An educator since 1979, Tammy L. Jones has worked with students from first grade through college. Currently, Tammy is consulting with individual school districts in training teachers on strategies for making content accessible to all learners. Writing integrations as well as literacy connections are foundational in everything Tammy does. A variety of resources are offered for mathematics Pre-K through 12 as well as several that are interdisciplinary. Electronic trainings are also offered.
An educator since 1979, Tammy L. Jones has worked with students from first grade through college. Currently, Tammy is consulting with individual school districts in training teachers on strategies for making content accessible to all learners. Writing integrations as well as literacy connections are foundational in everything Tammy does. A variety of resources are offered for mathematics Pre-K through 12 as well as several that are interdisciplinary. Electronic trainings are also offered.
One Duck Stuck, by Phyllis Root, 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. One interesting and important concept in mathematics is Pascal’s Triangle. The combination of One Duck Stuck and the related mathematical concepts that can be found in Pascal’s Triangle allows students a fun, unique, and engaging venue for developing mathematical literacy.
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 24 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.
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 seasonal manipulatives allow 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.
This resource includes color masters for both activities, the seasonal objects as well as the counters. Hyperlinks are also provided for manipulatives when applicable.
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!
Writing is one of the parts of language that younger mathematicians are still developing along with their reading, talking, and listening skills. Children 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. 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.
Spatial reasoning requires students to probe deeper than just surface work with facts and formulas. In the three tasks provided, students are required to measure, create, and justify their thinking.
Facilitation notes are provided as well as a sample graphic for a word wall. There are also single pages of the activities as task cards that are suitable for students using in their Mathematician’s Notebook.
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!
Students at all levels need practice drawing geometric figures objects, both two-dimensional and three-dimensional as well as basic one-dimensional objects. This is an activity that the Art teacher can use as well to support mathematics learning.
Note that these are created as individual task cards that can be cut apart and use in The Mathematician’s Notebook or a center or learning station. Or they can be used as the activity sheet with room on the right to draw and name the object.
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!
Students learn mathematics more effectively and more deeply when reading and writing is directed at learning mathematics. (Bossé and Faulconer 2008) This packet includes four activities that target foundational components for developing understandings and building fluency with key mathematical topics:
Geometric Measurement: Angles
Data
Fractions
Measurement
Money & Decimals
Multiplication & Division
Place Value
Time
Vocabulary and writing are targeted and facilitation notes are provided to support making mathematics content accessible to all learners. Templates and additional resources are provided.
This resource is good for children 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!
What Do We Know? is a small group writing activity. This is a good activity for struggling students and ESL/ELL who may need some support in writing. It supports students as they build stamina in writing in the content area. This particular What Do We Know About focuses on the following topics:
Exponential Functions
Functions
Linear Functions
Modeling
Probability
Quadratic Functions
Right Triangles and Trigonometry
Statistics
Contains facilitation notes and eight activity pages.
This resource is good for children 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!
Reproducible for the purchaser's classroom only. For information about permission to reproduce this document email: TammyJones@TLJConsultingGroup.com.
Primary mathematicians need opportunities to work with data. Making connections to measurement and literature support building deeper understandings. Five activities, some with literacy connections, five formative assessments, and two investigations are provided.
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!
Working toward functional fluency is a major goal of secondary mathematicians. As students progress through the six levels of Modular Math: Functions they will have opportunities to develop the definition for a function as well as to work with and understand the notation and symbolic representations for various functions. Technology will be incorporated as they investigate both linear functions and quadratic functions. Verbal, one-to-one, onto, and diagrammatic representations of functions will be studied as well as composition.
Modular Mathematics is an alternative for students and teachers who would like something different or something additional to support the building of function fluency in secondary mathematicians. This is not your usual collection of notes, thoughts, writing assignments or activities. A student journal template is provided as well as a concept exploration graphic organizer.
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!
“Difficulty with fractions (including decimals and percents) is pervasive and is a major obstacle to further progress in mathematics, including algebra.” (National Math Advisory Panel, 2008.) Fractions are the earliest topic in school mathematics where educators agree that students fail and teachers struggle to instruct.
This activity packet is good for students with dyslexia and language-based learning deficiencies.
Cubing and think dots are two strategies for differentiation in the classroom. Traditionally students are given a cube with a variety of activities or tasks at a given level. Different cubes can contain different levels of tasks and activities. Think dots work in a similar way. Cards with a certain number of dots are provided as well as a number cube. Students roll the number cube and work the associated activity or task on the card with the corresponding number of dots. Again, tasks and activities are varied or leveled to meet the needs of the students.
In this adaptation of a cubing and think dots activity, there are two cubes. One cube has representation of fractions. Another cube has actions to perform with fractions. There is a variety of activities that students can engage in on the set of 6 think dot cards.
This resource is good for children 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!
Cubing and think dots are two strategies for differentiation in the classroom. Traditionally students are given a cube with a variety of activities or tasks at a given level. Different cubes can contain different levels of tasks and activities. Think dots work in a similar way. Cards with a certain number of dots are provided as well as a number cube. Students roll the number cube and work the associated activity or task on the card with the corresponding number of dots. Again, tasks and activities are varied or leveled to meet the needs of the students.
In this adaptation of a cubing and think dots activity, there are two cubes. One cube has representation of functions. Another cube has function types. There are a variety of activities that students can engage in on set of 6 think dot cards.
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!
NCTM describes “representation” as referring to both a process and a product. So mathematical representations include all the different ways that students depict their thinking as well as the processes they use to put their thinking into those forms. Representations have often been taught as an end in and of themselves, most as essential elements in supporting students’ understanding. When students gain access to mathematical representations and the ideas they express they acquire a set of tools that significantly expand their capacity to model and interpret physical, social, and mathematical phenomena.
This activity takes the numbers 5, 6, 8, and 10 and represents them through a concrete manipulative, the written symbol, a verbal symbol, a diagram, picture, graph, drawing, or table, and an algebraic representation with a mathematical sentence. There is also a contextual problem for the students to work through. There are five sets of cards, each with 6 representations for each number as well as facilitation notes.
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!
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, can make mathematics come alive as well as 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 five suggested activities to engage students AS YOU READ, for students to experience BEING A MATHEMATICIAN, and provide students authentic OPPORTUNITIES FOR WRITING. The suggested activities can be adapted for large or small groups, centers, learning stations and for intervention. Crimes and Mathdemeanors by Leith Hathout is A MUST HAVE book for all teachers and is NOT included in this download.
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!
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. One interesting and important concept in mathematics is Pascal’s Triangle. The combination of Rooster's Off to See the World and the related mathematical concepts that can be found in Pascal’s Triangle allows students a fun, unique, and engaging venue for developing mathematical literacy. 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 30 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.
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!
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.
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!
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.
This packet offers 11 diverse opportunities for writing in mathematics with over 40 individual prompts for primary students.
Writing in mathematics involves more than just putting word to paper. Words need to be carefully chosen to communicate ideas and concepts clearly. Writing involves all of the language of mathematics. Reading, vocabulary, notations and symbols, diagrams, charts, graphs, and metacognition all serve a role as students are engaged in writing in mathematics. Many and varied opportunities need to be provided for students to engage in original thought writing. And remember, just because a students can say something in words, it in no way shows that they can write those same thoughts. Those are two different skill sets. Writing also provides opportunities for the verbal learner to excel as well as the creative learner.
This beginning assortment of writing prompts can be adapted as needed for the course, topic, and level of the students. The important thing is to write! Just asking, “Why?”, “How did you think about that?”, “What could be another strategy used here?”, and “Is your conclusion reasonable?” requires students to engage in more than just procedural mathematics. On the back page is a sample of how journal prompt cards can be made for learning station facilitation or to print on labels for ELL/ESL and struggling learners and beginning writers.