Part 5 of the Getting Started With Math Manipulatives in Upper Elementary series gives you a real-life look at how to incorporate math manipulatives throughout your math block. Explore classroom-tested ideas like partner gallery walks, concurrent small groups, and math starters that make hands-on learning feel natural and fun. Includes a free cheat sheet to help you choose the right manipulatives for every concept!

Part 4 of the Getting Started With Math Manipulatives in Upper Elementary series shows you how to plan hands-on math lessons using the CRA model (Concrete–Representational–Abstract). Learn how to make math concepts more visible with manipulatives, when to use them in instruction, and how to connect each phase of learning to build deeper understanding. Includes a free planning map to help you get started!

Part 3 of the Getting Started With Math Manipulatives in Upper Elementary series focuses on classroom management strategies that make using manipulatives quick, efficient, and effective. Learn how to set routines, assign student roles, tighten transitions, and create clear expectations so your math block runs smoothly. Includes free posters and planning tools in the printable toolkit!

Part 2 of the Getting Started With Math Manipulatives in Upper Elementary series focuses on how to organize math manipulatives in a way that saves time and supports student learning. Learn how to store different types of manipulatives and make math tools more accessible for small group work. Includes free labels in the printable toolkit!

Part 1 of the Getting Started With Math Manipulatives in Upper Elementary series covers the must-have manipulatives every 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade teacher should have on hand. Discover essential tools for teaching whole numbers, fractions, measurement, and geometry—and get tips for auditing what you already have. Includes a free printable toolkit with resources to help you organize and manage manipulatives and plan highly effective hands-on lessons!

Looking for fun and effective ways to teach fractions? This post shares three engaging math games that help upper elementary students build strong fraction sense through hands-on learning, number lines, and visual models. A free printable game is included!

Wondering how to teach multiplicative comparisons in a way that makes sense to students? This blog breaks down 3 essential tips to help students truly understand multiplicative comparisons.

Teaching fractions in 4th and 5th grade often feels scary, especially if your own experience learning fractions in school left you confused and frustrated. But it doesn’t have to be that way for your students! You can turn fractions into a concept you love to teach and your students love to learn about. Here are my top five tips to make fractions more approachable, engaging, and meaningful in your 4th- and 5th-grade classroom.

If you’re frustrated because your students just aren’t engaged in your math lessons, you’re not alone. I’ve been there too, and the good news is that it’s easy to fix! In this post, I share four free, easy-to-implement strategies that help you quickly boost engagement in your math classroom.

Read about fifth-grade teacher Crystal Harris, whose early experiences with math left her defeated, insecure, and confused. Through a journey of self-reflection and personal learning, Crystal gained confidence and became an empowered and engaged math teacher. If you’re feeling unsure and nervous about teaching math, this story is for you!

"3 Essential Tips to Become an Effective Math Teacher-Leader" offers actionable strategies for math coaches, specialists, coordinators, and team leaders looking to build trust and credibility with their colleagues. It helps teacher-leaders foster trust and create a stronger connection with their teams and with resistant colleagues.

If students end up not being able to share supplies, creating math toolkits for each student will be essential! Giving students access to both their own set of math manipulatives and math tools will be really helpful in keeping the learning hands-on for students.

Just because working with physical manipulatives may be my preference for students, doesn’t mean that virtual manipulatives can’t play an important role in our classrooms too!

Building number sense with decimals is no different. We have to give students plenty of experiences seeing and working with decimals in different ways in order to see increased number sense with decimals.

The beauty in this strategy is that it offers students a problem that is appropriate for where they are currently at in their learning. It also gives them choice, which immediately increases engagement and gives them ownership in their learning.

We often leave out that flexibility piece when thinking about multiplication facts because we think flexibility and speed don’t go together… students CAN be flexible in their thinking and still have automaticity with multiplication.

I think there are definite benefits to these games—such as learning to work together as a team, high engagement, etc.—but I also think some games can be destructive to students’ confidence and self-esteem in math and aren’t as effective from a management perspective. This set me on a mission to create new review games that have all the benefits of competition but keep a positive and hard-working culture in my math classroom.

I know several teachers that dread any unit having to do with fractions too. I think a lot of the negative feelings about fractions comes from a lack of learning fractions the way we should have learned fractions. Most of us weren’t taught fractions in a way that made sense or had any type of meaning. Some of our students were introduced to fractions in this same type of way as well.

If you’re like me, you likely were exposed to the gradual release model early on in your teaching career. You know… the “I do, we do, you do” lesson plan template most of us were given at some point by professors in college or administrators during our first few years teaching. The longer I taught and the more students I worked with, I eventually learned that “I do, we do, you do” is NOT always best practice for teaching students math.