Phonological awareness...that big, fancy phrase… can essentially be boiled down to word play. That’s right…play! Phonological awareness activities should be FUN, light-hearted, and yes, playful. Improve Students’ Reading with These Phonological Awareness Activities! Phonological awareness is the ability to hear, recognize, and manipulate sounds/phonemes (the smallest unit of sound). It’s purely auditory and it’s NOT phonics. As soon as letter knowledge is brought ... continue reading...
Sailing Through the Last Days of School
Do you DREAD the last days of school? I mean really dread them? Schedules run amuck. Students dream of running through sprinklers, sleeping in, and homework-free days. You’ve run out of curriculum and are exhausted from end-of-year testing. You just want the year to be over with, not because you don’t love and adore your kids, but because of the chaos those last days bring. The reality is that your year is not over with. You have FIVE. MORE. DAYS. OF. SCHOOL. Not five hours folks, five ... continue reading...
Numberless Math Word Problems: A Strategy that Works!
When you think of teaching your students how to solve math word problems with the unknown in ALL positions, do you panic just a bit? Or maybe a lot? I know my first reaction is, "Oh, pleeeeeease give me a cup of coffee, or a frappuccino for a sugar boost, this is going to be one loooong day! It's true, solving math word problems can be very challenging for students because they are expected to identify the type of word problem it is (join, separate, compare, ... continue reading...
What Are Number Talks?
Have you ever noticed a student solving a problem such as “20 – 19” like this? In the first situation the student used an algorithm correctly, but why? What was the need? In this case, they used an algorithm unnecessarily. In the second situation the student demonstrated an over-reliance on an algorithm they did not understand. What’s worse is that in both situations the students were not thinking about the numbers and their relationship to each other - they didn’t ... continue reading...
Number Talks – A Lesson in Action
Are you looking for short, powerful activities that can significantly increase your students’ mathematical understanding, while at the same time build computational fluency? If you read our last post, What Are Number Talks?, you know that Number Talks can be a powerful way to build mathematical thinking in your students. They are highly engaging activities that provide students with the challenge of figuring out their own solutions to problems in a way that makes sense ... continue reading...