Math manipulatives are handy tools to help make math concepts concrete for your students. But, when is it time to give up the math manipulatives? When must students know how to solve problems without concrete support? The answer might just surprise you. Here’s when your students should stop using math manipulatives along with reasons why math manipulatives are helpful. Why…
I’ve shared before how you can respond to parents who question new math, but how do we help them understand it? Like it or not, math instruction is likely not going to move back to the old “do it this way and don’t think about why” way of thinking. So, how we do help parents understand how to support their…
Keeping kids busy at home can be challenging, especially if you want to ensure that they’re continuing to learn as well. Here are some simple activities that you can do at home with your little ones. Hands on Alphabet Ideas If you’d like to practice the alphabet with your little ones, you can easily use items around your house like…
Common core math, or new math, if you don’t use common core, isn’t all that new anymore. However, many teachers still struggle with being sure they are fully teaching each standard. It can be tricky because common core standards are deep, not wide. Each grade level strand is designed to push our students to dive deeply into it. Instead of…
This week my first graders have moved onto one of my all time favorite math topics: Fact Families! I adore fact families because once students “get it” they can easily relate addition to subtraction and angels begin to sing! (Oh, is that just in my head?) When I teach fact families, I introduce it by writing three number in…