Category Archives: General

Why Focusing on Grades is Okay

David over at Real Teaching Means Real Learning posted last month about the focus of learning over grades. In principal, I agree that learning should be first in the minds of children and grownups. In principal. But this is reality. And I have two issues with David’s opinion. The conversation points for each focus is… Continue Reading →

How a Math Teacher Can Change Lives

I was in the 4th grade. We were studying geometry. Mrs. Wilburn was the teacher. I read the definition of a square in the textbook: A square is a polygon with four equal sides and four equal angles. I read the definition of a rectangle: A rectangle is a polygon with four sides and four… Continue Reading →

Math Teaching Find of the Week: Marilyn Burns

There are so many programs out there to help kids learn math. But kids will learn math, naturally. Especially if they see it as an organic thing that is part of their world. Just as we all are potty trained, we all do math. It just is. MathFour.com isn’t another “teach math” site. My mission is… Continue Reading →

When to Give a Kid A Calculator

When to Give a Kid A Calculator

When we teach kids how to drive, we give them a few months in the classroom so they can learn the basics of driving and the rules of the road. Nobody in their right mind puts a teenager behind the wheel and says, while flying down the road, “Now, the brake pedal is the one… Continue Reading →

How to Know When a Kid is Confused

When Cassy over at Singapore Math Source commented on my post 7 Ways to Wrangle a Word Problem, it made me think. Her question to me was, “Why wouldn’t you just rewrite the problem to focus on the appropriate concept?” She suggested that having students restate the problem in their own words without numbers would have… Continue Reading →