Math Archives - Tanya Yero Teaching

5 Ways to Get Your Students to Love Math

November 25, 2018

Every year I ask my students to complete a survey regarding their feelings about math. It’s unfortunate that many of the responses are negative.

“I’m just not a math person like my big brother.”

“I HATE math.”

“I’m not good at math.”

“It’s too hard.”

“Math is boring.”

Students form these opinions from past experiences. I make it my personal mission to expose my students to different ways to learn and apply math. I build my math lessons based on the five concepts below that build conceptual understanding, math confidence, and what I like to call mutual math respect in the classroom.

Here are five ways to get students to enjoy math.

Math can become repetitive and mundane if you’re completing question after question using procedural methods.. Students can spot “busy work” a mile away. Ask questions that can be solved in more than one way to promote rigorous thinking. If you elevate your math block your students will rise to the occasion.

You are the most influential person in the classroom but often teachers underestimate the power of peer discussion. Encourage students to work together to tackle complex tasks. They will be exposed to different methods of solving problems. To a child hearing a classmate explain their math reasoning has added value.

Most often the students that are praised in math class are the ones with high test scores and correct answers. This gives the “I’m not good at math” impression to the struggling students. Praise the sharing of incorrect answers and how they contributed to the class discussion. When I give a math prompt to students I walk around and observe student work. I will mentally store names of students with wrong answers. I will call on those students and ask them to share their thinking. I applaud their creativity or a particular part of their work that is correct. Encourage problem solving rather than intelligence.

Provide think time and opportunities to ask questions: It’s very easy to skip time for answering questions and for thinking. Don’t neglect these two components. Slow your instruction down to maximize retention and build student confidence. You know how paralyzing it can be to feel rushed. When your students are comfortable in your math class they will give you more.

I know providing immediate feedback can be difficult when you’re juggling 20+ students in one classroom. But feedback for students is valuable. They are looking for confirmation, support, or someone to simply acknowledge their efforts. You value gestures of affirmation as an adult and guess what- so do your students. Feedback can also include the answers that aren’t correct and one on one instruction. You don’t have to do this every day for every student in your classroom, but these small tokens of feedback will have great impact in your classroom.

Use these five concepts as you create math lessons. Remember that you are responsible for teaching your students key math skills and curriculum, but you’re also forming their mindset on math as they progress through their formative years.

Education, Math, Math Fluency

How To Integrate Number Sense Into Your Math Lessons

November 11, 2018

There are a lot of components to a math lesson. You look for activities with engagement and complexity to assess understanding. Sounds simple enough but there are several layers to each of those factors making it hard to find the perfect balance. So when I work with teachers on implementing number sense during their math class they start to panic.

“How can I add another thing to my math block?”

“I don’t have enough time!”

“I don’t know what type of questions to ask!”

I get it. You’re holding all these reminders in your mental filing cabinet when you’re teaching a lesson. You want to target specific standards and explain key concepts. You want to ask higher order thinking questions. You want your students to really grapple with concepts rather than memorize procedural steps.

But guess what?

Building number sense will ensure you target all those wants. Number sense is not another component to your math block. Instead it is part of everything you say and do in the classroom. Simply put…it’s good teaching.

Questioning

A good math teacher is always looking for ways to sprinkle number sense into lessons, but it can be hard to find and/or write number sense connected questions.

Look for questions that are open ended, require critical thinking, and reinforce the concept that numbers can be manipulated. Be intentional in the types of questions you ask.

Example: When rounded to the nearest hundred, I become 400. What numbers could I be?

This question takes a standard (rounding) that is often taught procedurally in classrooms and requires students to conceptualize the concept of rounding based on the value of specific digits. Students must work backwards starting with a number that has been rounded to the nearest hundred. Students will first share the most obvious answers such as 399. It takes some time for the class to conclude that any number from 351 to 449 rounds to 400 if asked to round to the nearest hundred. This question is far more complex than, “Round 377 to the nearest hundred,” thus reinforcing number sense.

Strategies

Some children have been given opportunities to build number sense at a very young age. Those students will appear to naturally understand how to manipulative numbers and place value for easier computation, while others will struggle. Educate your students on the different number sense strategies. Model these strategies time and time again. Constant repetition will help your struggling students develop number sense. Provide your class with daily prompts to drive the concept home. We learn better when we are asked to apply that knowledge regularly.

Math Talk

Number sense related questions lead to great math discussions. The more open ended you can make a question the better. Open ended tasks increase discussion and collaboration amongst your students. Encourage your students to work in groups or pairs so they communicate their mathematical reasoning.

I use my Grab and Go Number Talks resource to drive home these three components of number sense. It has everything I need for the year.

Education, Math, Teacher Support

3 Reasons Why Digital Escapes Are Perfect for Your Classroom

September 11, 2018

Every year I try to add a new teaching initiative to my day to day routines. The longer you teach the more you rely on those tried and true activities and lesson plans that yield successful results. But I also want to stay relevant in my teaching and push myself to try new things.

It’s no secret that students enjoy technology. It’s part of their lives and something they are comfortable with. I decided that I wanted to incorporate digital escapes into my math block for practice, review, and test prep. A digital classroom escape is an interactive activity in which teams of students use clues to solve challenges and unlock “digital locks.” Our line of Digital Classroom Escapes consists of two academic activities aligned to a specific math skill and two puzzlers/ challenges. Here are three reasons why digital classroom escapes are perfect for your classroom.

1.) Low prep

I have always loved the idea of escape challenges, but the initial setup costs/steps has kept me away. With Digital Classroom Escapes there is little prep. There are directions and helpful tips to walk you thru your first escape. You and your students will become familiar with the setup of the escape, making additional escapes even easier. It’s also a great idea to include an escape challenge in your emergency sub kit since your students will already know how to navigate thru the challenge.

2.) All you need is the internet

I get really nervous trying a new activity in my classroom that involves technology. I’m worried that it won’t work, and I will be left standing in the middle of a room with twenty little faces staring at me begging me to fix it NOW! My school doesn’t have Google or Microsoft student accounts, but you don’t need any of that with Digital Classroom Escapes! You need access to the internet and that’s it! There is no setting up class lists or groups. Of course, if you have access to Google Classroom you can assign your classes the escape thru the program. Want to test out a Digital Classroom Escape to make sure it works on your campus? CLICK HERE for your FREE escape challenge.

3.) Student Interaction

There are many personal benefits as a teacher when using Digital Classroom Escapes, but the student benefits surpass my own needs. Students receive immediate feedback while practicing a specific math skill. The escape challenges promote team building and peer collaboration. You will hear accountable talk as students discuss and defend their reasoning as to how they solved a question the way they did. Just like a typical escape room no step or challenge is hiding out in the open. Your students will need to apply their problem-solving skills to advance thru.

Your students will have a blast trying to “escape” different challenges while practicing curriculum!

Education, Math

Why Multi-Step Word Problems Are So Important

September 11, 2018

More often than not children don’t like word problems. There is a sense of fear associated with trying to decode math word problems. Try in a multi-step word problem and forget it. As a child I can remember freezing up when I got to the word problems in my textbook. Even if I knew the skill procedurally I would panic. I was never properly taught how to evaluate and solve word problems. As a teacher I make sure to equip my students with the tools they need to solve word problems with confidence and ease.

How Often Do I Give My Students Multi-Step Word Problems?

The easiest way to create a classroom of students that are used to solving word problems is to flood your students with word problems. It sounds obvious, but most textbooks and workbooks provide practice with procedural based questions. In my classroom 80% of the questions I give to my students are word problems and 20% are procedural based questions. At first your students will hate this. They will look at you with sheer panic. Don’t back down. We learn best when we practice something daily. Word problems are no different. I use a word problem to start my math block every day. They are complex and conceptual based. Most often my students are not going to successfully solve it on the first try, but it’s the grit I’m targeting. I’m building their stamina.

Give Your Students the Proper Tools

At the start of the year I teach my students strategies for solving word problems. From pulling out important information and numbers to looking for words that lead to the correct operation needed to solve the questions, I provide my students with a toolkit for the year. This toolkit comes in the form of a flipbook that has examples and tips for how to solve world problems. Give your students something to reference to ease anxiety.

Spiral Review

Multi-step word problems can help you review curriculum that has been previously taught. If you review place value at the beginning of the year and never reference back to the skill, your students will forget what you taught them. I use Step Up Math Task Cards during math rotations to keep previously covered standards fresh for my students. It’s great practice for standardized testing.
Word problems are like mini stories. They allow you to touch upon key reading strategies that are covered in your curriculum. From text features to visualizing, students are using reading strategies to fully comprehend what is happening in the story. Embrace the idea that word problems are cross-curricular.

Step Up Math Task Cards can be used for practice, review, and test prep. I use these task cards when introducing a new standard and I need complex word problems for practice. I will use that same set during math rotations when I’m working with my groups for remediation and enrichment. I’ll then spiral the different steps into my math rotations throughout the year for test prep.

If you’re looking for 16 sets of multi-step word problems be sure to check out our Step Up Math Task Cards in our TpT Store!

Education, Math

3 Tips for Implementing Number Talks in Your Classroom

July 17, 2018

As an upper elementary teacher I promote number sense in my classroom daily. So often I hear other educators say “Oh, my students have number sense.” “They can multiply or add with no trouble.” Memorizing steps to an algorithm is not number sense.

What is number sense?

Number sense is one’s ability to manipulate numbers mentally. Flexibility is at the heart of number sense. Students with strong number sense can solve a problem in more than one way. The ability to problem solve is also connected to number sense. The four operations of math require the manipulation of numbers. Students need to have strong number sense if they are going to conceptually understand what they’re doing in your classroom.

How do I teach my students number sense?

To build number sense I implemented daily number talks into my math block. A number talk is a short (5-8 minutes) exercise designed to build number sense. During this practice students share how they solved a particular problem mentally. Implementing number talks in your classroom can feel overwhelming. Getting started with any new practice is always the hardest part. Here are 3 tips for implementing number talks in your classroom.

1.) MODELING is key.

You can’t expect your students to successfully complete a number talk if they have never seen what it looks like. Model how to “talk math.” Show them the different mental strategies that can be used to explain ways to problems. Spend some time at the start of your math block completing a number talk with your students. At first you will be doing the talking. After the first few weeks of school gradually release the responsibility over to your students. Have them work in groups or pairs initially and later have them complete a number talk independently.

2.) PREP as much as you can in advance.

Number talks are daily exercises so you will go through materials quickly. You need daily questions on hand. I keep my Grab and Go Number Talks on a binder ring and just pull a card for each day. Easy and quick!

3.) PUSH your students

Most students aren’t accustomed to doing math in this format. They are used to paper/pencil and step by step procedures. Asking them to think independently and innovatively will be hard at first. Expect silence. Expect not a lot of volunteers at first, but do praise those that step up to the plate. Praise the idea of solving one question in different ways. Your students will respond and start thinking independently.