Another year in the books. I'm going to take a break from posting until the end of July. In the meantime I'll indulge myself by sharing a few of my favorite posts of the year:
A Nice Worksheet - I could write a version of this every year. Maybe I will. For some reason worksheets have been coded "bad.” Worksheets are just pieces of paper with math problems on them. Worksheets can be bad if they are too repetitive, too easy, too hard, or too confusing. But worksheets can also be good. This was a nice worksheet.
Progress Monitoring - I think the common interim assessments used in US schools -- NWEA, i-Ready, A-Net, etc — are bad. This post outlines how I try to assess students in a way that is actually helpful.
I Built A Math Fact Practice App - This was my favorite project of the year. I made a math fact practice website. The website is fine. I think it's a little better than other websites out there. It won't change your world or magically teach every kid their math facts, that's not possible. It was my favorite project because of what I learned along the way. Building a fact practice site, digging into the research on what effective fact practice looks like, thinking through all the little details, testing it with my students, and watching my students find all the little loopholes and trying to fix them were great learning experiences. Math facts seem simple but they're actually really complex. I have a better appreciation for that complexity now.
School Is Good - An ode to school. School isn't perfect but it's the best we have.
Variety Is the Spice of Math Class - This is maybe the best window into what my class is like on a daily basis. Variety makes math class interesting. It also gives students lots of different ways to think about math and feel good at math. At the same time, creating consistent routines within that variety helps students know what to expect and focus on learning.
I hadn't read School is Good until now. It absolutely is, and teachers like you help make it great sometimes.
Thank you so much for your writing. I admire the time you take to reflect and think out loud over your teaching, and look forward to it every week. Have a good summer!