Finding Factors and Common Factors
Being able to find factors and common factors is an important skill that shows up in a number of areas of mathematics. Students use factors to recognize prime and composite…
Author: Donna Boucher
Donna has been a teacher, math instructional coach, interventionist, and curriculum coordinator. A frequent speaker at state and national conferences, she shares her love for math with a worldwide audience through her website, Math Coach’s Corner. Donna is also the co-author of Guided Math Workshop.
Volume, From the Ground Up
Take a look at the figure below. How many cubes is it made of? A student might answer 16. Can you figure out why? If you look closely, there are…
- Fractions & Decimals · Grades 3-5 · Grades K-2 · Instructional Strategies · Number Sense · Operations · Teacher Tips
Why the Concrete-Representational-Abstract (CRA) Sequence Matters
First, I have a quiz for you. If you speak and write Hindi, you can skip this part! For everyone else, look at the symbols below. Can you tell which…
Too Much Glue: A Fun Math Journal Mini Lesson
As you’re planning for the new school year (or maybe you’re one of the lucky ones still enjoying summer!), you’re probably thinking about how you’ll introduce math journals. One of…
Reasoning About Decimal Multiplication and Division
Multiplying and dividing decimals can be tricky for students, but it’s often not for the reason we think. Once they know the algorithm, the computation is really just like dividing…
Free Online Activities for Recognizing Numbers to 20
It’s not uncommon for children to be able to count to 20 but still struggle to recognize the numerals. They can easily count aloud to 20—and often much higher—but if…
Comparing Teen Numbers using Place Value
Comparing numbers is much more than deciding which numeral is larger. Students need to understand why one number is greater than, less than, or equal to another. That understanding begins…
Number of the Day: Daily Number Sense Routines
A daily number sense routine is one of the simplest ways to strengthen students’ understanding of numbers. Spending just a few minutes each day exploring a single number helps students…
Building Mathematical Communication from the First Day of School
One of the most important things we do at the beginning of the school year is establish the expectation that students will communicate their mathematical thinking. Learning mathematics is a…
