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Welcome to week 3 of our book study on  Beyond Pizzas and Pies .  For more information this summer's book studies,  check out this post .  If you need more convincing about how much this book has to offer, check out  this short introduction video ! I can't believe we are over half way done this book!  I feel like it is a fairly quick read yet I have some great information to take back to the classroom with me in the fall. The posting schedule for Beyond Pizzas & Pies (all Wednesdays) June 10th Chapters 1&2 June 17th Chapters 3&4 June 24th Chapters 5&6 July 1st Chapters 7&8 Chapter 5: Is 1/2 Always Greater Than 1/3?  "Our research suggests that many students did not understand that, within a context, the size of the wholes must be determined before comparing fractional quantities."  This quote from chapter 5 really sums up what I have seen over and over again with students and teachers. When I learned about fractions in elementa...

Welcome to week 2 of our book study on  Beyond Pizzas and Pies .  For more information this summer's book studies,  check out this post .  If you need more convincing about how much this book has to offer, check out  this short introduction video ! I am so excited that you are joining me on this journey to learn more about teaching fractions.  I know many folks are participating by following along.  Even if you are not caught up on the reading, please feel free to comment and share your own experiences with teaching fractions. The posting schedule for Beyond Pizzas & Pies (all Wednesdays) June 10th Chapters 1&2 June 17th Chapters 3&4 June 24th Chapters 5&6 July 1st Chapters 7&8 Chapter 3: Understanding Equivalency I love the opening scenario in this chapter.  Kids following a procedure that their teacher taught them without any real understanding of the concept or context is so common in our current mathematics instruction. ...

Welcome to week 1 of our book study on Beyond Pizzas and Pies .  For more information this summer's book studies, check out this post .  If you need more convincing about how much this book has to offer, check out this short introduction video ! I am so excited that you are joining me on this journey to learn more about teaching fractions.  My go to book for fraction teaching for the last few years has been A Focus on Fractions .  I learned so much from that book but realized that I haven't read anything on fractions in quite some time so this summer I am making fractions a priority! The posting schedule for Beyond Pizzas & Pies (all Wednesdays) June 10th Chapters 1&2 June 17th Chapters 3&4 June 24th Chapters 5&6 July 1st Chapters 7&8 Chapter 1: The Problem With Partitioning: It's Not Just About Counting the Pieces The title of this chapter really sums up this issue.  Over and over again, kids are exposed to problems that show equally partiti...

It has been a busy couple of weeks around here and I am really looking forward to the slower days of summer.  My collection of professional reading has been mounting and I have good intentions of doing a lot of reading this summer.  I am currently reading About Teaching Mathematics  which is the newest version of a wonderful book by Marilyn Burns.  I can tell it will be my go to reference book for years to come.  Look for a review in the next few weeks right here on my blog. This summer, I really want to dig deeper into fractions and do some overhauling of my teaching and intervention materials for fractions.  I have two books about fractions that I really want to read and dig deeper into this summer.   These books also come with DVDs which I think is a great way of seeing the writing in action.  They also make a great addition to professional development that I lead as part of my role as a math coach .   I would love for you to join me read...

Recently, I have had several folks ask me about my role as a math specialist and what exactly it is that I do at work.  I have also had several folks contact me through  my Facebook page  with questions about roles and responsibilities as a math leader.  This week I will be sharing some of the different roles I play as an elementary math specialist.  Because I work in a small school, I have several roles to play.  In larger schools it is often the case that one of these roles is a full job.  Yesterday I gave some details about what to expect as/from a math interventionist .  Today I want to share with you another of my roles. Math Coach Building Relationships If you are going to be getting into teacher's classrooms and really making a difference for them and their students than it is vitally important that they find you helpful and they trust you.  Building strong relationships with the teachers you are going to be working with is the foundat...

It seems to me that math support positions have been becoming more common in schools across the country.  In the last few weeks, I have received several emails and Facebook messages from folks who have applied or are thinking about applying for various elementary math positions.  Many people are looking for advice and ideas and others are really asking what to expect.  I know expectations for these types of jobs vary widely but I want to share what I have learned over the last 10 years.  Over the next few days, I will be describing some of the roles that I have played as a "math specialist" and my best advice for doing a great job in each role. Math Interventionist Providing Additional Instruction This is the backbone of what your role will be as a math interventionist.  The majority of your time will be spent working with small groups of students who require additional instruction to meet standards.  There are many math intervention programs available comm...

Welcome to the final week of our Math Through Play Book Study!  I have been doing a lot of thinking and planning about how to get more play into math class.  I started a Pinterest board with #MathPlay ideas and it is quickly approaching 100 pins.  I will also be starting a weekly series on #MathPlay ideas here on my blog.   Here is the posting schedule for this book study: Sunday March 29th: Chapters 1-3 Sunday April 5th: Chapters 4&5 Sunday April 12th: Chapters 6&7 Sunday April 19th: Chapters 8&9 Without further ado, lets wrap up this book study! Chapter 8: Planning, Organizing and Assessing Independent Play The ideas in this chapter about planning and organizing independent play reminded me a great deal of how I try to organize and plan math centers during Guided Math time.  One of my favorite ideas is the idea of a play menu that shows kids what is available that day and helps keep them focused on the areas that are open for them to use during th...