Moore Math Messages

Mathematicians: Begin with the End in Mind (For Students)

Need some examples of mathematicians beginning with the end in mind as examples for your class? Here are a few you can use and a poster you can hang! (Poster is linked if you would like to print.)

Euclid – He wanted to organize all the math knowledge of his time into one clear book, so he carefully planned The Elements, which people still use today.

Carl Gauss – As a child, he quickly figured out a faster way to add numbers because he thought about the answer he wanted first and worked backward.

Ada Lovelace – She imagined that machines could do math for people long before computers were invented. She kept her big goal in mind and wrote the first computer program.

Pythagoras – He wanted to understand how numbers could explain shapes, so he created the Pythagorean Theorem, a tool still used in math and science today.

Katherine Johnson – She used math to help NASA astronauts travel safely to space. She always kept the mission goal (returning the astronauts home) in mind.

Hypatia – She wanted her students to truly understand math, so she carefully planned lessons that built step by step toward that goal.

Srinivasa Ramanujan – He saw math patterns in his mind and wrote them down, keeping his focus on finding deep connections that others could prove later.

Begin with the End in Mind (For Teachers)

Before starting to teach a chapter, we need to think about the goal we are trying to accomplish. To do that, we need to examine our standards carefully BEFORE we even start the chapter. How do we know if our students have hit the target when we don't even know what the target is?

Examine our standards. Take time to unpack the standard(s) that you are teaching in this chapter.

Don't know where to start? Start with the Math Frameworks. It will give you the standard in plain english, examples of the how to teach the standards, and explain misconceptions students may have. Grade level -> Objective Analysis -> Objective to see all information about the standard/objective.

Basic, Proficient, or Advanced? Ever wonder what makes a question basic, proficient, or advanced on the OSTP? Check out the Performance Level Descriptors published by OSDE. It will help guide you to see what is REALLY proficient or advanced for each standard. (Picture Below)

Need more help? Reach out! I will be more than happy to help or send an email out to your grade level group. We are all here to help each other.

Oklahoma Math Frameworks

Performance Level Descriptors

Updates

Update - The Grade Book now sorts assignments by last to first (most recent to oldest).

Modifying Practice: You have had the ability to edit assessments (video tutorial), and now you can edit/delete an assignment after assigned and even add students to the assignment.

(To do this, click on the word dashboard at the top of the screen. Then select Assignment. There are 3 dots to the right of the assignment name. Click those and select either edit or remove.)

Customize Practice with Check Answer: Also known as "multiple attempts". Teachers can customize practice with check answer options. This document will show you how.

Automatic Turn-In: Want all assignments turned in? Select the "Prevent Late Submissions" when you assign. This feature will automatically turn in the assignment from all students on the due date/time. (Picture below).

Modifying Practice: You are able to edit assessments (add/delete problems). You can watch this video tutorial to guide you. 3rd - 5th grade, I highly suggest you copy and edit EVERY online assignment so that you can turn OFF the calculators.

Extra Help: You have a BIG IDEAS HELP button at the bottom right corner of every screen. A lot of your questions can be answered quickly if you access this feature.

Reporting Errors & Issues: PLEASE email me with any errors or glitches found within Myada. I am submitting tickets on your behalf - and if you don't tell me, I can't help!

Need more help or a refresher on training?

Visit Big Ideas Learning Academy by clicking the button below.

Big Ideas Learning Academy

Benchmarks

The first benchmark window closed on October 10th. Now that we have finished it, what do we do with the information?

Use the item analysis to identify areas where students may need:

More practice or exposure through quick review questions

Targeted IXL lessons to reinforce skills

Problem-of-the-day discussions to talk through common misconceptions

Small group lessons for reteaching or enrichment

Remember, this benchmark is a tool for insight—not evaluation. It’s meant to help you see patterns, celebrate strengths, and identify where additional support might be needed. Every bit of this information helps us tailor instruction to student needs.

Too Much IXL?

IXL is meant to supplement areas in which students have gaps or need further instruction and is personalized for each student. Each student should spend about 30 minutes a week working on their personalized plan (arena) plus the 10 minutes to update their diagnostic. Primarily, students should be working on those skills with an occasional skill assignment from the teacher.

Another thing to consider: students use IXL from 3rd - 8th grade, and many students are getting burned out on IXL by 7th grade because they have used it SO much in elementary. We only need students to be on IXL for 30 - 40 minutes a week per subject.

Check-In Chats

You've given the star, identified those that need intervention, but what else can you do with the reports from STAR. Below we highlight the STAR Diagnostic Report and how you can use it with your students.

What does it tell us? Scaled Score, Percentile Ranking, Grade Equivalency, and Test Duration.

What is different about this report? This specific report breaks down math types into components so that you can see the percent mastery of skills each student has. In the example below, we can see that this student has achieved 64% of quantity skills, 51% of whole number operations, and so on.

Check-In Chats

Meeting with each student is critical so they are aware of the ther results from the star test. (Why would anyone try on a test when they are never told how they did?) This report is more understandable to students. We typically show the students the Scaled Score (SS), Percentile Ranking (PR), or Grade Equivalency (GE), but most students don't understand SS or PR. Allowing students to see the different TYPES of math and how they are progressing in a percentage is much more understandable.

When meeting with the students:

Let them first just look at the scores.
Point out some areas of strength.
Ask them what they notice.
Let them pick the area(s) they would like to grow in and set a goal.
Work together to make a plan (action steps) about how they are going to meet their goal.
Let them graph it!

Graphing these scores are easier than graphing scaled scores because the range of these scores are 0 -100. When we graph scaled scores, we can have a VERY wide range among our students, and it doesn't have much meaning for our students.

My Star Data

Below is an example of a graph your students can use to track their specific math focus data. For this student, I would encourage him to choose geometry as his focus area and then title the graph accordingly. This graph has increments of 1-10 to make graphing this information easier.

My Star Data Graph

Star Calendar

Class Set of Protractors

The last time we ordered protractors for 4th - 6th was in 2019, so it's time to order again! If you need a new class set of protractors (30 protractors for reg ed, 15 protractors for SPED), please fill out the form below. The order form is due on November 7th so that we time to order, get them in, and distributed before Christmas break. Please submit this form as soon as possible. Reach out if you have any questions.

Protractor Order Form

Make Magic with Math Vocabulary

Teaching math is part of teaching a new language - the academic vocabulary of math. Students need to be able to discuss math in MATH terms. Below are some ideas to make that a little easier for you and for your students.

What teachers can do:

Teachers need to use the words on a regular basis. Don't water it down to "bring it to their level." They can learn new things, and it's more confusing later when they have to unlearn an incorrect term and relearn a new one (think: corner vs. vertex). Just teach them the correct word from the beginning. Not sure about what word to use? Reach out to me or to one of your 4th - 6th math teachers.
Use the words outside of math time. Instead of "Let's sit around the rug." say "Let's sit on the perimeter of the rug." Let them learn it from using it in context.
Let the students do the defining. They need to contextualize words before they can understand the, and they need repeated exposure.
Constructivist word walls - Word walls don't need to be pretty or match our decor. They need to be a working learning space. As students learn new concepts, they can define terms in real-time, make adjustments as the concepts deepen, and hang them around the classroom for others to learn from. The premade word walls that can be purchased are easy and cute, but do the kids use them? Do they even look at them or is it just a decoration? Let the students CREATE it the word wall with you to give more ownership to the students.
Make it a game! Select a word of the day and have your students "catch" you using it.

Below are some options to get the kids involved in their learning.

Illustrated Glossary

Instead of writing a definition (which they won't remember anyway), let the students draw a picture of their own to assign meaning. Have students create an illustrated glossary in their notebooks that they can easily access or create a word wall in your classroom with students' drawing attached.

Frayer Model with Facts

The Frayer Model has been used in other subject areas for year, but let's adapt it to math. In this example we place a math fact in the center and use the different areas of the page to make models of the numbers using vocabulary.

Frayer Model with Words

The traditional Frayer Model uses the vocabulary word and then 4 parts: definition (in the student's own words, characteristics, examples, and non-examples.

Grade Level Collaboration

We are using our PD time this year to meet as a grade level/subject area to collaborate. What's going well in your class? What do you need help with? Let's all share in the joys and help with the troubles. This quarter we are meeting with two grade levels to do some vertical planning, alignment, and brainstorming. All meetings are 4:30 - 5:30.

Math Assessments

Having issues finding the assessments for your standards-based report cards? Watch this quick (1 minute) video to show you where they are. This video was created for second grade, but kindergarten and first grade have the same options.

Where can I find standard-based math assessments?

Linking Cube Hands

Gather students in a circle on the rug. In the center, place a large piece of chart paper. Have a bucket of linking cubes nearby. Draw a large clockface on the paper, labeled appropriately from 12 o’clock to 11 o’clock. Ask a student volunteer to link five cubes together. Place the link between the 12 and 1. On the outside of the circle, write the number 5 adjacent to the 1. Explain that the link represents the five minutes between the 12 and the 1.

Next, ask another student volunteer to link five cubes together. Lay this between the 1 and the 2. On the outside of the circle, write the number 10 adjacent to the 2. Continue around the circle, inviting different students to participate. When the circle/clock is complete, go around the circle and count by fives, driving home the concept.

Hula Hoop Time

Pull out the sidewalk chalk and head outside for some practice telling time. Hula-Hoops make perfect analog clocks, but if you don’t have any, kids can simply draw large circles instead. Pair students up and give each pair a Hula-Hoop, two pieces of chalk, and two pipe cleaners (one longer than the other). Have them work together to write the numbers on the inner circle. On the outer circle, have them write the corresponding units of 5. For instance, at 1:00 write 5, at 2:00 write 10, etc.

To play, students will take turns practicing setting the time. One student will call out a time and the other student will use the pipe cleaners to set that time. The caller will check for correctness, and then they will change places.

Set the Time with Playdough

To play, students will take turns practicing setting the time. One student will call out a time and the other student will use the pipe cleaners to set that time. The caller will check for correctness, and then they will change places.

AM Vs PM

Remembering the difference between a.m. and p.m. can be a bit confusing at first. To practice with your class, play this fun hands-on game. To begin, choose a student to call out an activity—for instance, eating dinner. Then, have the other students put their hands on their head if they think that happens in the a.m. If they think it happens in the p.m., have them cross their arms across their chest. Reveal the correct answer, then choose another student to call out an activity. Continue until everyone who wants to call out an activity has been chosen.

Dance Around with a Round of Musical Clocks

If your students love to play musical chairs, they will love this telling-time version of the game. Pass out a clockface worksheet to each student and have them draw a time on their clock. Then, have them leave it on their desk. Give each student a recording sheet, then have them grab a pencil and get ready to move!

Start the music and let kids dance around from desk to desk. When the music stops, students will record the time on the clock of the desk in front of them. (Have them also write the name of the student who wrote that time to check for accuracy.) Start the music again and keep on going!

Match Up Plastic Eggs

There are so many fun ways to use plastic eggs in the classroom. Try this fun activity to help your students practice telling time. Prepare ahead of time by writing times (in words or digital time) on half of the eggs and analog clocks with the same times on the other halves. Mix up the colors so students have to really look closely to make a match. This is a great activity for station work or early finishers.

Favorite Activities: Elapsed Time

Are your students ready to tackle elapsed time? This visual activity will help them apply telling time to their everyday lives. Create a worksheet with three columns and three rows. In the first two columns, insert an analog clock without arms. Leave the third column blank. Label the three rows Activity #1, Activity #2, Activity #3.

To begin, ask students to choose three activities they do. For instance: soccer practice, art class, eating breakfast, doing homework, etc. To fill in their chart, have students label each row with the name of the activity. Then, on the first clock, they will draw in the time the activity started. On the second clock, they will draw in the time the activity ended. In the third column, they will write the total time the activity took. Repeat for each activity.

Dice Game with Clocks? YES!

This is a fun game to play with partners or small groups. Each student will need their own mini teaching clock (like a Judy clock) and each pair or group will need a die. To begin, have each student set their clock to 12:00. To play, students will take turns rolling the die, reading the direction card, and moving their clock the correct amount of time. The direction cards should read as follows:

Move ahead 5 minutes.
Move ahead 10 minutes.
Move back 5 minutes.
Move ahead 15 minutes.
Move ahead 20 minutes.
Move back 10 minutes.

The round ends when the first player makes it all the way around the clock to 1:00.

Bingo

Kids love to play bingo so why not use it for time-telling practice? Search the internet for a customizable analog clock bingo card template or create your own. Label the clocks on the card with whatever time skills your students are working on, whether it’s hours, half hours, quarter hours, or to the minute. Copy the card and pass one out to each student. Then, play a few rounds of bingo using the usual rules.

Time Teller (online game)

Telling-time games that go beyond just identifying a time on a clock are some of our favorites for older kids. This one requires kids to identify the time on an analog clock and then decipher what time it will be in a certain number of hours.

Learn more: Time Teller at RoomRecess.com

The Mouse Ran Up the Clock (online game)

This is such a fun spin on identifying the time on a clock. We love the play on a classic nursery rhyme and the oh-so adorable mouse and cat graphics. Guess the right time on the cartoon grandfather clock and a cute mouse will run up it. But get it wrong and an angry cat will make itself known!

Learn more: Hickory, Dickory, Clock at ICT Games

Giraffe Dash (online game)

What’s more fun than playing a game with friends? Multiple players can play against one another as their adorable giraffe avatars race to be the first one across the finish line.

Learn more: Giraffe Dash at Arcademics

Spider Expressions

Working with finding flexibility with numbers? Try Spider expressions.

1. Start with one expression. (body part of the spider).

2. Students make 8 equivalent expressions

Challenge students by requiring them to use each operation two times while making the spider.

Comparing Numbers

Break out that Candy Corn and use it to compare numbers. This can be adapted to ANY grade level or number form (large, small, fraction, decimal, etc.)

Day After Halloween Math Task Cards

We all know that teaching the day after Halloween can be just as challenging as teaching on Halloween. Kids are tired or wired! Use the math task cards to help with the day after. These cards can work for 4th or 5th grade.

Since Halloween is on a Friday this year, we get to miss the dreaded day after, but use these cards to help with the craziness of Halloween!

Math Task Cards

Pumpkin Number Talk

We love for classes to talk about numbers, but let's put it on paper (or a pumpkin. Give each student a different number and have a gallery walk so that everyone can show off and learn from each other.

Link to Pumpkin Page

Hip, Hip EYE-Raay

Make some monsters with some construction paper and use the googly eyes to make arrays!

Add to the challenge by having students create a number card for their monster: even/off, expanded form, equation, etc.

Candy Patterning

Materials:

Candy in at least two different shapes and/or colors for beginners, add more different options as appropriate.
Cookie sheet, tray or similar to work on (optional).

1. We started by taking out one of each of the three types of candy to see what they were.

2. Use these to make ABC, ABB, AB, BCC, or other patterns.

Composing to 10 or 20

Who knew that lima beans, paint, and a marker can make a great station.

1. Lay out dried lima beans on a newspaper and spray paint one side.

2. Let dry.

3. Use a sharpie marker to make the ghost.

Now you have new ways to model composing numbers!

Make baggies of 10 or 20 beans. Students gather them and toss them to make a new problem.

4 white + 6 green = 10 ghosts.

Spider Web Roll and Cover

Students still working on counting and finding the numeral? Want students to sum within 10?

Try SpiderWeb Roll and over.

1. With the first level, students will roll one dice and cover a corresponding number on the mat.

2. With the second level, students will roll two dice, add the numbers together and cover a corresponding space on the mat.

Both game boards HERE

Comparing Numbers

Break out that Candy Corn and use it to compare numbers. This can be adapted to ANY grade level or number form

Math Hint Hub

Posters turn into white noise and kids no longer look at them. Katie Nawara (Houchin) has created an interactive bulletin board to replace all those posters! Student can go get resources from the board to use to help them. Each container has a set of index cards on a ring with a title on the front and an example on the back.

Front of Cards

Back of Cards

Math Tool Kits

Katie Nawara (Houchin) and Kindergarten teachers (picture below from Ms. Johnston's class) at Kingsgate use Math Tool Boxes for each student. The inside lid contains a picture of what is inside the the kit as those items for students to use. It makes using manipulatives so easy!

Katie even includes some anchor charts for the students to use (easier for 4th graders, not so easy for kinder 😁)

4th Grade Kit Cover

4th Grade Kit Inside

Anchor Charts in 4th Kit

Kinder Kit Cover

Kinder Kit Inside

Measurement Wall

Mrs. Petete (4th Grade, Kelley) made a measurement demonstration wall and introduces new measurements a little at a time and provides a visual of each of the measurements. This is a great way to introduce students to measurements slowly and give them a frame of reference.

Scratch Paper Lotto

Mrs. Bass (Apple Creek) is encouraging students to show their work by having a scratch paper lotto and is using music and dance to help students learn and remember math concepts.