Christmas Math Activities To Decorate Your Math Classroom

Over the years, teachers have sent me some great photos of their classrooms, from their math word walls to their Matholution pennants, and I have enjoyed every one. It's so fun seeing how the same printables can be arranged in so many different ways.

This post is a holiday celebration of teachers' creativity. I would have never thought to make Christmas trees out of math pennants! But you all did and these photos all blew me away. The effort, the colors, the care that went into creating the displays, everything. I am so thankful that teachers like you are in the classroom.

Dividing Fractions by Fractions using Visual Models - 3 examples

Fraction division is one of those topics I find myself needing to refresh on every so often. For me it's definitely one of those "don't use, lose" situations. So this post came from me refreshing. But why now? This tweet:

Absolutely Free Math Bulletin Board Printables

FREE MATH BULLETIN BOARD PRINTABLES

Everyone loves free, especially when it comes to our classrooms. In this post are a bunch of free printables, to hang on your classroom math bulletin board, that send the message to students that math is cool, fun and for everyone!

15+ Classroom Hacks to Save Time, Money and to Keep Things Running Smoothly

Who doesn't love a great teacher hack? Anything to save a minute of time or to make the job easier is a win. Below are a bunch of teacher hacks I've collected from social media because they are fun, helpful or just really cool!

A hands-on prime vs. composite numbers investigation

If your students struggle with the idea of prime vs. composite numbers, this hands-on investigation activity into prime numbers may be helpful, especially to the kinesthetic learners in your classroom.

"I Know I Can" classroom poster

There are so many great messages buried in the music of the 1990s to early 2000s. And so much of it is completely unknown to kids in our classrooms! I know I sound like my parents about "the good old days of music" here, but back then music had a message and a meaning. It was meant to better us as a society and to bring us together. 

How to Use Algebra Tiles to Multiply Polynomials: with pictures!

I set a pretty average goal for myself a couple months ago to blog about all the ways to use algebra tiles. But then of course life got in the way and here I am only on post #3-- how to use algebra tiles to multiply polynomials. I'll get there, but it may take more time than anticipated!

My favorite use of algebra tiles is for factoring quadratics, especially where the A value is greater than 1. Using the tiles makes this process so much more concrete than any other method (in my opinion). Because it's my favorite, I jumped to blog about it first. But before we even get to factoring, we learn how to multiply the binomials, which is what this post is about.

But first! If you don't have a set of algebra tiles, here is a free set of printable paper algebra tiles. If you print on 2-sided card stock (like Astrobrights) it'll mimic the positive and negative sides of the plastic tiles.

Here we go!