach Ball Review Activity 1 – Beach Ball Basketball Materials: 1 Beach ball 1 Large ... Read More

Basketball Fraction Review for 4th and 5th Grade

Fractions are by far one of the most difficult skills in 4th and 5th grade. There are so many fraction skills and my students easily get confused trying to remember all of them. One way I have found that helps is to consistently provide my students with engaging fraction review to help them review all of the fraction skills and keep them straight in their minds. On this ... Read More

Outdoor Review Activities and Games

Reviewing concepts and facts can get tedious in the classroom, but not when you take the activity outside for some fun, friendly competition and sunshine. This post has five fun and active games for outdoor review that get your class moving while reviewing the information they need to know. These activities can be used as competitions to gain points for a class reward, or ... Read More

FREE Division Practice with Donuts Activities

Division can be pretty exhausting for students AND teachers. This year, I wanted to mix things up and bring in some sweet treats for my students to motivate them to continue pushing hard through our division unit. So, I created some donut themed division practice, brought in some donuts, and this fun activity was born. My students and I had a lot of fun with this and I ... Read More

Lines and Angles Activities with Twizzlers and Skittles

Geometry standards seem to be the last skills I teach before state testing. Because of this, I tend to be a bit rushed (to have time to review all the other math standards), and the students have major spring fever. This year, I mixed things up a bit and brought in some sweet treats to practice lines and angles in an engaging way that would help the skills stick with the ... Read More

Review Games and Ideas with Plastic Eggs

Plastic eggs fill the shelves during the months of March and April. March and April are also the months of the year when students get a bit antsy and ready for spring break. Mixing things up is a must! This post will share some fun and pretty simple to prep review games and ideas to use with plastic eggs. 1. Egg Hunt Egg hunts are so much! Simply fill eggs with ... Read More

Multiplying Fractions and Whole Numbers: Two Types of Problems

Confession: I had to relearn 4th and 5th grade math conceptually in order to best teach and support my students. I learned that when I taught algorithms and tricks without the foundation of a conceptual understanding, it really affected my students' mathematical understandings and how they solved word problems. When my students didn't have a conceptual understanding of ... Read More

Fraction Mats: Adding and Subtracting Fractions and Mixed Numbers

Fractions...otherwise known as the trickiest math concept known to man. Well, I may be exaggerating, but fractions certainly are not your average 5th grader's favorite math concept. Nor are they typically a teacher's favorite unit to teach. However, armed with some activities, tools, and tricks, fractions really don't have to be all that bad. This post will share ... 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.

Top