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
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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 Problems
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
Free Test Prep Activities — 10 Days of Test Prep Freebies!
Test prep is definitely something that I implement all year through best practices and implementing strategies that translate to testing situations. However, I do spend the month before testing on review and using resources specifically created for test prep. No matter how many test prep resources I have, I still find that I am always on the look out for (or creating) ... Read More
Free Decimal Word Problems Sort
Word problems are something I incorporate into my instruction all year to best help my students succeed with them. I also like to use a variety of engaging resources and strategies so it doesn't get boring and monotonous. On this post, I will share some general tips for teaching decimal word problems and a free decimal word problems sort. Tips for Teaching Decimal ... Read More
