• Published On: August 23, 2026By 8.5 min readViews: 61Comments Off on How Do We Respond to Student Mistakes and Correct Answers?

    Imagine a discussion during math class. The teacher poses a problem; the class solves it mentally and shares their thinking with a partner. During the discussion that follows, a student offers an incorrect answer, and...

  • Published On: July 22, 2026By 8.7 min readViews: 292Comments Off on The Power of Productive Struggle

    On a recent weekend, I was working on a math problem with a friend of mine. The problem included several different questions, beginning with asking us what we noticed and wondered about the following arch...

  • Published On: July 16, 2026By 6.2 min readViews: 249Comments Off on Data Science, A Talking Dog, and Alphabet Soup

    Have you ever wondered if some letters in our alphabet are used more or less than other letters? Think for a few seconds, and make a guess. If you wanted to find out, what would...

  • Published On: June 1, 2026By 6.6 min readViews: 453Comments Off on Three Books about Birthdays that Lead to Some Terrific Math Questions

    Why use children’s literature in math class? This isn’t a new question, and I’m glad that teachers have come to see the value in reading a story to either launch or summarize a math lesson....

  • Published On: May 19, 2026By 7.1 min readViews: 499Comments Off on The Sticker Math Game: Developing and Using Place Value in First and Second Grade

    Do you remember your teacher in grade school telling you to “always start adding in the one’s place”? It seemed like a rule that you had to follow, whether it made sense to you or...

  • Published On: May 11, 2026By 6 min readViews: 483Comments Off on Writing Multiplication and Division Word Problems

    Why pose ready-made word problems for students to solve when they can create and then solve ones themselves? Having students create their own math word problems shifts them from passive calculators to active mathematical thinkers....

  • Published On: May 4, 2026By 7.8 min readViews: 431Comments Off on Unpacking Pygmalion: Changing How We Perceive and Talk About Our Students

    Recently, a colleague and I were working with a group of first graders engaged in Choral Counting. At the break, we were reflecting on the lesson with the classroom teacher. I listened as my colleague...

  • Published On: April 1, 2026By 6.4 min readViews: 1976Comments Off on Making Sense of Fraction Multiplication

    When I was in sixth grade, I remember learning how to multiply fractions by multiplying across the tops and the bottoms. The problem 1/2 times 1/2 was easy! All I had to do was multiply...

  • Published On: March 17, 2026By 7.2 min readViews: 729Comments Off on Six Dinner Sid: Bringing Multiplication to Life in Grades 2, 3, & 4

    One of my favorite lessons starts with a cat named Sid who lives in a house on Aristotle Street. But he also lives at five other houses on the same street, so he can eat...