Blog
This list of Mobius Strip Resources is mostly for teachers or parents. There are videos, activities, and everything related to helping kids explore this fascinating shape. This list is a work in progress, so expect it to keep growing over time.
You missed the Big Bang. You missed the Renaissance in Italy. You may even have missed the 2023 MEA Educators Conference in St. Paul. So please, do not miss out on using these activities in your math class! Activities from the Workshop Origami ~ the original math fidget Claws Bat Folding Angles British Origami ... Continue Reading
There are several reasons that it is important for students to 'play math.' First, it's more fun than sweating over 'drill and kill' math worksheets. Next, everyone learns better when they are relaxed and having fun. Also, playing around with numbers, relationships, and ideas gives students a sense of ownership. Finally, messing around with numbers and mathematical ideas creates a fantastic context for skill practice.
There are other academic topics that support and extend the mathematical concept of perimeter. As you know, more connections make topics easier to understand and recall.
Whenever you have a new class, new students, or new circumstances of any kind, teachers might decide to use a gentle Get-to-Know-You type of math activity. The list of math-art activities below starts with ideas for very young learners and marches up to middle school aged students.
Lots of students think they understand triangles ~ three sides? three corners? What else? Well, you don't have to know trigonometry to realize that there's so much more to learn about triangles. How can we teachers create lessons that get students engaged with exploring and making sense of triangles? What do we want students ... Continue Reading
One skill that is much easier than it sounds, is learning to find percentages with mental math.
The order of factors in multiplication doesn’t change the product. Encourage students to expand their understanding of the commutative property of multiplication to include percents. Even though the commutative property doesn’t apply to division and there is division in calculating percentages, x% of y will always equal y% of x. The swap always works and can be used to make mental calculations of percentages even easier.
Well educated people understand and make use of percentages all the time, making this an important topic to study as a gateway to higher math, and as an essential life skill.
Too many young adults buy lottery tickets as their retirement plan. They would have been better off sticking to their dreams of being an astronaut or Olympic gold medalist when they grow up ~ it turns out these things are more likely than the chance of winning the lottery. Even if it isn't Financial Literacy ... Continue Reading
How do you want your students to describe equivalent fractions? By rote definition memorized from the textbook? Nope! Wouldn't it be great if they used a combination of analogies, examples and counterexamples, as well as everyday language referencing various ways to model equivalence and sprinkled with academic vocabulary?
What makes understanding equivalent fractions such a big deal? Fractions open the door to other math concepts. They are the heart of what makes rational numbers tricky to learn and important to understand. Understanding equivalent fractions is an important math skill. Comparing fractions is easier when they all have the same denominators. Students may ... Continue Reading
Download Colorful Collections:
A Mindful Exploration of Proper Fractions
Help your students make sense of fractions.
I started teaching in 1987, which means I’ve collected many tips and tricks along the way. In this ebook, I share concepts, strategies, and classroom materials to help you make math sticky.
Along with this useful ebook, you will receive weekly emails from StickyMath@UnCommon-Core.com. I send information like: teacher tips, educational ideas, book reviews, curated lists, reviews of educational sites, and free first drafts of products that I’m creating for my TPT store. That way, you get helpful ideas and free stuff, while I get some feedback before I finalize products and put them up for sale.
I value your privacy. I will never sell your information. You may unsubscribe at any time.
All the best!
Isabelle
Isabelle Hoag M. Ed.