Dr. Nicki's Guided Math Blog

Math Task Cards 101

drnickinewton — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 01:44:30 +0000

Here is a great resource for making great task cards. It has plenty of examples! In the primary grades I often put pictures of whatever the task is with students doing that task. Sometimes, I use illustrations. It is important to remember that young students and many second language learners need picture clues to help them. I also write the directions in STEPS instead of a paragraph form.

Happy Mathing,

Dr. Nicki

Happy Mathing,

Dr. Nicki

Great Teacher Prompt Task Cards for Guided Math Lessons

drnickinewton — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 01:23:19 +0000

Here are some task cards to use during guided math lessons. They will help you to think about how you are framing activities and phrasing questions. They are also great discussion starters during grade level meetings to talk about questions that scaffold thinking and help to implement the mathematical practices.

Happy Mathing,

Dr. Nicki

Math Board Game Mania! Great Center and Guided Math Activities

drnickinewton — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 02:38:47 +0000

Board Games keep students motivated! It’s a “little bit of Disney” with a rigorous standards based twist! Here are some interesting math board games in blackline master that you can print and use! And they are free! I would teach them to the students in small guided math groups and then have them play them in math centers in partners.

*Also look at the other resources on Mathsphere.

Happy Mathing,

Dr. Nicki

World Maths Day is Coming! Won’t You Participate?

drnickinewton — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 00:47:07 +0000

World maths day is an opportunity to celebrate all that we love about math!It is free, fun and fabulous! You could do a celebration on your grade level, at your school, at the district level or even participate in the worldwide set of activities (play with students from around the world ages 4-18)! Millions of students play games of mental arithmetic in 60 second segments. Read all about it here:

Resource 1 (Description from Let’s Play Math)

Resource 2 (Official Site)

Resource 3 (Official Blog)

Resource 4 (Facebook Page)

Follow on Twitter: @WorldEduGames

Bonus (Video to get you excited!)

P.S. There is also World Spelling Day on March 6 and World Science Day on March 8th!

Happy Mathing,

Dr. Nicki

More Math Center Websites

drnickinewton — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 02:07:43 +0000

Here are some great math center websites! It says 2nd grade but spans various grade levels. You could get lost on here! BE VERY CAREFUl! It’s loads of fun standards based activities for the students.

Happy Mathing

Dr. Nicki

Great Measurement Activity Sheets

drnickinewton — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 00:55:26 +0000

Here is a great set of measurement activity sheets! Be sure to look at all the pages (see at the bottom because it spans the grade levels…including some great metric measurement illustrations). Measurement is one of the hardest concepts for elementary students. Be sure to look at the CCSS measurement links…look here on illustrative mathematics for a vertical level view … http://illustrativemathematics.org/standards/k8 (click on measurement and you can also look at just the standards that have been illustrated). Also remember that there is a great deal of problem solving in the new Math Common Core measurement standards!

Happy Mathing,

Dr. Nicki

Some Problems of the Week

drnickinewton — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:54:01 +0000

Here are some great problems of the week to either do as a whole class, in centers or in guided math groups. Remember that you want students to show a model of their thinking and describe a strategy ( a way of thinking about the numbers). They should write about how they solved the problem and check it in a different way than they first solved it.

Remember that when you are teaching problems you should refer to the problem type. The research says if teachers help students to have a conceptual understanding of the problem then they can better solve it.

Happy Mathing,

Dr. Nicki

Even More Great Math Center Ideas

drnickinewton — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:08:07 +0000

I just found a great site with ready to go posters and math center ideas. Even though it says 3rd grade, the activities are really 3-5. Let me know what you think!

Happy Mathing,

Dr. Nicki

Math Center Task Cards

drnickinewton — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 03:45:49 +0000

Here are some math center task cards. They will help you get started setting up centers. Remember to always connect center activities to the math that you want your students to learn. Name the Big Ideas (see Randall Charles article pages 9-22). Discuss the Enduring Understandings and then plan centers where the students can engage in purposeful practice.

Happy Mathing,

Dr. Nicki

Dr. Nicki's Guided Math Blog

Math Task Cards 101

More Word Problem Center Task Cards

Great Teacher Prompt Task Cards for Guided Math Lessons

Math Board Game Mania! Great Center and Guided Math Activities

World Maths Day is Coming! Won’t You Participate?

More Math Center Websites

Great Measurement Activity Sheets

Some Problems of the Week

Even More Great Math Center Ideas

Math Center Task Cards