Teaching personal financial literacy can seem like an afterthought in your math classroom. Because the standards spiral from grade to grade, it is important for your students to be exposed to the TEKS. Students also find the real-world applications of personal financial literacy very appealing. Find some great, low-prep activities that your students will enjoy that are a great match for your 5th grade financial literacy standards. Financial Literacy Reading Passages Many financial literacy resources are written for students that are older than our 5th grade students. Most states do not have pe ..read more

You may have recently heard of numberless word problems and wondered how and why you can use them in your classroom.  It is important to get started correctly when implementing this technique with your students to see the best results. Let’s look at what a numberless word problem is used for, how to create your own, and how to teach with them in your classroom. A Numberless Word Problem Is Not… To understand what a numberless word problem is, it is first important to understand what a numberless word problem is not. It’s not just a normal word problem with the numbers removed. A properly ..read more

Teaching place value is often the first unit of the new school year. Sometimes it feels like an easy concept, but many students rely on this unit to get their learning off to a good start. Use these activities to develop your ultimate place value unit for your 4th or 5th grade math class. Place Value Materials for your Classroom Let’s start with the classroom environment. How can you make sure that even your classroom can be conducive to teaching about place value? Make manipulatives a focus in your classroom. This bulletin board helps student really see what happens when you multiply or divid ..read more

You don’t have to think cute to have an interactive notebook that is a wonderful learning tool for your students!  Many teachers think of complicated foldable notes and lots of learning time sacrifice for the “Pinterest Perfect” notebook.  Real interactive notebooks do not waste a second of class time on learning. You can use a few interactive notebook procedures to turn your students’ journals into a tool for not only notes, but also to help them learn to reflect on their own learning. Getting Started with Learning Checklists The tool you will learn how to implement in this post is ..read more

One of the main goals of creating interactive notebooks with our students is to teach them how to be good note takers and to teach them how to actually go back and study and interact with their notes.   Most students do not naturally know how to do this, though.  Creating interesting and engaging activities that entice them to go back into completed sections of their interactive notebook is a great way to help them build up this habit. There are also some great benefits to your classroom management routines!  Read on to see this in action. Get interactive! To implement the ..read more

Use a class Trash-ket Ball Challenge to make your upper elementary or middle school data and statistics unit more fun!  This fun data collection activity will get your students up and moving while learning about variability and creating a variety of data displays.   This lesson is right for you if you teach 4th, 5th, or 6th grade math! Data Collection Lesson Materials This lesson needs just a few common supplies: Trash can or other basket Ball of paper or ball Masking tape Measuring Tape Templates from the lesson (Get it sent to your inbox for free at the end of this post!) P ..read more

Solving ratio and proportion word problems is challenging for many students.  Interpreting the word problem and deciding whether each value is the part or total is difficult.  To help students gain a better understanding of ratio and proportion word problems, a strategy that builds from concrete to abstract is essential. Basic Patterns of Ratio and Proportion Word Problems Proportional reasoning is a complex skill.  There is a very basic skill that your students have known since preschool that can help them create proportional reasoning. If you have ever watched the educational ..read more

In education, new trends and technology come into fashion and often leave just as quickly.  Sometimes it is tricky to tell if the latest thing is really worth diving into.  Boom Cards™ digital task cards are one of those new tools.  After beginning using and creating them (a little reluctantly at first), it is has become obvious that Boom Cards are an invaluable tool in the 6th grade math classroom.  They are definitely not a passing a trend and are sure to become a favorite tool for your sixth graders. Let’s look at three reasons why Boom Cards are a must have resource in ..read more

When you set up your interactive notebooks, make sure you start off right by creating an efficient way to keep them organized. One of the most essential tools for a guided math classroom is an interactive notebook. Students need to be access all the valuable information that they learn quickly and independently while you are teaching small group. Let’s look at three methods of interactive notebook organization and choose one (or a couple) that are a perfect match for your teaching style! There is no one right way to organize your students’ interactive notebooks. You have your own unique ..read more

Place value is often one of the first topics taught in 4th grade or 5th grade math, but it is not easy for many students. Getting students to REALLY understand how the place value system works is so important. Place value understanding builds into every operational task students will learn for the rest of the school year and beyond! Learn how to set up a lesson plan and anchor chart that students can touch, manipulate, and see all year to understand the place value system. Students have trouble seeing how the location of the digit changes its value. There is a huge difference between th ..read more