Teachers are used to being much more than just “teachers.” Teachers often act as counselors, nurses, surrogate parents, and much more. One lesser known role that teachers also take is that of occupational therapist. Not every student who would benefit from occupational therapy actually receives it, and the need for OT support post-Covid is higherRead more
Is this the year you are going to get organized with homeschooling? Planning ahead can ensure a successful educational experience for your child (and a less stressful year for yourself!). Here are some tips for planning an effective homeschool year. Set Clear Goals What are your goals for your child/ren this year? Consider your child’sRead more
The disruptions caused by the pandemic cannot be understated. Covid-19 had a significant impact on students’ learning, particularly in mathematics. As teachers, we should address the math gap head on, but how? We need to implement techniques that identify individual needs, provide targeted instruction, and foster a supportive math learning environment. Here are some techniquesRead more
A new school year is the perfect time to expose your children (and yourself!) to some new and fresh ideas. Here are 10 of our favorites: 1. Virtual Field Trips Nothing beats an in-person field trip, but since most of us don’t have the resources to jet set around the world, virtual field trips areRead more
Are your students food motivated? How long does it take them to notice if you have a bag of candy in the room? Mine can sniff it out like bears! Let’s capitalize on that motivation by using fun-sized bags to create and substitute into variable expressions. What’s in the bag? Any single-serving bag with aRead more
Why is factoring so important? Students enter our math classrooms with a wide range of skills. Many of those skills are essential for success in their current courses. Spending the time in your classroom to teach the essential skills can really pay off. It gives students a chance to show what they know or fillRead more
How to start substituting values into expressions Now that your students have been introduced to the terms variables, coefficients, and expressions it is time to start substituting values into the expressions. We can continue working with our picture tiles before going directly to calculations using symbolic representations to further develop their understanding of variables andRead more
How to introduce variable expressions to algebra students Are you ready to introduce variables to your class? Thinking about diving right into the textbook and starting students with the printed problems on the page? They are just letters and symbols that represent unknowns so this should be no problem, right?! For some students, yes, thatRead more
Why are integers so important to review? High school students often struggle with operations on integers. Since integer operations are essential for just about everything in middle and high school math, I do spend some time at the beginning of the semester explicitly teaching operations on integers. It is a review for many of myRead more
Most people would agree that money is an important topic to learn about. But who should be teaching teens financial literacy? Parents? Schools? What should be taught? And realistically, HOW does financial literacy fit in with the traditional high school curriculum? Who is equipped to teach financial literacy? In an ideal world, parents would teachRead more