Videos

How I Got My Daughter to Stop Writing 501 as 5001 in 10 Minutes

Writing numbers correctly is often a struggle for young kids.  Most kids can say the numbers but when they go to write them down the way we write numbers doesn’t align with how we say them.  This causes confusion in our students and is one of the reasons students lack place value.  In this post […]

The Recovering Traditionalist

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Can Timed Tests Help Develop a Growth Mindset?

Yesterday, during a PD session, I was asked my thoughts on timed tests.  With all the talk about growth versus fixed mindsets, the topic of timed tests for facts has become a popular topic.  My thoughts may not match up with the popular thought of the moment, but I’m going to post it anyway.  (If you don’t […]

The Recovering Traditionalist

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My #NCTMBoston Takeaways

I had the great pleasure of presenting at the Annual NCTM Conference.  For those of you interested, you can download my presentation on my other website www.MathematicallyMinded.com. This year it was held in Boston and I got to take a tour of Fenway Park!!  I even got sucked into the excitement of game day and […]

The Recovering Traditionalist

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The Correct Way to Use the Area Model

Is there a WRONG way to use the area model?  I think so, but you may disagree with me.  I don’t know where this started, but I am very tired of seeing area models being modeled incorrectly.  It is so prevalent that I even saw one of the keynote speakers at an NCTM Regional Conference […]

The Recovering Traditionalist

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Math Doesn’t have to be Formal #TMWYK

Tonight for some unknown reason my oldest son, who is in 1st grade, made a statement that started an informal conversation about math.  This is the type of math that I do with my kids at home (no worksheets, no flashcards, etc…instead we #TMWYK – Talk Math With Your Kids) and so I thought I’d share […]

The Recovering Traditionalist

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Fly on the Math Teacher’s Wall: Squashing Fraction Misconceptions

I am once again working with a group of math bloggers to join forces in ‘squashing’ some math misconceptions.  For the inaugural blog hop we tackled the big idea of Place Value.  This time around we are taking on FRACTIONS.  Read through my thoughts and then at the bottom is a link to another blogger and their thoughts […]

The Recovering Traditionalist

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Question for Christina: Why is skip counting so hard?

I often get emails from teachers asking for advice on how to teach a certain concept and it is difficult for me to effectively discuss it with them via an email….I try my best but I’ve decided to use my blog as a way to elaborate in ways that I cannot in my emails.  So […]

The Recovering Traditionalist

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