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Our Nation's English Learners Interactive Information Website

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Our Nation's English Learners Interactive Information Website

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Factors of change action plan with questions

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Factors of change action plan with questions

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Link to Padlet wall to post your next steps! 

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Link to Padlet wall to post your next steps! 

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LACOE ELs with IEPs Brags and Next Steps

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Brag about what you are doing and identify your next steps as an educator, as a site, or a district! 

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Link to Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni 

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Link to Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni 

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Skip to main content

The Ideal Team Player

By Patrick Lencioni

$25.00

In his classic, best-selling book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni laid out a groundbreaking new approach for attacking the dangerous group behaviors that destroy teamwork. Here, he turns his focus to the individual member of a team, revealing the three indispensable virtues that make some people better team players than others. The Ideal Team Player presents a powerful framework and easy-to-use tools for identifying, hiring and developing ideal team players in any kind of organization. Whether you're a leader striving to create a culture of teamwork, a human resources professional looking to hire real team players or an employee wanting to make yourself an invaluable team member, this book will prove to be as practical as it is compelling.

Purchase from our website or your favorite retailer:

Pat Lencioni Has a TEDx Talk!

Are You an Ideal Team Player?

The Concept

An ideal team player embodies three virtues: humility, hunger and people smarts. The power this combination yields drastically accelerates and improves the process of building high-performing teams.

HUMBLE

Ideal team players are humble. They lack excessive ego or concerns about status. They are quick to point out the contributions of others and slow to seek recognition for their own. They share credit, emphasize team over self, and define success collectively rather than individually.

HUNGRY

Ideal team players are hungry. They are always looking for more-more things to do, more to learn, more responsibility. Hungry people rarely have to be pushed by a manager to work harder because they are self-motivated and diligent. They are constantly thinking about the next step and the next opportunity.

SMART

Ideal team players are smart. They are emotionally intelligent and have common sense about people. They tend to know what is happening in a group situation and how to effectively deal with others. They have good judgment and intuition around the subtleties of group dynamics and the impact of their words and actions.

*What makes this model so powerful and unique is the required combination of all three attributes together. If even one attribute is missing in a team member, teamwork becomes significantly more difficult and sometimes even impossible.

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Skip to main content By Patrick Lencioni $25.00 In his classic, best-selling book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni laid out a groundbreaking new approach for attacking the dangerous group behaviors that destroy teamwork. Here, he turns his focus to the individual member of a team, revealing the three indispensable virtues that make some people better team players than others.

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TED Talk 10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation 

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TED Talk 10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation 

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Celeste Headlee: 10 ways to have a better conversation | TED Talk

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When your job hinges on how well you talk to people, you learn a lot about how to have conversations -- and that most of us don’t converse very well. Celeste Headlee has worked as a radio host for decades, and she knows the ingredients of a great conversation: Honesty, brevity, clarity and a healthy amount of listening. In this insightful talk, she shares 10 useful rules for having better conversations. “Go out, talk to people, listen to people,” she says. “And, most importantly, be prepared to be amazed.”

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Most people instinctively avoid conflict, but as Margaret Heffernan shows us, good disagreement is central to progress. She illustrates (sometimes counterintuitively) how the best partners aren't echo chambers -- and how great research teams, relationships and businesses allow people to deeply disagree.

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Link  to ELA/ELD Framework all chapters 

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Link  to ELA/ELD Framework all chapters 

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SBE-Adopted ELA/ELD Framework - ELA/ELD Framework (CA Dept of Education)

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The State Board of Education adopted the English Language Arts/English Language Development (ELA/ELD) Framework at its July 9, 2014, meeting. This is the final, edited digital version of the ELA/ELD Framework, published July 2015.

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National Center on Intensive Intervention 

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National Center on Intensive Intervention 

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Explore all

Educators

Find tools and resources to support general and special education teachers, interventionists, school psychologists, school counselors, and other school-based personnel working with students with intensive academic and behavioral needs.

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Explore all Find tools and resources to support general and special education teachers, interventionists, school psychologists, school counselors, and other school-based personnel working with students with intensive academic and behavioral needs.

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Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

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Below is an excellent video explaining the SAMR model in 120 seconds. SAMR is a framework through which you can assess and evaluate the technology you use in your class. The goal is to help you make informed decision regarding the rationale and utility of the technology you integrate in your teaching. This SAMR poster walks you through the different components of the SAMR model.

Is technology providing an added value to your teaching or is it simply replacing the old and traditional ways of doing the same thing? If it is adding value, define this value awhat can of value? The SAMR model will help you answer these and these and several other questions regarding your pedagogical EdTech practices. Bottom line, from a pedagogical perspective, technology is more effective when it leads to transformative learning experiences.

For those of you new to the SAMR concept, the video below shared by Candace M provides a great introduction to this concept. It explains in simple ways what SAMR is all about and provides concrete examples of its usage. Here is how it explains SAMR's four levels:

In a substitution level, teachers or students are only using new technology tools to replace old ones, for instance, using Google Docs to replace Microsoft Word. the task ( writing) is the same but the tools are different.

Though it is a different level, but we are still in the substitution mentality but this time with added functionalities. Again using the example of Google docs, instead of only writing a document and having to manually save it and share it with others, Google Docs provides extra services like auto saving, auto syncing, and auto sharing in the cloud.

This is the level where technology is being used more effectively not to do the same task using different tools but to redesign new parts of the task and transform students learning. An example of this is using the commenting service in Google Docs, for instance, to collaborate and share feedback on a given task task.

If you are to place this level in Blooms revised taxonomy pyramid, it would probably correspond to synthesis and evaluation as being the highest order thinking skills. "Redefinition means that students use technology to create imperceptibly new tasks. As is shown in the video below an example of redefinition is "when students connect to a classroom across the world where they would each write a narrative of the same historical event using the chat and comment section to discuss the differences, and they use the voice comments to discuss the differences they noticed and then embed this in the class website".

Watch the video to learn more about SAMR

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Below is an excellent video explaining the SAMR model in 120 seconds. SAMR is a framework through which you can assess and evaluate the technology you use in your class. The goal is to help you make informed decision regarding the rationale and utility of the technology you integrate in your teaching.

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Common Sense Education provides educators and students with the resources they need to harness the power of technology for learning and life. Find a free K-12 Digital Citizenship curriculum, reviews of popular EdTech apps, and resources for protecting student privacy.

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EdSurge - Education Journalism and Research

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A nonprofit newsroom reporting on the powerful forces, fascinating people and innovative practices shaping teaching and learning.

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Understood--resources to understand and support students with disabilities 

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Understood--resources to understand and support students with disabilities 

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Understood.org is the resource that helps the 70 million people with learning and thinking differences anticipate the challenges, barriers, or opportunities in life and confidently reach their potential.

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Math Tools Aligned to Common Core Standards | Common Sense Education

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Math Tools Aligned to Common Core Standards is a list of 52 apps, games, and websites curated by Common Sense Education editors.

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Math is the language of the universe. If one were to excel in science and know the secrets of the universe, he needs to have a concrete understanding of math. As teachers, we all want our kids to succeed in math. However, it is our duty to give them the material, help them apply skills, and build their concepts. It's imperative that we focus on making sure that our students understand the material rather than just memorizing it. In this article, I am going to highlight five tips that come in handy for students to understand math and grasp basic concepts.

Create a Perfect Class Opener
School is often boring for students. The reason for that is the approach of teachers when teaching their students. If the teacher sets a precedent that the aim of coming to class is to rote learning whatever is taught to the students, the ambiance will automatically become dull. The first five minutes of a class set the tone for the entire lecture, which is why teachers need to take a creative approach and opt for an effective class opener.

Solve the Problem in More than One Way
We have to understand that every student is not equal. Our brains are designed differently. If a certain student is able to grasp the concept taught in a certain way, it doesn't mean that every student might have understood that concept. The best way to approach this problem is by showing the students different ways they can solve a problem and letting them decide the best way that works for them.

Raise the Bar for Them
Meaningful math education goes far beyond the contents of the book. Teachers need to motivate their students and make them understand that they need to set higher goals for themselves and create room for improvement. With the internet becoming a powerhouse for learning, teachers can make use of some helpful courses like MathXL for students that contain digital information in the form of videos, animations, examples, and more.

Show the Application
Making students learn a concept is one thing; showing how it is implemented in real life is another. In a perfect world, teachers would be able to demonstrate how every concept is implemented, but they should be taking this approach whenever they can. When students see how math is implemented in the real world, it will become much easier for them to grasp confusing concepts.

Finish the Class on a High Note
Just like the class opener is an important way to set the tone for the rest of the class, you need to finish your class on a high note so that students feel motivated that they have learned something. The last five minutes of the class are critical when it comes to making sure that students have understood everything, and they have a clear idea about the homework. You can do a quick assessment to find out how much the students have learned from the class and discuss future tasks so that there is no confusion.

I propose here ideas teachers need to know and pay attention to when teaching mathematical proofs and how to prove.
A. What is a (mathematical) proof?
I define proof as a relational network of claims (propositions and conclusions), substantiation (established knowledge that makes the claim legitimate) and appropriate connectives so sequenced to justify why the conclusion is a logical consequence of the premises. Continue reading "Tips for Teaching Proofs and Proving"

Show and tell activity (aka lecture method) may work for some but never in a mathematics class. Getting students to explain and ask questions are nice but only when the explanation and the questions are mathematical. Reasoning and justifying are good habits of mind but they are only productive if they are based on mathematical principles. Explaining, asking questions, and substantiating one's conjecture or generalization make a productive class discussion but they are only productive for learning mathematics if the mathematics is kept in focus. Orchestrating a productive class discussion is by far the most challenging work of mathematics teaching. Stein, Engle, Smith, and Hughes* (https://doi.org/10.1080/10986060802229675) proposed five practices for moving beyond show and tell in teaching mathematics. I have always practiced them in my own teaching whether with students or with teachers and I find them effective especially when the lesson involve cognitively demanding tasks and with multiple solutions. Continue reading "How to orchestrate a mathematically productive class discussion"

It is a bunch of procedures. That's how people perceive algorithms are. And they are right. Algorithm has been defined as 1) "step-by-step procedures that are carried out routinely"; 2) "a precisely-defined sequence of rules telling how to produce specified output information from given input information in a finite number of steps". It is no wonder then that teaching algorithms is perceived by many as teaching for rote learning and produces not conceptual knowledge but procedural knowledge. Continue reading "Ideas and strategies for teaching math algorithms"

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Teaching mathematics Archives - Mathematics for Teaching

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Math is the language of the universe. If one were to excel in science and know the secrets of the universe, he needs to have a concrete understanding of math. As teachers, we all want our kids to succeed in math. However, it is our duty to give them the material, help them apply skills, and build their concepts.

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Keeping students engaged and excited about math class can be a tall order. However, with the many advances in technology, it is much easier to make math lessons fun. In addition, technology can also make the math teacher's job a lot easier by providing pre-made activities, options for differentiating and even helping with pre- and post- assessments (including grading!).

The following is a list of different resources to help both new and veteran teachers make math class a whole lot more fun for students. Best of all, most of these resources are free! You should find materials that can be printed, ideas for activities to use in your classroom and even blogs with tips from teachers around the country to help you build your perfect learning environment.

Materials

Here is a look at the many different items that you can use in your classroom to make math class more engaging for students and easier for you. These items range in cost, but there's something here for everyone (no matter your budget).

"Make personal student white boards just by laminating cardstock."

White Boards. For those of you on a budget, you can make personal student white boards just by laminating cardstock. A dry-erase marker and a piece of tissue is a great way to get students more involved in the classroom while also allowing teachers to assess student learning throughout the class period. There is no easier way of determining if your students are getting the main concepts from the lesson than being able to see their work on their own white boards. If you have a little more money in the budget, you can get a sturdier white board at your local home improvement store. Ask for "white panel board." Most home improvement centers will even cut larger sheets into smaller pieces for you. You will leave with a class set of white boards for less than $50.

Interactive White Boards. Some of you might know these interactive white boards as "promethean boards" or "smart boards." These are the next step up from the old-school overhead projectors. Best of all, you will no longer need transparencies! You can connect the white board to a computer and share documents, websites and even play games. With a large touch screen, students will be excited to come up to the white board to help complete notes, do examples or take part in one of the many interactive games and demonstrations that can be used.

Tablets. A tablet can act as a personalized interactive white board. Instead of one large white board on the wall for the whole class to use, each student can have a touch screen right in the palm of his or her hands. The best feature of tablets is that they allow for customized learning. Ever wondered how you could possibly differentiate your lessons for all the different types of learners in your class? Tablets are the way to go. Students can work at a pace that suits them, and still be learning.

Clickers. Clickers allow every student to feel like he or she is on a game show. Clickers, when used wisely, can keep students engaged during a lesson, help promote discussion and also give the teacher instant feedback on student comprehension.

Graphing Calculators. The graphing calculator has come a long way. Some calculators can now be connected to the teacher's calculator, the interactive white board, the computer or other technology. The graphing calculator can give students an amazing tool for seeing math come to life. Many models can also work as clickers.

Printable Stuff. A teacher's time is a precious commodity, and saving time on the little things is critical when teaching. The Cornerstone offers many free items that can be printed directly from the website, including customizable flash cards, awards and even specialized forms for just about any school occasion. You will not have to recreate the wheel; instead, just print what you need.

Practice Drills. Sometimes students need practice to become fluent in their math skills. Practice drills, or "mad minutes," can be a quick and easy way to provide students with the practice they need. You can design your own practice drills, or if you'd like to save time, simply print some of these pre-made items.

You can find tons of drills already made at Math-Drills.com.

Donna Young also has pre-made practice sheets on her website as well.

Manipulatives

Manipulatives make learning mathematical concepts fun and engaging for students. However, buying supplies for the classroom can get expensive, and you can't always expect to be reimbursed. Therefore, you may want to create some of the manipulatives yourself. Instead of spending time trying to get everything formatted correctly, you can visit one of the many free websites offering pre-made math goodies and have them ready to print for your use!

Black Line Masters offers a wide-range of printable tools and resources geared towards students in pre-K through ninth grade. Check it out, and see what you can use in your classroom. Bookmark it for later so you can go back and print more as your needs change.

SEN Teacher has a page of printable items mostly geared towards the elementary level, including clocks, polygons and even coins. These items look even better when printed in color. Be sure to print on card stock and laminate the items so that they last longer.

IAmHomeschooling.com also offers plenty of ready-made manipulatives and other tools. From pre-K to high school, there are items for students at every level. You can print algebra tiles, Cuisenaire style rods or fraction circles. These are also colorful and can be used over and over if printed on thick card stock and laminated

Craig Loewen of Lethbridge University has a small batch of excellent resources for students in higher level classes, including tangrams and geoboards. These tools have tons of possible uses to enhance your math lessons!

Lessons and Videos

Maybe you already have amazing technology in your classroom. All you need now is some great content to use with that technology to enhance classroom learning. There are many great resources to be found on the web, and many of them are free. Here is a breakdown of some of the sites offering the best lesson plans, videos or even entire courses.

Khan Academy is completely free and offers an excellent library of videos presenting complex math topics in a way that is easy to comprehend. There are also practice questions that can be used in conjunction with the videos.

Saylor University is branching out with brand new, fully-loaded courses for grades K-12. Many courses included assessments, lessons, videos and discussion questions. New courses aligned to the Common Core standards will also be added. For those students looking for a challenge, there is a whole line of open college courses, too.

Want to make your own online textbook for free? Need a lesson plan? Then CK-12 Foundation has what you need! From single lessons to entire courses, CK-12 has it all. Many of the lessons are connected to the Common Core standards as well.

Discovery Education offers a wide-range of new and interesting pre-made lesson plans for you to use. Be sure to check back as new materials are updated. To quick access to materials for the level you are teaching, simply click on K-5, 6-8, or 9-12.

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics believes math lessons should be more than just "drill and kill!" They've put together an excellent compilation of lesson plans and activities. These are free and geared towards many different levels. Be sure to click on your grade level to maximize your search results.

PBS Learning Media offers an eclectic library of activities and is a great place to find videos or ideas to spice up your lessons. There is a section specifically for K-8, and a section for each of the high school topics. This resource is free, but you may be asked to set up an account.

Cynthia Lanius from Rice University has created this site featuring a broad collection of math lessons that are sure to be "fun, fun, fun!" The lessons are scattered about the page, but you can click on any of the links to get to the actual details. Many involve real-life scenarios and ideas to really get students thinking. These lessons are suitable for upper elementary and middle school students.

K-5 Teaching Resources is an especially great website, and could really be placed under every category in this article. Not only are there lessons, practice tasks, math vocabulary practice ideas and math projects, but you'll also find games and printable items and just about anything else you could need for teaching grades K through 5. By clicking on the links to the different grade levels within the site, you will even be given lists of books that you can use to incorporate literature and language arts into your math lessons.

Learn Zillion is a great place to visit if you're looking to boost classroom discussions with videos and lessons that explain math topics in an easy-to-understand and engaging way. The site offers fun and educational content appropriate for all levels of students. You can use the videos to start a lesson and introduce new ideas, or you can use them to help students draw conclusions and bring it all together.

Who says math can't be fun? With Mathalicious, spicing up middle school and high school math lessons just got a whole lot easier. These amazing collections of lessons will not only get your students thinking and problem solving, but they will have fun while doing it! The lessons are typically geared towards using math in real-life applications, which really helps students see the importance of learning and understating math.

Have you ever heard of the Three Act Math Task? Dan Meyer's has put together some ingenious ideas for changing the way we teach middle and high school math. What's even better, these great ideas are available in a Google spreadsheet, which means anyone can apply them in the classroom. Some of the lessons include videos and data that can be a great starting point for enhancing your lesson, even if you don't follow the three acts.

Shodor is a great resource for students to see math in action. This interactive website has already designed a plethora of fantastic math activities to help students see math at work. The geometry and probability sections are especially helpful!

Online Games

Kids love games! Learning becomes easy with a game that is not only fun, but also meaningful. The next section outlines several resources for the best online math games available.

Mr. Nussbaum is geared towards students in grades pre-K-5. The games are free, entertaining and engaging. Many of the games can be played on iPads and iPhones as well.

Math is Fun is a free website offering mini explanations of math topics from all levels, including elementary to high school. It also features tons of games and puzzles to explore.

Sheppard Software is a great resource for teachers looking for new ways to differentiate. The games offered on this site have many levels, so no matter what stage your student is at, he or she can still practice and have fun! The games are geared towards elementary and middle school students.

Soft Schools has it all, from counting to AP statistics. There are tons of games, worksheets and even online quizzes to help students stay engaged in math.

Cool Math offers a broad collection of free games for a range of age levels. There's also a special section for 3- to 5-year-old students, and you will even find a special section for pre-calculus. Be sure to check out the lessons and activities, too.

Math Playground features games for students that are used to playing video games on consoles, such as Xbox, PlayStation or Nintendo DS. The graphics are great for math games, and most are made for elementary and early middle school students. You will also find a link to great iPad apps that give your brain a workout, and many math manipulatives that would be great for use with an interactive white board.

Math Blaster contains a selection of free games with an option to purchase a membership for access to lessons, additional games and other features. There is also a special section for teachers. Games specifically focus on skills for grades pre-K-6.

Math Activities

Some students just need to be able to learn while doing. Gone are the days of the math "drill and kill" lessons, where students silently solved hundreds of problems. Many students benefit from moving around and discussing with other students. The following list includes interesting activities already made or created to help get teachers thinking beyond the worksheet or textbook.

"Gone are the days of the math "drill and kill" lessons..."

Hands on Math Activities was put together by Wendy Sawatzky. Activities are divided up into categories, and each category includes a basic summary of the activities included and an explanation of any extra materials you might need to carry them out.

Education.com has an interesting selection of activities that will keep students motivated about learning. There's a ton of fun and educational activities that will help keep students engaged in the learning process, including projects like using math skills to make toothpaste or making collages of cityscapes using geometric shapes.

Activity Village has an assortment of games using dice! Students will enjoy this site because they will feel like they are playing a game, but they're also learning math, too! Dice are usually available at dollar or discount stores and can be an inexpensive way to spice up the classroom.

Crewton Ramone's House of Math shares some interesting ways of changing up card games in order to help promote math skills. There are so many ways to change up the games so that differentiation becomes a little easier while still allowing everyone a chance to play.

Teach Mama has three absolutely wonderful ideas for games that are easy to make, easy to play and a fun way to learn or practice math skills. These activities are most appropriate for elementary level students.

Homeschooling Hearts and Minds shares a simple way to help students practice place value and other math concepts through the use of an abacus. When students ask why they can't use a calculator in your class, you can tell them to use their abacus!

Education.com has yet another gem. They have put together a nice group of activities specifically for middle school students. The activities are fun and are a perfect way to spice up lessons.

Hands on Math is a blog with a lot of great ideas to make math more engaging and fun. You may have to sift through some of the other posts, but in between are excellent ideas for teaching math and getting students thinking. There is even talk of using playdough to help students learn. Who doesn't love playdough?

Cut the Knot features almost 1500 different activities to make learning math more exciting. Activities are organized into categories to help you quickly find what you are looking to teach. Many of the activities would be suitable to the high school crowd.

Science Buddies has a list of projects suitable for science fairs, but they also include ideas for math. The projects are organized into three difficulty levels. You can use these ideas to create class projects.

Many games can be switched around to fit the topic you are teaching. The difficult part is coming up with enough inventive ways to keep children excited to play. Multiplication.com has a comprehensive list of math games that are easy to play. There's also a guide for each game that explains how to use the games and how easy or difficult they may be for students.

David Gardner has put together 17 pages worth of games designed for primary school students. Again, some of these games can be adapted for use in lessons other than the ones mentioned on the site. In addition, many of the games require little-to-no cost or preparation.

Common Core

Making sense of the rigorous Common Core standards can be tough. However, there are tons of resources out there to help you create the best lessons in accordance with the new standards. The following compilation of resources includes activities, lessons, unit plans and even practice assessment questions to help you best prepare your students for success.

Learning Math at Home

Getting support from families really helps build a relationship between home and school; it also helps students learn and retain information. It is important to keep families informed about the happenings in your classroom. Moreover, parents are often interested in knowing what their children are learning in school. The followings websites include tips and tools that you can share with parents to help them get involved in their child's math education.

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics has a special section geared towards families. They offer tips for helping with math homework and problems for families to solve together.

The US Department of Education has put together many activities to help build mathematics into everyday life. Helping students and families see the importance of math and how it can be used everywhere is an important step in getting everyone on board for learning! These activities also make math seem fun and interesting when done together as a family.

Here are some ideas on how families can help with math homework from Great Schools. This is another link that you might want to post to your teacher website or email to parents at the beginning of the year. There are also tips to help parents know where to start when trying to work through a difficult homework assignment.

For the elementary levels, Everyday Mathematics has some helpful guidance for parents to help their child(ren) build number sense and become better prepared for higher level math.

EngageNY has put together resources to help families as the Common Core standards are implemented. This is an excellent resource to share with parents of the school where you teach is using the modules created for Common Core.

Ideas for Over the Summer

Creating something meaningful for students to do to keep their math skills in tip-top shape can be time consuming. Instead, here are some premade activities that you can share with your students so that they return in the fall ready to learn.

For grades 1 through 5, there are summer themed math worksheets at Kid Zone . You can share the links with families or print them out and make a packet for students to work on over the summer break.

Family Education has some excellent ideas for activities that students can do over the summer that involve math.

Here are a few others:

Math Contests and Competitions

Sometimes students need an extra challenge. A math contest or competition could be a perfect push to get students motivated. In addition, you could help your students win money towards college, or you could win money for supplies and other classroom necessities.

Moody's Mega Math Challenge offers $20,000 to the winning team each year. Three to five students in 11th or 12th grade work with one teacher to solve a "mega problem." The problems may not seem like math problems at first, but the math is an important part of the solution.

Mathcounts has a Math Video Challenge. Students make a video showing a math problem and its real life applications. Students get a chance to mix their math skills with the technology. In the end, teachers have an archive of videos that answer the age old question, "When are we going to use this?"

The Mathematical Association of America offers the AMC 10/12 test for high school students. It is a multiple choice test with questions ranging from really easy to truly challenging! There is also an AMC 8 for students at the middle school level. If a student happens to do well on the AMC 10/12 he or she could be invited to take part in the United States of America Mathematical Olympiad. Yes, it is basically the Olympics for Mathematics!

If organizing a group of students to travel for a competition seems impractical or too difficult, you can also take part in the National Internet Math Olympiad. The contests are monthly and seasonal, so be sure to check the website often. There is also a Junior Online Math Olympiad) for lower level students to check out.

The Mathematical Association holds the Primary Math Challenge, a competition specifically designed for elementary students. The competition takes place in November, and students that do really well will be asked to take part in a bonus round in February.

The University of Alabama offers a Math by Mail contest. There is no traveling required, and there are cash prizes to be won! The entire contest is done through the mail.

Here is yet another contest for elementary students. Over at Noetic Learning, students can take part in a contest where they will have 45 minutes to answer 20 questions. The top students will earn a medal, and the top 50% will have their names placed on the Noetic Learning website.

The Art of Problem Solving has a great list of competitions categorized by state so that you can find even more way to challenge your students. There are other national competitions listed above as well.

Blogs

Teachers need a place to discuss and grow. Some of the greatest minds out there are blogging away while thinking about teaching and trying to find ways of reaching students and building math understanding. The following list includes some great blogs that you may want check out to gain perspective and build an online support system when you need help.

For the Love of Teaching Math is not only cute, but it's also home to some really great ideas. Sometimes you just need to see how other teachers are doing it, and this blog provides a chance to see a bit of what goes on in another math teacher's brain.

Reflections of a High School Math Teacher offers a great discussion of mathematics in real-world application. Each post is a true mathematical look at real life, and the applications tend to differ from what you find elsewhere.

Dividing by Zero is great for middle school math teachers looking for a blog that is focused on math and the classroom. This savvy blogger shares the triumphs and struggles of teaching middle school math and describes the different activities she has tried while teaching.

Mr. Andrew Stadel writes at Divisible by 3. This blog features a mix of all different types of posts. Many teachers, old and new, will find the discussions worth reading. Mr. Stadel offers a look at different activities he is working on for the 3 Act lessons, and he even discusses assessments. professional development and trainings.

I Speak Math has put together a master list of the many great middle school math blogs currently out there.

Walking in Mathland is a great place to go to find out what other teachers think about an activity they have tried before you try it yourself.

Over at dy/dan, Dan Meyer writes about math education, what is wrong with it and how it can be made better. He writes about the three act lessons that he has put together, professional development opportunities he has taken part in and even other proposed learning models. He thinks deeply about each topic and has a fun way with words that make his articles enjoyable to read.

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Useful Classroom Resources for Math Teachers

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Keeping students engaged and excited about math class can be a tall order. However, with the many advances in technology, it is much easier to make math lessons fun. In addition, technology can also make the math teacher's job a lot easier by providing pre-made activities, options for differentiating and even helping with pre- and [...]

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National Library of Virtual Manipulatives 

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National Library of Virtual Manipulatives 

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National Library of Virtual Manipulatives

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A digital library containing Java applets and activities for K-12 mathematics

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Math Mistakes Explanations for teaching 

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Math Mistakes Explanations for teaching 

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Article--What is a specific math disability 

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Article--What is a specific math disability 

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What Is a Specific Mathematics Disability? | Math Learning Disabilities

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What is a specific mathematics disability? Learn about math difficulties and learning disorders in children, such as dyscalculia, from Sheldon H. Horowitz.

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SERP Math Stuff--check out the Poster problems

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SERP Math Stuff--check out the Poster problems

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MIND is a nonprofit social benefit organization dedicated to ensuring that all students are equipped to solve the world's most challenging problems.

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Makey Makey: An Invention Kit for Everyone. Ever played Mario on Play-Doh or Piano on Bananas? Alligator clip to start inventing the future.

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Magazine that celebrates your right to tweak, hack, and bend any technology to your own will.

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Interactive trading cards created by students 

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Interactive trading cards created by students 

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The Trading Card tool gives students an alternative way to demonstrate their literacy knowledge and skill when writing about popular culture texts or real world examples. This interactive allows students to create their own trading card about a real or fictional person, place, object, event, or abstract concept.

These cards are can be used with any type of book students are reading or subjects that they are studying, and make for an excellent prewriting exercise for students who are writing narrative stories and need to consider characters, setting, and plot. Specific prompts guide student through the various types of cards, expanding students' thinking from the basic information and description of the topic to making personal connections to the subject.

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Cards can be bundled into a single, small collection (8 card maximum) so that students have a way of sort and grouping similar topics in one file. As an example, we have provided a collection of cards about Shakespeare. Feel free to download the .rwt file (right click the link and pick Save As) and upload it into the Trading Card interactive to see how collections can be used in your classroom!

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The Trading Card tool gives students an alternative way to demonstrate their literacy knowledge and skill when writing about popular culture texts or real world examples. This interactive allows students to create their own trading card about a real or fictional person, place, object, event, or abstract concept.

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Services provided by Glogster.com have been temporarily disabled for operational reasons.

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Services provided by Glogster.com have been temporarily disabled for operational reasons. We are in the process of disabling all recurring payments, but we do recommend that you contact your bank or credit card company directly to halt them.

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Brown Bag Exams: A Creative Way to Assess Learning

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Brown Bag Exams use found objects and images to help students activate prior knowledge and create a framework for students to express what they've learned.

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Join a game of kahoot here. Kahoot! is a free game-based learning platform that makes it fun to learn – any subject, in any language, on any device, for all ages!

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Create videos that engage and impress. Animoto's drag-and-drop editing tools and visual effects make it easy. No training or experience necessary.

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Free Video Maker | Create & Edit Your Videos Easily

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Create, edit, and share videos with our free video maker. Combine your photos, video clips, and music to make quality videos in minutes. Get started free!

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Seesaw | Elementary Learning Experience Platform

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Seesaw | Elementary Learning Experience Platform

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Elementary Learning Experience Platform | Seesaw

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Seesaw is a Learning Experience Platform with 25M+ users, enhancing elementary education, engagement, and school culture while improving academic success.

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Digital Portfolios

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Organize and share education, small business and non-profit resources into virtual binders. Use LiveBinders for hassle-free access from anywhere.

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Voice thread -conversations in the cloud 

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Voice thread -conversations in the cloud 

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design discussions
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Transforming media into collaborative spaces with video, voice, and text commenting.