Hey y’all! This post goes along with a video I posted on facebook that you can see HERE! I have gathered some of my favorite math ideas, tips, and tricks to share with you!
1. We are Mathematicians! This is my favorite back to school math activity! As a class, we discuss what the word Mathematicians means. We create an anchor chart to discuss what mathematicians do, need, etc. Then, students create themselves as mathematicians and write in a speech bubble how they will be mathematicians this year! It’s from my Let’s Get Started pack, BUT you can also find it separate HERE!
2. Math Desk Toppers: Several years ago I decided that I didn’t need my students to have their names on their desks. We switch desks often so I didn’t want to have to switch the tags or move the desks around. BUT, I still wanted a math reference tool for them to use on their desk. That’s when I came up with the Math Desk Topper! It has visuals that students can use throughout the year! You can find my 2nd grade one HERE!
Here’s how they look on the desks:
My friend wanted some for third grade, so I made her a set too! You can see those HERE!
3. Math Vocabulary! It’s important for students to see those terms that we are constantly emphasizing. Creating a space for math vocabulary and terms is a great idea! These cards are from our Magic of Math units, but you can also find them HERE! If you’d like the Math Vocabulary bulletin board letters for FREE, join our Engagement Made Easy group and you can grab that download!
4. I also talked about early finisher activities to use during the math block. You can find the FREE activities that I talked about in the video HERE!
Here’s another look at those early finisher activities 🙂 Students practice their fact fluency in a fun way!
5. Assessing fact fluency can be challenging, but Hope and I have tried to take all of the thinking out of it for you! You can find a post about it HERE. Click HERE for Addition and Subtraction. Click HERE for Multiplication and Division. Click HERE for all four!
6. Math Reflections- a powerful way to assess students quickly is by having them write about what you did in math for the day. They can explain a skill, write about a vocabulary term, or explain the steps to solving a problem. It’s ZERO prep, it integrates writing, and you can see in an instant if they understand!
7. Math Storage: Several years ago I decided to take all of my math materials out of the filing cabinet and organize it by math tubs. It saved my sanity! All of the books, cards, games, and centers were all in one easy to find place! You can read all about my math storage HERE!
8. Math Tools- we LOVE using lots of different manipulatives in the classroom, but here are some of my favorites:
9. Math Stations: I’ve talked A LOT about math stations on my blog. You can see a post for how I used this cart and chart HERE. HERE are my favorite apps!
10. Math Displays: I talked about some of these in my other video, but I wanted to share a few more with you! I keep a number line, number words, hundreds chart, word problem tips, and shape posters up all year along with a math bulletin board and math vocabulary wall!
Hi Amy,
I looked through your activities for math fluency and I’m eager to start some of these for my second graders. This is one area that my students need some extra time and practice with. I especially like the idea of the math reflections. I think that this is a great way for students to think back and really process what they have learned that day, or even questions they might have. I will also start to incorporate math vocabulary in those reflections as well. It’s amazing how over time, we tend to forget and get bogged down by all we are responsible for teaching, that the simple (yet most effective things) like math vocabulary are sometimes forgotten! I look forward to visiting your blog/site more often!
One Response
Hi Amy,
I looked through your activities for math fluency and I’m eager to start some of these for my second graders. This is one area that my students need some extra time and practice with. I especially like the idea of the math reflections. I think that this is a great way for students to think back and really process what they have learned that day, or even questions they might have. I will also start to incorporate math vocabulary in those reflections as well. It’s amazing how over time, we tend to forget and get bogged down by all we are responsible for teaching, that the simple (yet most effective things) like math vocabulary are sometimes forgotten! I look forward to visiting your blog/site more often!