Addressing Place Value Misconceptions
When starting a new unit of study, it really helps to know the most common mistakes students tend to make. That way, instruction can address those misunderstandings right from the…
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Reusable Number Task
For many reasons, I’m not a fan of math worksheets. The biggest one is that they’re one-and-done. Once students complete a worksheet, it rarely gets used again—which means you’re constantly…
Analyzing Math Mistakes
Look at the following multi-digit multiplication problems and see if you can tell why each one produced the wrong answer. I’ll wait… Okay, so did you figure it out? This…
Easy Coin Counting Workstation
Looking for some ideas for teaching counting money? I’ve written before about the strong connection between counting coins and skip counting. That post shares how to modify Count Around the…
Number Combinations Through 10
Discover how teaching number combinations through ten builds a strong foundation for fact fluency, mental math, and flexible number thinking.
Helping Students Visualize Division of a Unit Fraction and a Whole Number
It’s no exaggeration to say that students often struggle with fractions—and one of the main reasons is that fractions are an incredibly abstract concept. We need to do everything we…
Why Having Students Write Their Own Word Problems Works
We all know that solving word problems can be a challenge for students of all ages, and teachers are always looking for ways to help them be more successful. One…
Free St. Patrick’s Making 10 Game
Ten holds special importance in our number system. It’s no wonder, then, that a critical Kindergarten skill is knowing all of the combinations for making ten. With St. Patrick’s Day…
Solving Problems with the Unknown in any position
Beginning as early as 1st grade, students should have experience solving addition and subtraction problems with the unknown in any position. Traditionally, we have tended to focus on result unknown…
