Writing is one of the parts of language that secondary mathematicians are still developing. For some students, ESL/ELL for example, what they know about mathematics may exceed their ability to communicate it through the written word. Students learn to write by writing. Writing needs to be original thought, not just copying something that someone else wrote. Therefore, it is imperative that opportunities are provided often for students to engage in writing about mathematics. As the teacher, providing an environment that is rich in mathematical language is a priority. Students’ writing should make sense and be complete. This will develop over time for secondary mathematicians as they have more opportunities to write about their experiences. Writing About offers a collaborative opportunity for small groups of students to work individually first to write about a concept and then to come together and putting their individual work into a paragraph about the topic. A word cloud is given as a prompt for words and ideas. Facilitation notes are provided as well as student activity sheet. This is a good activity for struggling students and ESL/ELL who may need some support in writing.

Writing is one of the parts of language that secondary mathematicians are still developing. For some students, ESL/ELL for example, what they know about mathematics may exceed their ability to communicate it through the written word. Students learn to write by writing. Writing needs to be original thought, not just copying something that someone else wrote. Therefore, it is imperative that opportunities are provided often for students to engage in writing about mathematics. As the teacher, providing an environment that is rich in mathematical language is a priority. Students’ writing should make sense and be complete. This will develop over time for secondary mathematicians as they have more opportunities to write about their experiences. Writing About offers a collaborative opportunity for small groups of students to work individually first to write about a concept and then to come together and putting their individual work into a paragraph about the topic. A word cloud is given as a prompt for words and ideas. Facilitation notes are provided as well as student activity sheet. This is a good activity for struggling students and ESL/ELL who may need some support in writing.

Writing is one of the parts of language that secondary mathematicians are still developing. For some students, ESL/ELL for example, what they know about mathematics may exceed their ability to communicate it through the written word. Students learn to write by writing. Writing needs to be original thought, not just copying something that someone else wrote. Therefore, it is imperative that opportunities are provided often for students to engage in writing about mathematics. As the teacher, providing an environment that is rich in mathematical language is a priority. Students’ writing should make sense and be complete. This will develop over time for secondary mathematicians as they have more opportunities to write about their experiences. Writing About offers a collaborative opportunity for small groups of students to work individually first to write about a concept and then to come together and putting their individual work into a paragraph about the topic. A word cloud is given as a prompt for words and ideas. Facilitation notes are provided as well as student activity sheet. This is a good activity for struggling students and ESL/ELL who may need some support in writing.

Vocabulary is one of the foundations for developing understanding for any subject area and mathematics is no exception. For many students words used in mathematics may not be familiar in context. Students need many opportunities to use vocabulary in their daily work. Providing additional opportunities to review vocabulary in a learning station, center, or small group will help support students who are challenged by the language of mathematics. These five vocabulary ideas can be first used in the classroom in a large group or small group setting before rotating out to an independent/pair learning center. Specific mathematical topics are included but the activities can be adapted for any topic, or discipline for that matter. Facilitation notes are provided for each station. The ideas presented are but a start for the many ways in which these activities can be adapted. These are licensed for one classroom use only.

Vocabulary is one of the foundations for developing understanding for any subject area and mathematics is no exception. For many students words used in mathematics may not be familiar in context. Students need many opportunities to use vocabulary in their daily work. Providing additional opportunities to review vocabulary in a learning station, center, or small group will help support students who are challenged by the language of mathematics. These five vocabulary ideas can be first used in the classroom in a large group or small group setting before rotating out to an independent/pair learning center. Specific mathematical topics are included but the activities can be adapted for any topic, or discipline for that matter. Facilitation notes are provided for each station. The ideas presented are but a start for the many ways in which these activities can be adapted. These are licensed for one classroom use only.

Vocabulary is one of the foundations for developing understanding for any subject area and mathematics is no exception. For many students words used in mathematics may not be familiar in context. Students need many opportunities to use vocabulary in their daily work. Providing additional opportunities to review vocabulary in a learning station, center, or small group will help support students who are challenged by the language of mathematics. These five vocabulary ideas can be first used in the classroom in a large group or small group setting before rotating out to an independent/pair learning center. Specific mathematical topics are included but the activities can be adapted for any topic, or discipline for that matter. Facilitation notes are provided for each station. The ideas presented are but a start for the many ways in which these activities can be adapted. These are licensed for one classroom use only.

Vocabulary is one of the foundations for developing understanding for any subject area and mathematics is no exception. For many students words used in mathematics may not be familiar in context. Students need many opportunities to use vocabulary in their daily work. Providing additional opportunities to review vocabulary in a learning station, center, or small group will help support students who are challenged by the language of mathematics. These five vocabulary ideas can be first used in the classroom in a large group or small group setting before rotating out to an independent/pair learning center. Specific mathematical topics are included but the activities can be adapted for any topic, or discipline for that matter. Facilitation notes are provided for each station. The ideas presented are but a start for the many ways in which these activities can be adapted. These are licensed for one classroom use only.

This is a collection of 10 blackline masters, including a set of elapsed time problems for use with time. There are masters that can be used as writing prompts and journal entries as well as graphic organizers and tolls for supporting students work with time. This resource is good for students with dyslexia and language-based learning deficiencies. Please take a moment to review this resource.

The study of geometry and the world around us begins before primary mathematicians start school. Beginning mathematics should be able to identify shapes and solids, with a focus on their properties and relationship for developing abstract thinking and making conjectures. Primary students describe, represent, and investigate relationships within a geometric system. Children verbally describe two and three-dimensional objects and give examples as well as draw representations of both. These four activities are suitable for both large group and small group as well as centers or learning stations. They can be extended and differentiated to meet the needs of diverse students. Literacy and writing connections are also given. The sorting mat is also given separately to print 11X17 inches for primary mathematicians to use. This resource is good for students with Dyslexia and language-based learning deficiencies. We'd like to hear about your experience with our resources. Just give it a star rating then tell us what you think, simple as that!

By the intermediate grades, students have had many experiences with both 2D and 3D geometric objects. Their studies become more sophisticated as they are describing and classifying shapes based upon their attributes. They are also working with perimeter, area, and volume. Student reasoning, discussion, writing, and argumentation should be expected to show this more sophisticated level of understanding. However, some students may still need some review on the basic geometric figures and their attributes. Geometry in the intermediate grades should be just as experiential as it was in the primary years. Students are better able to articulate their findings and justifications for their spatial reasoning investigations. These five activities offer literacy connections, opportunities for writing, extensions and adaptations for diverse learners, money connections, and suggestions for the Art teacher in supporting mathematics. The sorting mat is also given separately to print 11X17 inches. This resource is good for students with Dyslexia and language-based learning deficiencies. We'd like to hear about your experience with our resources. Just give it a star rating then tell us what you think, simple as that!

Rooster's Off to See the World by Eric Carle, is a beloved children’s book. Not only does the story engage children it can also serve as a foundation for many mathematical investigations for primary mathematicians. The natural progression from counting and making comparisons is to composing and decomposing numbers. The earlier experiences with sets and the relationships between numbers laid the foundation for young mathematicians to learn about operating with numbers. Using operations to make sense of situations in their world or to describe events in their world helps young children build an understanding for the need for operations. The discovery of some basic properties, such as the commutative property of addition, also allow students to build strategies for working with progressively larger numbers as they move from kindergarten through second grade. Primary mathematicians first model “put together” and “take apart” situations using concrete objects, drawings, etc. These concepts are then expanded to composing and decomposing numbers additively. A connection to students’ prior work with building sets is important as students are developing fluencies with their addition and subtractions facts. Children need many opportunities to experience these situations. Incorporating a familiar story allows children to practice these mathematical ideas in a contextual setting. To effectively facilitate these activities, be sure to cover the common addition and subtraction situations found in Table 1, CCSSM, page 88. Questions are provided that can be used during the development of the activity to determine the desired focus of the lesson. It is very important that young mathematicians understand that numbers are quantities represented by numerals, pictures, numerals, etc. Materials are listed for each of the activities. The 25 pages include both black line masters as well as color masters have been provided. Suggestions for preparing the materials have been noted as well to facilitate making classroom sets for long term use.

Arthur L. Costa and Bena Kallick wrote Habits of Mind in the late 90’s. Soon thereafter, Al Cuoco, E. Paul Goldenberg, and June Mark wrote Habits of Mind: An Organizing Principle for Mathematics Curriculum. In their work they described roles that students hopefully will assume as they are working with mathematics. This poster gives a visual and brief descriptive overview of some of those roles. The language is applicable for all grade levels as well as subjects beyond mathematics.

Mathematics is an art form. It is full of patterns and through the study of these patterns students at all ages discover and develop understandings of the many structures of mathematics. The following brief collection of patterns can be studied by students of all ages. The primary mathematician counts to finish the patterns or builds the nest pattern in the sequence. The secondary mathematician who creates a model to represent the pattern in order to predict any term of the sequence. Students need opportunities to engage with and experience a variety of patterns. One of the Habits of Mind roles is that of a pattern sniffer. (See Habits of Minds Roles Poster.) Patterns are presented in four ways. There are number patterns, dot patterns, toothpick patterns, and even letter patterns. Students can be given the patterns all at once and initially just determine the next element or the next three elements. They can then move to developing models later in the year as the related topics are addressed. For primary students, use them as they fit in with the topics being studied or use them for investigations in learning stations or centers. Students can use number charts and manipulatives as needed.

Pentominoes, like dominoes, have many uses in the mathematics classroom. A pentomino is simply a geometric shape that has been formed by placing five congruent squares adjacent to each other. The squares must connect on at least one side and there can be no corner or partial side. Included in this 33 page packet are several activities and investigations for primary students through secondary students. Blackline masters for pentomino letter charts as well as pentomino letters to fit the 100 chart for printing on 11” X 17” paper for the number chart investigations are included. Resources with links are also embedded. This resource is great for students with dyslexia and language-based learning deficiencies. Please take a moment to review this resource.

Paper folding can be a useful tool of investigation for some students. Here are a few opportunities for using paper folding in the secondary mathematics classroom from difference of squares to an infinite geometric sequence. Directions are included as well as an extension activity for a learning station on paper folding to punch one hole and create a pattern. This resource is good for students with dyslexia and language-based learning deficiencies. Please take a few minutes and review this resource.

Young mathematicians, while learning to count, are also building understandings of our base ten number system. Number charts support the investigation of and discovery of many number patterns as well as serve as an aid in developing fluencies with composition and decomposition of numbers. Investigating patterns is the focus of this set of activities. A literacy connection as well as a technology integration is provided. Samples of 20, 50 charts, 100 charts and 1000 charts are given. Multiple charts per page are provided as well as blank charts or activity extensions. The two per page and four per page will fit nicely into the Mathematician’s Notebook.

A palindrome is a word or a number that can be read the same way in either direction. For example, MOM is still MOM if read backwards. “A man, a plan, a canal, Panama” is a famous palindrome about the building of the Panama Canal. Palindromes can also be numbers. 121 is still 121 if read from the other direction. This is a short collection of ideas and resources to facilitate students’ fun investigating palindromic numbers.

Do trade books have a place in today’s mathematics classroom? Yes! Incorporating literature into the mathematics classroom at any level can increase student engagement, make mathematics come alive and have meaning, and can help to differentiate instruction as well as support ELL/ESL students. Present mathematics in a way that will make mathematics more accessible and understandable for students at all levels. This resource contains six suggested activities to engage students AS YOU READ, for students to experience BEING A MATHEMATICIAN, and provide authentic OPPORTUNITIES FOR WRITING. The suggested activities can be adapted for a large or small group, centers, learning stations and for intervention. This resource is good for students with language-based learning deficiencies. We'd like to hear about your experience with our resources. Just give it a star rating then tell us what you think, simple as that! Book not included.

Do trade books have a place in today’s mathematics classroom? Yes! Incorporating literature into the mathematics classroom at any level can increase student engagement, make mathematics come alive and have meaning, and can help to differentiate instruction as well as support ELL/ESL students. Present mathematics in a way that will make mathematics more accessible and understandable for students at all levels. This resource contains seven suggested activities and "The King's Chessboard" activity to engage students AS YOU READ, for students to experience BEING A MATHEMATICIAN, and provide authentic OPPORTUNITIES FOR WRITING. The suggested activities can be adapted for a large or small group, centers, learning stations and for intervention. This resource is good for students with language-based learning deficiencies. We'd like to hear about your experience with our resources. Just give it a star rating then tell us what you think, simple as that! Book not included.

Do trade books have a place in today’s mathematics classroom? Yes! Incorporating literature into the mathematics classroom at any level can increase student engagement, make mathematics come alive and have meaning, and can help to differentiate instruction as well as support ELL/ESL students. Present mathematics in a way that will make mathematics more accessible and understandable for students at all levels. This resource contains seven suggested activities to engage students AS YOU READ, for students to experience BEING A MATHEMATICIAN, and provide authentic OPPORTUNITIES FOR WRITING. The suggested activities can be adapted for a large or small group, centers, learning stations and for intervention. This resource is good for students with language-based learning deficiencies. We'd like to hear about your experience with our resources. Just give it a star rating then tell us what you think, simple as that! Book not included.