If you ask an upper elementary teacher what activities they need for their classroom in December, you will often hear the following: "I need activities that are minimal prep because December is a busy month" or "I need activities that will hold my student's attention and help with engagement". Can you relate to either or both of these statements? I am here to help YOU! Today, I am going to ... Read More about 6 Math Activities To Use During December in Your Upper Elementary Classroom

Are you looking for more ways to practice problem solving in your classroom? Want to make problem solving more fun and engaging for your students? 6 years ago, I would have answered, "YES" to both of those questions. My students were sick of solving word problem after word problem with worksheets or task cards. I noticed that many of my students needed more problem solving practice, but I knew ... Read More about Word Problem Wednesday: Problem Solving Practice for Upper Elementary Classrooms

Have you ever heard the dreaded sigh or seen the shaking of student's heads when you mention you will be practicing word problems for math that day? As an upper elementary teacher, I heard that dreaded sigh or even the look of defeat way too often in my classroom. I knew something needed to change! So, I took some classic games that my students loved and turned them into word problem activities. ... Read More about 5 Word Problem Activities That Will Engage Your Upper Elementary Students!

Ensuring that your upper elementary students have a strong number sense is the key to helping them be successful in upper elementary math. Read that last sentence again and really think about it! The number sense developed in students between Kindergarten-2nd grade impacts how students do with upper elementary math. As an upper elementary teacher, I rely on the lower elementary teachers to give ... Read More about 5 Tips For Teaching Place Value in Upper Elementary

My classroom completely changed when I started implementing Growth Mindset into my classroom on a daily basis! Before, I would talk about growth mindset here and there. I probably brought it up more when I was seeing a lack of a growth mindset in my classroom. Everything changed when I started to intentionally include it EVERY day into my classroom. My students started to think of growth ... Read More about Growth Mindsets in the Upper Elementary Classroom