Math Phobia

 

MATH PHOBIA!!! It’s Real. And for some of your students, it’s keeping them from succeeding. 

Math Phobia It’s that terrifying fear of Math that plagues some kids. But what is it REALLY? Well, it really boils down to that fear of failure and that fear of not understanding. Each year, more and more kids suffer from Math Phobia. I would argue that this is because so much of Math builds on previously learned concepts. Many students who have Math Phobia have somehow fallen through the cracks in Math Mastery in previous years. Thankfully, we have an opportunity to help them by reviewing basic concepts before moving on to new material. 

Today’s strategy for minimizing Math Phobia is to Review the Basic Building Block Operations. Since so much of math can be dissected down to simpler concepts, we need to review those concepts with our students in order to provide immediate feedback on which concept is giving them trouble. Believe it or not, one of the most important concepts to review, and one of the best starting points, is the time honored Basic Math Facts. Helping your students master those math facts will help them get one step closer to feeling confident in their math skills. Please don’t assume that your students know their facts… even if they’re in upper elementary grades! ALL of your students can benefit from some math fact review, especially as those standardized assessments are drawing near! To save you some time, I’ve already created some fun and non-threatening ways to review those basic operations! You can check them out here. If those state assessments are already weighing heavily on your mind, feel free to use my great math test prep resources! 

Helping your students master those math facts, reassures both you and them that they are ready to then apply those basic math operations in more advanced concepts. Remember that your students’ math negativity could be caused by Math Phobia, so they might just need someone to make sure that they have mastered all of the basic math concepts needed before they tackle the more advanced ones. 

Sometimes if we’ve been teaching math for a while, we can lose sight of what it’s like for our students. For example, have you ever thought about everything that is wrapped up in understanding fractions? Mastering fractions really means not only knowing your math facts, but also understanding the difference between factors and multiples as well as how to find both of them, memorizing when you need to find a common denominator and when you don’t (and how to find one!) plus understanding when the denominator stays the same and only the numerator changes and when they both change. And of course then there is how to simplify fractions! Somehow kids also have to learn that dividing fractions is solved by multiplying by the reciprocal! WHEW! There is A LOT that kids need to keep track of and build upon. We as teachers are prone to over simplify and think that our students might struggle with “fractions”, but in reality, they might not understand a number of the key foundational concepts. Remember that so many math concepts are foundations built by much smaller building blocks. It doesn’t take too long for a motivated teacher to figure out just where the breakdown in mastery is. It’s a wise use of time to Review the Basic Building Block Operations. 

Sometimes teachers actually work a lot more like detectives when it comes to remedial help as they look for clues and solve the mystery of what is hindering mastery. Remember that a lot of Math Phobia can be addressed by simply working with your students step by step (giving timely feedback) to make sure that they understand each building block of their foundational math. It’s worth that extra time to review! Join me next time as we discuss another strategy for tackling Math Phobia! 

Teach in order to Transform Lives, 

Martha 

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MATH TEST PREP FOR ELEMENTARY STUDENTS 

Do you struggle with finding resources for math to get your students ready for state testing? 

Here are some links from "The Owl Spot" on Teachers Pay Teachers that you may want to check out. Just click the image for a direct link to the product.

I created them for my students to review skills before testing. My kiddos were engaged during class, and they rocked the test!

Multiplication Football Partner Game

Division Riddles and Worksheets

Color By Code for Addition and Subtraction

Color By Code for Multiplication and Division

Coordinate Pair Graphing Game (similar to Battleship!)

Place Value Riddles

Equivalent Fractions Snowman Activity

Digital Multiplication Charts - Whole Class Game

Multiplication Task Cards

Fractions Conversions Pizza Activity

Fraction Task Cards

Classifying Angles Activities

4th Grade Whole Number Place Value and Operations Task Cards 

3rd Grade Whole Number Place Value and Operations Task Cards

5th Grade Place Value and Operations Task Cards

Order of Operations Task Cards

Order of Operations: Truth or Lie Partner Game

Order of Operations Partner Games

 

95% of people have a great fear of this… are you one of them? Will your students be? 

I recently read that 95% of people have a great fear of Public Speaking. Does that describe you? Chances are, if you're an Educator, you're probably comfortable getting up in front of SOME people because you do it on a regular basis! But what about your students? If this statistic is accurate, and I believe that it is, then that means that the remaining 5% of people will rise to the top as leaders among their peers. That 5% will have an edge academically and socially and will carry influence with their thoughts and opinions. Have you ever thought about how important it is to give your students opportunities for Public Speaking, even at the elementary ages? You're giving them a head start when you make time for Readers’ Theater in your classroom. Readers’ Theater is an excellent tool to introduce public speaking in a non-threatening way! 

We’ve spent the past few weeks in January talking about Readers’ Theater. Hopefully, you’re excited to put Readers’ Theater to work in your classroom transforming your students into readers for life and helping them to take that important first step towards becoming comfortable with public speaking! Last time we covered my 6 Steps to a Rewarding Readers’ Theater Experience. Now I want to build on those essentials. 

So how can teachers really get the most out of their Readers’ Theater time? 

*Make sure that you start with a great high interest script. I’ve taken the time to create wonderful scripts for both primary and middle grades. One of the most popular Readers’ Theaters is the timeless classic The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. You can find it here.

*Take some time to pull out some vocabulary words that you want to emphasize throughout the week. Write them on the board, or on a poster and have them readily visible throughout the week. Teach the words before you introduce the script and refer to them often. You could also have the students underline the vocabulary words in their own script. 

*Establish your guidelines for expectations for working in the groups. One of my go-to guidelines is requiring that all students must be following along with the script in front of them as others are reading aloud. This strategy helps your students familiarize themselves even more with the words, phrases, characters because they are hearing it AND reading it at the same time. This also ensures that all of your students are on task and engaged learners who are paying attention! 

*Take a few minutes each day to kick off your Readers’ Theater time with some reading skills mini lessons! You could do one on punctuation and how it changes the way that a sentence is read. (So fun to put some silly sentences on the board and have students read them differently as you change the punctuation at the end!) Or you could focus on elements of literature in your script by allowing them to develop empathy with the characters, or thinking through conflicts in the story and how they are resolved. Build their vocabulary by having them describe how the characters are different from one another. 

*Remember to give your feedback when your students are in the small groups rather than in front of the entire class. Students will be more receptive to it when they don’t feel like they are the center of attention for the entire room. 

*One of my favorite Readers’ Theater strategies is hyping up their performance day. Invite some younger students in to watch your students “perform” their scripts. Allow your students to create some fun props or character name tags. Why not have popcorn for your audience? This day is where your students really get to test the waters of Public Speaking. You have an opportunity to make it fun and memorable. 

*When your Readers’ Theater week is over, have your students KEEP their scripts in folders in their desks. These scripts become a super fun way to fill those random free minutes at the end of a day, or after an assembly, or they can be perfect for a substitute teacher to use if she needs some constructive time filler! (It’s always wise to have materials on hand and ready for a substitute teacher to use in a pinch! We ALL have last minute illnesses or emergencies when we just can’t get in to leave sub plans! I have taken the time to create some winter themed sub plans for intermediate and primary grades for you to have on hand… just in case! Feel free to check them out!) 

 I hope that you have a FABULOUS time using Readers’ Theater in your classroom as you seek to create lifelong readers and equip your students to be comfortable with public speaking! 

Please join me next month as we tackle how to motivate those students with Math Phobia! (Hint: Time to get Strategic and Creative! Don’t Miss Out! Subscribe to my email list to get all the latest tips and tricks from The Owl Spot! ) 

Hope to See You Then, 

Martha

6 Strategic Steps to a Rewarding Readers' Theater Experience

Sometimes we all just need what my neighbor likes to call “Fresh Eyes”. We need a new perspective for what we’re doing, a renewed purpose for how we’re persevering through our days. Remember that we are ideally equipping our students to be Readers for LIFE!

6 Strategic Steps to aRewarding Readers’ Theater Experience!

A few years ago, I heard a staggering statistic that most kids (especially boys!) will stop reading for enjoyment by 8th grade! 8th grade! That means that this Elementary and Middle Grades window of time is CRUCIAL to winning kids over to becoming readers for life! Of course, WE KNOW that becoming lifelong readers will help them to be more successful overall in so many areas of life, but they don't know that and they aren't able to think that far ahead. 

That's why creative strategies like Readers’ Theater are so important! We as teachers can build our students' fluency and strengthen their internal reading voices alongside them, while demonstrating that reading can be FUN! I’ve heard a lot of teachers say that they hear a lot about Readers’ Theater, but they are just not sure how to actually pull it off in your classroom. Honestly, successful Readers’ Theaters always start with a solid, usable script! I've created some of my own for both primary and upper elementary that I think work very well. (You'll find them over at The Owl Spot ) 

So I want to give you 6 surefire great steps towards a rewarding Readers' Theater experience! Here we go! 

1. Do some planning ahead of time! Choose a high interest script and make sure that everyone gets their OWN copy. Plan your timeframe. (Most teachers like to start on Monday and wrap up on Friday! Just 15-20 min per day works great!) 

2. Model reading the script out loud for your students. (Feel free to pull in some colleagues like a librarian, lunch aide, secretary, or principal to add that extra boost of fun!) 

3. Divide your students into Readers’ Theater groups so that everyone in a group has a part. (Plan your groups ahead of time and assign parts ahead of time! Most teachers prefer for each group to have at least one strong reader.) Encourage your students to go ahead and highlight their own individual part. 

4. Read through the script several times to ensure correct pronunciation and to model fluency, intonation, and good oral reading practices when there is punctuation. Students should always be following along with their own script to build their own sight word recognition. 

5. Allow each group to practice at their seats and then again in front of the class. Provide appropriate, constructive and helpful feedback to your students. Remind them that there is no need to memorize their parts! The whole concept behind Readers' Theater is that they will be READING their parts and working through a script! 

6. Allow for your students to perform their Readers' Theater as a wrap up. There is no need for costumes, but some simple fun character name tags or simple accessories seem to go a long way to boost enthusiasm and interest! (We all have those students who love to be creative! Why not task them with some simple character tags for the different parts?) Feel free to invite a younger grade in to enjoy your Readers' Theater. Audiences give a greater sense of purpose to the readers. 

I hope that you are as excited as I am to get my students improving their reading skills through Readers' Theater! Next time, we'll be looking at more specific strategies to squeeze out even more benefit from the time spent using Readers' Theater in the classroom! 

Have Fun and Get Reading! 

Martha 

 ****Because you have been a loyal follower, I want you to be one of the first people to know my big exciting news!! The Owl Spot is opening on Etsy! My Etsy store is currently under construction, but I am so excited for all of the phenomenal resources that I will be able to make available to all of my teacher friends! Check out The Owl Spot Shop on Etsy!