1.) Mathantics – This channel is run by two cool guys that use humor and themes to teach math skills. Their videos are detailed and relatable for young students.

2.) MashUp Math – I follow Anthony on Instagram and I love what he stands for. He’s all about making math fun and complex for students. His videos have great graphics and examples.

3.) Khan Academy – Khan Academy is one of the largest educational channels on YouTube. They have tons of math videos, and also videos for other subject areas. There are even professional development videos for teachers. FYI – the tutorials on this channel are more suited for upper elementary.

What YouTube channels do you use in your classroom?

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Be very selective in the resources you use in your classroom. Most textbooks, worksheets, and workbooks lean toward the procedural side of questioning. Don’t be afraid to swap out basic questions for more complex ones. My first few years of teaching I never thought to write my own word problems, but once I started I didn’t stop. I was able to make them relatable to my students and ensure I was targeting various levels of questioning.

Teachers fear the idea of something being “too hard” for our students. Why is there such a stigma associated with challenging opportunities? All of us are the people we are today because we rose to the occasion in moments of strife. We learned in that difficult moment what worked and what didn’t. Your students are going to benefit very little if everything is a cake walk.

As you reach the higher levels of understanding, you reach conceptual understanding. Teaching conceptually means stepping back. This was incredibility hard for me. By nature, I want to help, hence why I (and you) became an educator. I have also been told by many loved ones that I am a long-winded speaker; therefore, my first few years of teaching involved me rambling in the front of the room. While I was loving every second of my math lessons, I was doing all of the work. In time, I learned that I shouldn’t be doing all of the talking and thinking. In fact, I realized that I should be doing about 30% of the talking and that questioning (paired with wait and exploration time) were critical parts to any lesson.

My Bloom’s Taxonomy Cards for math are a great way to ensure you are targeting the different levels of understanding. I keep my cards on a key ring and store them on my desk. There are always near me to use as a guide when I am teaching a new skill. What do you use in your classroom to target the different levels of understanding?

The post Targeting the Different Levels of Understanding in Your Math Class Bloom’s Taxonomy appeared first on Tanya Yero Teaching.

Storage and organization is key

If you don’t properly organize your manipulatives prior to your lesson, it’s going to waste time and become hectic with your students around. I have table baskets for each group and I stage the manipulatives we are going to use that day before the students arrive. I label the baskets with my group numbers, so I know what group I need to talk to if I’m missing materials. You want access to materials and clean-up to be quick so you’re getting the most instructional time possible.

Play is okay at the right moments

For some of your students this may be their first experience with a certain manipulative and they are curious. I always allow for exploration and “play” prior to using manipulatives in an academic setting. I use pattern blocks a lot during my fraction unit, and it never fails that my students want to create abstract or symmetrical images with the blocks. I schedule 5-10 minutes for this sort of “play” prior to our fraction unit. When I’m using manipulatives during a lesson I am very clear in my expectations. I use a lot of directives such as “place your manipulatives back into the bin,” when I need them to focus on me and not fidget with pattern blocks.

Questioning and consistency

Manipulatives should be part of your daily math block. Find resources that require the use of manipulatives. They will build deeper understanding of curriculum.
Rigorous questioning should parallel your use of manipulatives. For instance, when I introduce long division I give my students a bag of place value blocks. Let’s say I put enough blocks to represent the value of 167. I will then put a prompt on my activeboard board asking each group of students to equally place the blocks into 5 groups. I could just start with the problem of 167 ÷ 5 and show them the basic steps, but this is more exploratory for them. Soon I have some students coming up to me inquiring about the hundred flat and asking if they can trade the hundred flat for 10 rods of ten. Ahhhh, they have figured out a fundamental part of division (regrouping) without me telling them. You can’t beat this sort of authentic learning. Don’t be afraid to give them a line of questioning that they are essentially not ready for, but with assistance from manipulatives they are able to successfully piece together.

My collection of manipulatives is my go to resource for teaching conceptual math and a vital part of my daily math pedagogy. How do you use math manipulatives?

The post 3 Tips for Fffectively Using Math Manipulatives in Your Classroom appeared first on Tanya Yero Teaching.

1.) Make word problems part of your everyday teaching – The more the merrier. In my classroom 80% of the questions I give to my students are word problems and not 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 hard 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.

2.) Don’t be afraid to use multi-step problems – These are even scarier for students. They instantly shut down when they realize there’s a lot to the question. Push your students. Throw in steps that review previous content so there’s a spiral review of curriculum.

3.) Provide your students with a bag of tips and tricks – Most often students fear word problems because they don’t know how to approach them. Like anything unknown you need to teach them how to look for keywords, isolate important information, etc. I like to use the CUBES strategy in my classroom. At the beginning of the year I use a flipbook to introduce tips for solving word problems. My students reference back to this flipbook throughout the year. You can find this flipbook here.

4.) Make it personal and real life – Your students will respond differently if they can visualize themselves or their friends in a word problem. Don’t be afraid to write your own questions. Use the names of your students or the hobbies they are interested in. When my students were obsessed with Rubric’s Cubes, they were part of my word problem. A very easy but effective step.

With time your students will start to embrace the challenge of word problems. Shower your students with word problems and you will be on your way to building a classroom of problem solvers.

The post 4 Easy Steps for Teaching Math Word Problems appeared first on Tanya Yero Teaching.

1.) U-Know Games – If you’re aren’t following Fun in 5th Grade on Teachers Pay Teachers, go do it now. Her U-Know Games are a fan favorite for my gifted students. I use these cards as a rotation activity. My students never complain when U-Know is part of our rotation schedule.

2.) Order Up – I love Order Up activities because it’s designed for one player and self-checking. My students love them and its print and go for me! Easy prep. These games can be found on Teachers Pay Teachers by Created By MrHughes. My only recommendation is to have your students lay out the pieces first and then glue everything down once they successfully make their way to the top.

3.) Anything that assesses conceptual understanding – There are great games available that assess conceptual understanding of math standards. I use the games below when I am teaching quadrilaterals and types of triangles. Search online for quality games that target what you are covering in class.

Integrate math games that are aligned to your standards to bring new excitement to your math block!

The post 3 Games to Boost your Math Block appeared first on Tanya Yero Teaching.

1.) Bring in artifacts that are related to your math lessons – When I teach decimals I bring in receipts for my students to use for questions. I’ll black-out the totals and have them calculate sums or differences. I once had a student ask me why they needed to know word form of numbers. “No one writes in word form. Everyone uses standard form.” The next day I brought in my checkbook….a perfect example of adults using word form.

2.) Make questions or word problems related to your students – This is such a simple yet highly effective technique to make math real for students. I use my students’ names and what I know they are interested in. I recently wrote a word problem for adding fractions and it was about slime. Kids are insane for slime recipes right now. You can’t get any more real life than that.

3.) Use pictures – your students are growing up surrounded by technology and visual simulation. Adding pictures to your word problems will help your students visualize what is happening in the story. Again, a very simple add-on with great impact. My product line Snapshots of Math has a photo for every word problem and covers all the standards from grades 1st – 6th.

The post Making Math Real appeared first on Tanya Yero Teaching.

1.) Identifying part to whole relationships – Give a different value to the hexagon shape and ask your students to identify the fractional values of the trapezoid, rhombus, and triangle. I always start with the hexagon having a value of 1 whole, but eventually we work our way up to ½, 2, etc. Part to whole relationships are vital for conceptual understanding of fractions and connects perfectly to equivalent fractions. I use the activity below from Frogs and Cupcakes every year to help with this concept.

2.) Adding and subtracting fractions – Whether you’re teaching adding and subtracting fractions with unlike or like denominators, your students can use pattern blocks to practice this skill. Simply create geometric images and ask your students to find the total value of the images. Then take some blocks away so they can practice subtraction of fractions. It’s a simple task that visual learners enjoy. Using pattern blocks is much more fun than the average worksheet! Check out this FREEBIE!

3.) Integrating other math skills into fractions – The image below is of an activity I use with my students during our fraction unit. Once the students identify how many triangles make up the image, they must then divide to find out the dollar value of each triangle. To keep skills that have been taught earlier in the year fresh, integrate those standards into your new lessons. This activity is in my TpT store.

My students always learn new math concepts more quickly and completely when I can incorporate some fun into the lessons. Pattern blocks do just that!

Check out these freebies for Thanksgiving or Easter!

The post 3 Ways to Effectively Use Pattern Blocks to Teach Fractions appeared first on Tanya Yero Teaching.

1.) Khan Academy – stop everything and go check out Khan Academy if you haven’t done so already. Their video tutorials are AWESOME for students (and teachers!). They also provide countless activities and questions for student practice. Khan Academy is available for all ages.

2.) Mathletics – Mathletics is all about aligning to state-based math standards in an engaging gaming set-up for students. Sign me up. The graphics aren’t too childish and work for all grades of elementary school.

3.) National Library of Virtual Manipulatives – I first discovered this website when I was interning in college and it has been a staple in my math instruction ever since. If you have an interactive whiteboard in your classroom this website provides digital manipulatives that can be used during your math instruction.

4.) FrontRow – If you are looking for digital instruction that targets students on a personalized level, this is the program for you. FrontRow offers more than 30,000 math questions covering grades K-8.

5.) PatrickJMT – PatrickJMT is an underrated website, similar to Khan Academy. Patrick offers an insane amount of video tutorials for grades 4 thru high school that are kid friendly and easy to understand.

What math website(s) do you use in your classroom? Leave a comment below.

The post 5 Math Websites That Every Classroom Should be Using appeared first on Tanya Yero Teaching.