Fun Statistics Activities for Kids I know you probably read the title of this post and asked yourself why elementary students would ever need to know statistics. Well, they don’t exactly, but that doesn’t mean that they wouldn’t still benefit from some subtle exposure to the concept! April is National Statistics & Mathematics Awareness Month, and is the perfect opportunity to add in some fun statistics activities to your instruction. If this is something you would like to do, here are a few (age appropriate) ideas! 1. Play SNAKE. SNAKE is a fun math dice game that loosely involves probability, as well as a little bit of risk! This game…
-
-
3 Festive Easter Activities For Kids That Your Students Will Love
Easter Activities for Kids Easter is one of my favorite times in the classroom! I am 100% here for all the Easter eggs and candy and Peeps. I know Peeps are controversial, but I LOVE them. Speaking of Peeps…did you know you can use them in several Easter activities for kids? Yep! So if you’re gifted a bunch in the next couples weeks but don’t want to eat them, you can turn them into a fun activity instead! If you do like Peeps, don’t worry – there are activities you can do that don’t involve Peeps, as well! So you can have your Peeps and eat them, too. 🙂 Anyway,…
-
Do You Need Some Ideas for Celebrating Pi Day in the Classroom?
Celebrating Pi Day at School One of my favorite math holidays is Pi Day (March 14th, in honor of 3.14). Although, in my house we treat it more like PIE Day! Typically, we have chicken pot pie (our favorite!) for dinner, and then some other form of pie for dessert. However, for teachers, celebrating Pi Day can be fun in the classroom as well. Since this fun day is just around the corner, today I wanted to share some Pi Day ideas for the classroom. If your students are too young to learn about the actual number pi (which, if you’re a regular reader of this blog, they probably are!),…
-
How to Help Your Students Develop Strong Problem Solving Skills for Kids
Building Problem Solving Skills for Kids Problem solving is one of the key foundational aspects of math. At its core, math isn’t about numbers – it’s about solving problems! Naturally, kids with strong problem solving skills have an easier time in math class. Problem solving comes naturally to some students, but not for others. However, there are things we as teachers can do to help build strong problem solving skills in our students. If this is something you think would benefit your students, here are a few ideas for carrying this out. Problem Solving Skills for Kids Activities Each of the following activities are helpful for building students’ problem solving…
-
This is One of My Favorite Games for the Classroom
Are you looking for fun, versatile games for the classroom? I know I always am! My favorite thing ever is taking a super simple, low-prep game and turning it into something educational. The BEST games are ones that can be easily adapted to use for any subject. Today I wanted to share with you one of my favorite, versatile games for the classroom… Musical chairs! Yes! Musical chairs! Everyone knows how to play it, it’s SO low-prep (just need some chairs, music, and a worksheet). And the best part is you can play this game in ANY subject! I obviously used it in math, but since it’s a game that’s…
-
How to Use Math Stories to Improve Your Daily Instruction
Do you use math stories in your instruction? We all know the importance of reading for our students. Obviously, teachers spend a lot of time reading in subjects like language arts, and even social studies – but math is probably the most challenging subject when it comes to integrating reading. However, it isn’t impossible! One of my favorite ways to integrate reading with math is through the use of math stories. There are so many amazing math story books out there already, or you can always write your own! (Or have your students write some). If this is something that interests you, keep reading for some ideas for using math…
-
10 of the Best Elementary Math Ideas and Activities
Brilliant Elementary Math Ideas Are you on teacher Instagram? If not, you should be! Instagram is one of my favorite ways to find amazing ideas for teaching elementary math. When you connect with hundreds (or thousands) of teachers across the globe, you learn so much! Today, I wanted to share some of the most GENIUS elementary teaching tips and ideas for math that I’ve found on Instagram. If you like the ideas, too, then click the links for each one and give them a follow! 1. Teaching Times Tables I love this tip from @perfectforprimary! Instead of teaching times tables in order from 1-12, she teaches them in a more…
-
How to Teach Skip Counting and Why It’s Important
How to Teach Skip Counting Skip counting is an often underrated and underused math skill. Obviously, skip counting can help students learn their multiplication facts – but there’s actually so much more to skip counting than that. Many people don’t realize that skip counting goes beyond simply counting by 2s, 5s, etc. If you aren’t sure how to teach skip counting effectively, then keep reading for some tips and strategies. Why Teach Skip Counting? Skip counting is more than just a quick way to count equal groups and a strategy for learning times tables. Being able to quickly and fluently skip count is also an important part of building number…
-
The Best Word Problem Strategies that Build Strong Mathematicians
The Best Word Problem Strategies Ah, word problems. They are SO important for our students to understand, yet one of the most challenging parts of math instruction. Word problems are unique in that they are not JUST about math – they require reading comprehension, as well. Therefore, even students who excel at math can often struggle with word problems. As teachers, it can be difficult to know which word problem strategies to teach. In this post, I am going to share some of the common strategies for teaching word problems and why they are or aren’t effective. I would also highly encourage you to check out this post, where I…
