Using the Empty Number Line as a Mental Math Teaching Strategy

By now, you know how much I love these open/empty number lines! Here is an article that explains the value of empty number lines and provides lessons to get you started using them in your classroom or small group.

Using the Empty Number Line as a Mental Math Teaching Strategy

Word Problems from Marilyn Burns

This is a good, short article from math guru, Marilyn Burns, about word problems.  She references a book that I have here, Good Questions for Math Teaching: Why Ask Them and What to Ask, if you want to borrow it.

Marilyn Burns - Word Problems

"Mixing in Math" at home

Looking for more ways to integrate math into your home and into your child’s daily life?  Check out Mixing in Math, a great resource for simple, research based activities to do at home.  One simple suggestion is to take the date of the month and find ways to make that number.  Ex. March 6.  Depending on the age of your child (and this is great activity for everyone in the family), you could get answers such as 3 + 1, (9 x 6) - (8 x 6), or (96 ÷ 8) - 6. The possibilities are endless.  This activity also taps into a student’s fluency with numbers.  Students can begin with using the math facts to reach the number but then use their fluency of numbers to produce more solutions. Fluency is having the flexibility in knowing and understanding how to do the math (at whatever level you are working at) and finding efficient and effective methods to do so.