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Free Number Sense Boosters
Could your students’ number sense use a boost? These quick and simple activities improve number sense while engaging your students.
Latest from the Blog
Organizing Your Fact Fluency Materials
When it comes to fact fluency it can be easy both to over-simplify *and* to over complicate. Having a clear plan with fact fluency materials at the ready can simplify the task of assessing, instructing and practicing math facts. This post includes links to free and paid resources. Some paid
Quick Start Math Intervention Resources
If, for whatever reason, math intervention is feeling overwhelming right now, this blog post is for you. These quick-start math intervention resources will help you move from no-plan to ready-to-go in a few short and simple steps. When a project feels too big or too overwhelming it can be easy
How to Respond to Significant Gaps In Mathematical Understanding
Whether you are a classroom teacher or an interventionist working primarily with small groups you may have encountered a student or group of students who have significant gaps in mathematical understanding. Determining the next steps can feel overwhelming when they seem to need “everything” but we can simplify the process
Should We Use the Alligator Number Comparison Strategy?
This may be the most controversial post I have written since “Key Words are NOT the Key To Word Problems” but here we go. Should we use the alligator number comparison strategy to support our students in comparing numbers? My answer is a resounding yes… and no. I take the
The Math Intervention Strategy that Lowers Prep AND Increases Understanding
Sometimes, planning fewer *new* activities is the math intervention strategy that will make the difference for your students. Any time you can spend less time planning while also maintaining engagement and increasing student understanding, it should be considered a win! When your students are developing their understanding of a new
Getting Started With Numberless Word Problems
Word problems are the place where numbers, operations, and comprehension collide. Numberless word problems are a tool you can use to boost comprehension so that your students can confidently apply their knowledge of numbers and operations to solve. If you’ve never used this tool before, or if you have tried
The Stress-Free Path To Math Fact Automaticity
If you have a goal around increasing math fact automaticity in your students this year you are in the right place. We’re going to untangle who should be working towards automaticity in the year ahead along with what steps to take to get there in a stress-free way. My 4-year-old
Math Intervention Planning: Dos and Don’ts
Math intervention planning is a delicate balance between providing your students the time and space they need to understand while also moving with a sense of speed and purpose because you are aiming to close gaps. These tips will help you to accomplish that balance in your math intervention planning.
Math Intervention Assessment: Dos and Don’ts
Math intervention assessment is not the same as assessing tier 1 math instruction. Following these few simple tips will help you to determine who needs to receive math intervention and where you will start with instruction. Do Assess Before You Teach… But Don’t Assess *EVERYTHING* It can be tempting to
Creating Systematic Math Intervention Lessons That Work
When you are working with students in a math intervention setting we know that we need to focus on systematic math intervention instruction meaning that we, as the teacher, are working towards a clearly defined end goal and have broken instruction down into clear and manageable steps that build toward
