When we discuss picture books, a lot of them are aimed for younger grades. Every now and then you find an amazing book aimed for older students, because let's face it, they still enjoy picture books. This week, I'm sharing a book that includes hands-on activities to help students to differentiate between various quadrilaterals. (This post does include affiliate links.) Squares, Rectangles, and Other Quadrilaterals by David A Adler defines the different characteristics of qu

Check out my list of children's picture books that dive into math topics.

When students solve word problems, there can be a lot of challenges. Maybe students struggle with all the language there is to process in the actual reading of the word problem. Maybe students aren't sure what operation to use when solving the problem. Maybe students don't know where to start when solving a multi-step problem. Word problems are just plain challenging. They require students to combine several skills and apply their understanding. One way we can do that is

(This post does contain affiliate links.) I always enjoy a great picture book, but when it connects math concepts, I'm especially...

Why do some students struggle in geometry? Help students master angles with free vocabulary and student angle practice.

Students begin learning about shapes in Kindergarten. They learn how to notice their differences in size, color and shape. They assign names to figures and learn that things can be called squares or triangles. As students extend their mathematical understanding, they learn that these shapes can have different names based on their attributes. Triangles can be named by the length of their sides or the types of angles they have. They could even be called two different names

Use flow charts to help students work through multi-step concepts in math.

Recently, I read an article from NCTM about students using tessellation pictures to describe a quantity, and I loved that idea! (You can check it out in Mathematics Teacher: Learning and Teaching July 2021: Using TileFarm to Support Emerging Multiplication by Matt B. Roscoe.) Tessellations are pictures with repeated shape patterns. Many students create these using attribute blocks or make art with them by repeating the same shape with rotations, reflections, and translatio

I love the Olympics! I enjoy watching the best athletes in the world compete and seeing the different events. As I became a teacher, I learned that so much of the data collected from the Olympic events can be used for some valuable instruction. This week, I'm sharing some of my favorite ways to use Olympic data with a FREEBIE template that can be downloaded to begin sharing these amazing events with your students. First of all, if you haven't checked out the Olympics webs

Bar models are probably one of the most popular things people hear about when they research a Singapore-based math education. They may have seen some models used and are curious about how they help students make sense of word problems. As someone who didn't jump on the bar model band wagon willingly, I wanted to share my experience. If you know my story, you know I loved math growing up. I loved the rules and the way things worked. However, in complete transparency, I had