Have you ever asked a student to explain his or her answer in math and get a blank look, a quick change in answer, or the response, “I just did it in my head”? To be honest, each year my students pretty much start the school year this way. But, through purposeful instruction, I am… Read More
8 Ways to Help Students Be Successful with Word Problems in Upper Elementary
Word problems can be really difficult for upper elementary students. The complexity of the word problems increase, the length of the problems themselves increase, the numbers are larger and more abstract, and often key words just don’t work. Today I want to share with you eight ways to help students who struggle with word problems… Read More
10 Ways to Get Students Writing in Math
Writing in math is more common and important in the elementary years than ever before. When I was in school, I barely remember writing more than a sentence in math class. Now, students are required and expected to write several sentences and even paragraphs explaining their math and justifying their answer. This can definitely be… Read More
Solving Word Problems Without Relying on Key Words
One of the toughest things about teaching fifth grade is definitely the word problems. By fifth grade, a lot of students have become so dependent on using key words that they no longer even read for meaning when they’re solving word problems. However, as fifth grade teachers know, key words only take the students so… Read More
Teaching Students How to Justify Answers in Math
Teaching students to justify their answer in math can be difficult, but thankfully it doesn’t have to be. I want to share with you some ideas for teaching students how to justify answers in math, as well as some of my favorite resources for providing much needed practice with math tasks and word problems. 1…. Read More
Solving Multi-Part Word Problems {Freebie Printable Chart}
Solving multi-part math constructed response tasks is such a tricky skill for my students. Not only is the actual solving the problems tricky, but my students also struggle with organizing their responses and their work. I have spent a lot of time this past school year thinking of how to combat that and help scaffold… Read More