As the first day back to school is quickly approaching, I can't help but think of the subject I want to amp up the most! I feel like I had a great year teaching Reading last year, and while we actually had a great year in Math, I just want to do MORE! Have you ever felt that way?!
I have been spending many hours weekly (yes during summer break!!!!) trying to plan and prep for the upcoming year. My district has adopted the EngageNY curriculum and I have enjoyed using it to the best of my ability and student strengths. Does this mean as teachers we always follow the curriculum to a T?! No! I know we all wish it were that easy – but it's not! So what other strategies can we implement?
MATH WEBSITE SUGGESTIONS:
There are many types of students learners and then students who need practice and support in other areas. I love finding and using supporting math websites to grab additional materials and ideas. Below are a few of my favorites:
Education.com: This website has a variety of items to choose from. Whether you're looking for assessments, worksheets, lesson plans, or games! Look no further. They also easily align with common core, if your state uses that.
Embarc.online: So, if you're like me, you use a specified curriculum but aside from teacher manuals and already printed materials, there isn't much else. That's where Embarc comes in. They were originally created to support Eureka using teachers but it has since blown up and become so much more. There isn't just digital focused curriculum, they also have games and YouTube tutorials teaching the material.
Khan Academy: This is another awesome math site!! Students have the ability to practice skills that you have set in place for them. The site isn't entirely game friendly, rather work focused. Students do have the ability to earn coins to put toward building an avatar. However, in my opinion, this site is more ‘test' friendly. You also have the ability to measure student progress too!
Prodigy Math: I am a SUPER HUGE fan of Prodigy. Students beg to use it because they love the ability to challenge one another in battles while practicing math facts. However, it's not just about the game. As a teacher, I love that I'm able to review the data of the questions they answer and set up groups based upon the support they need.
Splash Math: This math site is incredibly fun!! It gives students a chance to play games but also learn their facts, not just multiplication and division. As an educator, you have the ability to put in all of your student names and set up desired skills you believe they individually need to practice.
DIGITAL PRODUCTS
The next best step in preparing for the school year, whether it be during the summer, winter, upon hire, etc. is to consider the resources and products you may need to use. Many of you may still require print and go, however, you may be shifting into a digital friendly classroom – or use computers for math centers. Whichever it may be, focus on digital friendly products that create less stress.
We are in a Google friendly school. Using Google Classroom is a life line at this point, and I do not regret it! I love that many of the websites listed above, as well as Google apps are easily linkable to Classroom. Plus, when synched my class rosters immediately download into the programs … so that's a double win!
When looking for digital friendly products, focus on apps like Google Slides, Google Forms, BOOM CardsTM, and apps that allow you to upload copies of a PDF for students (or yourself) to annotate over.
I hope you were able to find something useful to aid in preparation for teaching math. Please comment below with any suggestions you have or math websites you LOVE using! Want to grab a free set of these Powers of Ten worksheets – both printable and digital? Click the button below and they are all yours!
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Awesome