Texas Teachers!! I'm excited to talk to y'all today about one of my favorite math resources - Motivation Math workbooks by Mentoring Minds.
How do you teach math? What I do is teach skills in isolation. I know this not rocket science (lol) but here's an example of how I run the math thangs in my classroom.
Let's say we're in a decimal unit.
- I would start with identifying and writing decimals.
- Then we would move on to writing decimals in expanded form and expanded notation.
- Then we might do some comparing.
- After that, maybe we add and subtract.
- Then we would work on whatever my scope and sequence says to do next... ;)
Once I feel like our isolated skills are rockin' I break out the Motivation Math workbooks. Guys, these are big ol' fabulous workbooks full of every tested state standard. And thanks to my fabulous admin, each of my students have a Motivation Math workbook. THIS MEANS NO COPYING FOR ME! *insert giant smiling emoji*
The rigor that jumps out of these books and gets my kiddos' brains a'workin' makes me a happy teacher. If my kiddos rock out their Motivation Math worksheets, I know they have a solid understanding of the skill. If you've never heard of these workbooks, you have GOT to go to the website and request a sample. You WON'T be sorry!
Here are a few of the reasons I love Motivation Math.
Let's start with the obvious. State standards are listed at the top of each page. WOOT! This means no guess work for me. I can flip through the books and eyeball where I want to go OR I can use the handy-dandy index. I'm a book flipper, though. I like the mystery of it. Anyway, I get to my page, I look up top and it will tell me (R) Readiness (DO THIS PAGE) or (S) Supporting (CHILL FOR A MIN THEN MOVE ON). This also makes writing the day's objective or "I can" statements a breeze!
Motivation Math ROCKS MY WORLD because they have a build in "I do, We do, You do" model.
- Each skill starts with an Introduction page. The questions (written as word problems) are open ended which is a PERFECT way to bridge the isolated skills we've worked on into word problems.
- The next page is Guided Practice. I do a lot of "partner practice" with these pages. I model a few then I let the students work together.
- After that you've got the Independent Practice pages. This is where I see what my kiddos can do on their own. I usually assign this RIGHT after we finish the Guided Practice pages.
- I use the Assessment page in a variety of ways. I might assign it WITH the Guided Practice page. I might pull it and combine it with a few other skills for a more sizeable test.
- There's a homework page, too.
- And journal activities.
- And critical thinking problems (I assign these to my high achievers and early finishers).
- You need it - MM has it. Seriously.
Your students are NOT going to get bored with these questions. The writers of this workbook thought of SO many ways to look at problem. That's why I go back to my previous statement of, "If my kiddos rock out their Motivation Math worksheets, I know they have a solid understanding of the skill."
One of the MAJOR, MAJOR perks of using Motivation Math is YOU DON'T HAVE TO MAKE COPIES. No copying one sided to two sided. No paper jams. No toner mishaps. No stress. Just, "Turn to page ____," and get your teach on.
I am SO thankful that my administration has made sure I have a ton of resources on hand to teach my students. I use a lot of them. The ONLY one I use on a regular basis is Motivation Math.
Do you use Motivation Math in your classroom? What about Motivation Writing? Reading? or Science? I'd love to hear your opinions!
Do you use Motivation Math in your classroom? What about Motivation Writing? Reading? or Science? I'd love to hear your opinions!
