One of the keys to successful math rotations is the mini-lesson before you start the math rotations! How this time is used will setup how you do your small group rotations and how you plan the activities that students will do during their independent rotations. I truly believe if you have a plan on how you use mini-lessons that your rotations and small group time will go a lot smoother. So… how do you make these mini-lessons meaningful and intentional? I am going to share the 3 areas that I focus on during the whole group mini-lesson that will give you the bang for your buck! Feel free to leav ..read more

Anchor charts are one of the best, FREE tools for teachers (in my opinion at least)! For too many years, I made the mistake of spending so much time up front prepping anchor charts, only for my students to look at them one time and then turn into just another poster, on my wall. I am excited to share how I turned anchor charts from posters on the wall to a tool my students used daily to support their learning! I believe anchor charts are a great tool to help learning be student centered and help students continue their learning after the lesson, if co-created and created intentionally. Read an ..read more

“Word Problems are boring” and “I don’t want to do MORE word problems” are phrases I used to hear often in my upper elementary classroom. Have you heard them in yours before? This is when I knew I needed to find new activities for my students to practice word problems that were engaging and still challenged them. Let me introduce you to one of mine AND my student’s favorite word problem activities: Word Problem Sorts. Word problem sorts are a hands on activity that not only has your students practice solving word problems, but it helps them to identify the correct operation for the word proble ..read more

Want to bring movement into your classroom while helping your student’s practice word problems? As an upper elementary teacher, I was always looking for intentional activities that got my students out of their seat, and moving, while still learning. This is when I created my Around the Room word problem sets. They became one of my student’s favorite word problem activities because it was a different way to practice word problems. They were one of my favorites because it is a minimal prep. activity that just needs to be printed and hung up around the room. Yes, it’s that simple! 3 Ways I Used ..read more

Are you looking for more ways to practice problem solving in your classroom? Want to make problem solving more fun and engaging for your students? 6 years ago, I would have answered, “YES” to both of those questions. My students were sick of solving word problem after word problem with worksheets or task cards. I noticed that many of my students needed more problem solving practice, but I knew that more worksheets and task cards, weren’t going to help. So, I started something called Word Problem Wednesday! Keep reading to hear why both my students and I loved Word Problem Wednesday. What is W ..read more

Have you ever heard the dreaded sigh or seen the shaking of student’s heads when you mention you will be practicing word problems for math that day? As an upper elementary teacher, I heard that dreaded sigh or even the look of defeat way too often in my classroom. I knew something needed to change! So, I took some classic games that my students loved and turned them into word problem activities. Now, I rarely hear that dreaded sigh because my students are excited about our word problem activities. Check out my top 5 engaging word problem activities and see different ways you can use them in yo ..read more

Ensuring that your upper elementary students have a strong number sense is the key to helping them be successful in upper elementary math. Read that last sentence again and really think about it! The number sense developed in students between Kindergarten-2nd grade impacts how students do with upper elementary math. As an upper elementary teacher, I rely on the lower elementary teachers to give my students a strong foundation with number sense. What happens when that doesn’t happen or something like, a pandemic, impacts a students number sense foundation? Do we keep moving on and hope that som ..read more

My classroom completely changed when I started implementing Growth Mindset into my classroom on a daily basis! Before, I would talk about growth mindset here and there. I probably brought it up more when I was seeing a lack of a growth mindset in my classroom. Everything changed when I started to intentionally include it EVERY day into my classroom. My students started to think of growth mindset as part of their learning and the more we talked about it, the more natural it was. Check out some of my favorite ways to include a growth mindset a classroom every day: Include It in Your Morning Mee ..read more

I thrive on organization, especially when it comes to my students and math rotations! What I have learned over the years is that organizing your math rotations and all the materials can be overwhelming. I like to say that I was organized from the first day I started using math rotations, but if I am being honest, I was NOT. Today, I am going to share with you some tips about that I wish I would have done from the beginning to keep my math rotations organized. Whether you are just starting to use math rotations, or you have been using them for awhile, I hope that you find at least one tip that ..read more