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Distance Learning: Supporting Math Students
Distance Learning has provided me with so many new challenges that I feel like everyday is a new adventure. I am in my seventh year of teaching, sixth year with the same co-teachers, and I really was beginning to feel like I knew what I was doing, and then BAM! Coronavirus… Here are some tips as to how I support my inclusion students in math during this period of hybrid learning. Reference Sheets I use reference sheets in math all the time. But I feel like they are a great tool to keep posted on Google Classroom, or other online platform for the students to keep referring to. Reference sheets…
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Differentiated Worksheets
Being able to meet the needs of all of the learners in your classroom can be a challenge. You have students who are struggling with the work in the same class as students who are excelling. You don’t want to leave the struggling students behind but you also want to be challenging the advanced students. When you leave advanced students unattended, they get bored and can become behavior problems. Because of this, I created differentiated worksheets. These worksheets cover all of the topics of solving equations but do it at varying levels of difficulty. Level A Worksheets The worksheets that are in the Level A group have all problems that…
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Ways to Differentiate Homework
Homework is a hot topic in my district right now. Parents complain because we give too much, or not enough, or its too hard. Homework can be difficult for students who struggle. They think that they understand what is going on when they are in class, but when they get home, they have no idea what they’re doing. Don’t Give Homework Just to Give Homework Make sure that all of the homework that you give is meaningful. Think to yourself, what is the educational purpose of this homework. And if you’re not happy with your answer, maybe that isn’t something you should be giving for homework. I am not arguing…
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Using Task Cards in Middle School
If you go to TeacherspayTeachers.com there are task cards everywhere. But what are the best ways to use them in your classroom? Test Prep Task cards are great for test prep. You can assign the students to work individually or in pairs on a set of cards. They give them repeated practice on math concepts. You can either have the students do all the work and then give them the answers at the end. Or, you can have the students actively use the answer key to check their answers as they go so that they can immediately correct errors. Task cards require fairly minimal teacher involvement, making it an easy way…
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Using Stations in Middle School
As students get older, lesson plans tend to stray away from hands-on learning and group activities. They tend to lean towards more lecture-based lessons, sitting and doing paper and pencil work. But, are students really past the age where learning stations are beneficial? No! Movement When you teach with learning stations, students are given movement breaks during the lesson. Although middle school students can sit for longer periods of time; sitting for a whole class period is still difficult for most of them. Middle school students still are young enough that they benefit from the ability to get up and move during a lesson. Heck, I’m an adult, and I…
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When Should You Let Students Use A Calculator
Which accommodations we should and should not let students use can be a hot topic. When it comes to math, the one I find the most prominent argument about is the calculator accommodation. In what situations should a student be allowed to use a calculator? When Students are Significantly Behind Not all of your students need the calculator accommodation. Yes, there are times when you let all of your math students use a calculator, but this is not what I’m referring to. The students who need a calculator on their math assignments are your students who struggle with basic integer operations. A calculator accommodation should not be considered for a student…
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5 Tips for English Language Learners
It seems like every year my school has more English Language Learners in our classrooms. This is a great thing, to be able to learn about new cultures and bring new perspectives into our classrooms. But, with our ESL teachers getting spread thinner and thinner; we are expected to teach these students successfully with little to no support as to how best teach them. Here are 5 tips for supporting English Language Learners in your classroom Wait Time Most teachers are familiar with wait time and are purposeful with how they use it. But, when you have English Language Learners in your classroom, you should try to provide a little…
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Why You Need to Flip Your Classroom Now!
What does is the flipped classroom? The flipped classroom is when you take the types of activities that would typically be assigned for homework, and make them classwork. While doing this, you take the activities that would generally be done in class and assign them for homework. In a typical middle school math class, the teacher explains a new concept to the class. She explains the concept while writing on the board and describing the examples. After the teacher is done with this “lecture” type math lesson, the students do practice activities. And then they are assigned additional practice for homework. What’s wrong with that? This type of lesson has…
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Pros and Cons of Assigning Homework
Whether or not students should be receiving homework is a hot topic right now in education. As a special education teacher, I have to be honest; I really can see both sides of the argument, and I don’t know yet on which side I fall. Pro: Additional Practice Homework provides your students with additional practice in the lessons that you are teaching in school. It seems like every year the curriculum gets more and more difficult. That every year we are required to cover even more, yet if we get rid of homework how are we expected to cover it all? In math especially, homework allows the students to get additional practice with…
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Why You Should Be Using Exit Tickets in Your Classroom
What are Exit Tickets? An exit ticket is when you have the students respond to a prompt, answer a question, solve a problem, some activity that you have students do and pass in to be able to leave at the end of class. An exit ticket is a great way to get an on the spot assessment of how the students are doing, or for the students to reflect on their learning. Exit Tickets for Assessment Exit tickets are a great way to get a sense of how your class is doing. What was the objective of your lesson? If you wanted to make sure that the students knew how…
