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One Simple Law Teachers Must Learn for Work Life Balance

Last Modified: May 9, 2019 by Theresa

My first 10 years as a teacher, I worked crazy hours. During my first school year I would routinely start the day in my classroom at 6:30 and not leave until 6:00 at night, sometimes even later. And holidays and weekends- yep, back in the classroom. I was surrounded by other workaholic teachers who wore their excessive hours as a badge of honor, and I felt like it was just part of the job, an expectation if I wanted to be a good and effective educator. It’s been a journey from that point to one with improved work life balance, and one simple law first coined in 1955 by Cyril Parkinson in an essay published in the Economist has been super helpful in getting even better!

How Many Solutions Does the System of Equations Have? Teaching Tip

Last Modified: May 9, 2019 by Rachel

This week we learned a great way to distinguish between the different options of how many solutions exist when working with two equations in a system of equations. I was working with a group of students who were struggling to really see what they were trying to do when identifying how many solutions are possible. They just didn’t understand what it meant for a system of equations to have one solution vs. no solutions vs. infinite solutions. So, we started adding the strategy of hand gestures, and it really seemed to help some of them understand this topic differently.

Using Maze Games in the Middle School Math Classroom

Last Modified: May 9, 2019 by Rachel

It’s funny how the very same students whose eyes glaze over when you put a worksheet in front of them, perk up when you present the same kind of work in a novel way. Take math maze games as an example. These mazes require that students solve a certain number of problems, but because they’re also trying to get to the finish line at the same time, students are so much more engaged when practicing. Today I’m sharing 8 ways to use mazes in your math classroom.

One of the most rewarding things about sharing resources on Teachers Pay Teachers is that through feedback, you can actually hear how real life teachers use these downloads in their classroom. It’s amazing to hear about their experiences using games, puzzles, and activities that I’ve used with my own students. So, when thinking about all the different ways to use math maze games in the classroom, I turned to the comments from other teachers and their great ideas and insights on using mazes with students.

8 Do’s and Don’ts for Using Games in the Classroom

Last Modified: May 9, 2019 by Rachel

We’re so excited to be over at Education to the Core talking about using games in the classroom. We’re big believers in the power of games to promote student engagement and get students lots of high quality practice.

But, we also know that sometimes games in the classroom can be chaotic or ineffective. We compiled a list of 8 Do’s and Don’ts for Using Games in the Classroom to reflect some of the lessons we’ve learned over the years (and often, the hard way!!) We also have a great freebie waiting for you to accompany this post: Middle Grades Math Game Sampler Freebie.

Please join us at Education to the Core and let us know what you think!!

Teaching Systems of Equations with Discovery Labs

Last Modified: May 9, 2019 by Rachel

As I prepared to teach students about working with systems of equations, I reflected on last year’s students and came to a painful realization- there were several students who just never really got what they were doing. Sure, most students got pretty good at using the substitution method or the elimination method to solve for two systems of equations. But even for those who could do well with test questions, did they really understand at a conceptual level what they were doing? It was humbling to realize that for most of them, the answer was probably no. So for the past week I took a different approach to the topic, applying the Discovery Lab approach I’ve seen work so well for other topics. It’s been awesome to see how my students have responded to this Systems of Equations Discovery Lab. [Read more…] about Teaching Systems of Equations with Discovery Labs