“How am I going to get my students reasoning about math in my class?” If you are just getting started in this area or even if you have been at it for a few years, you will find here some great ideas for using classroom discourse to get mathematical reasoning flowing in your class.

If you are feeling like your methods and strategies in teaching mathematics have gotten a little stale, it is time to breath new life into your teaching! In this article, I explore the dreaded "teaching slump" and how incorporating new strategies into instruction is the quickest way to kick the boredom and negativity.

A few years ago, we wanted to start a robotics club in our school. When I say we, I mean the school’s students, parents, and administration. While all the teachers thought it was a good idea, there was one big question—who was going to step up to the plate to lead the effort? None of the faculty had ever built a robot, never mind teaching a student to do so! As a result, I volunteered to start the robotics club with the understanding that I would have to learn along with the students.

Using number lines is one of those topics that are often taken for granted in the elementary and middle school curriculum. With the advent of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, their use is spelled out explicitly, beginning in Grade 2.

One way to help students achieve high levels of mathematical proficiency is to use the Standards for Mathematical Practice in addition to content standards. When we are able to infuse our lessons with these practices, students engage their higher order thinking skills in order to solve problems.

I have been seeing the usefulness of teaching fact families at the middle school level. As a result, I have been thinking about how students look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning (Mathematical Practice 8)  in a new way.