START THE SCHOOL YEAR OFF RIGHT

Have you seen the countdown to school on social media?  Well, it's time to think about ways to start the school year off right.  I have often been guilty of sending a questionnaire home for parents to answer questions about their little darlings.  The past few years, I gave the questionnaire to the students.  I asked them to answer it to the "best of their ability" and to be perfectly honest.

I often received true notes of what the students were fearful of, what they dreaded the most about school (often Math) and ways they could help themselves as well as me gain better control of becoming responsible classroom contributors.

So, here's the link to the free questionnaire designed for grades 3 and up.  I'm hoping it will help you gain better insight of your students.  Just click on the picture below:

Why Practice Number of the Day?

I have incorporated "Number of the Day" activities into my daily math routine.  Why?  Children do not develop number sense in a fixed period of time.  It is developed gradually.  Number sense becomes part of problem solving.  Over time, children have become capable of solving problems based on their sense of number.  They have a growing repertoire of strategies to help them solve problems.

I often have classroom activities such as daily routines that include graphic representations such as calendar math, hundreds charts and games that reinforce mathematical fluency. When I created "Number of the Day", I had the students draw 3 numbers and then decide which numbers they'd like to choose to work with.  For example, cards for 3, 6 and 2 could have been drawn for the day.  The students could then generate numbers such as 236, 263, 326, 362, 623, or 632.  This would ensure that no student was left behind.  Their comfort level with numbers increased and so did their wanted to work with larger numbers.  Below is a free sample of smaller number "Number of the Day" activities.  This was used for my newest English Language Learners and involves working with tens.  

Students work with tens using this template.  Just click on it to receive your free download.