Moore Math Messages
Elementary Math May 2026
Elections Coming Up!
This year, we will be voting on a state superintendent along with several other races. The primary is on June 16th. Mark your calendars now and start making a plan to vote early if you will be out of town! You can learn more about the candidates for state superintendent here: Ballotpedia.org Candidates for Oklahoma State Superintendent. While only registered republicans and democrats can vote for superintendent in the primary, EVERYONE will have State Question 832 on the June 16th ballot. Don’t wait, check your voter registration status and make your plan to vote on June 16th!
Helpful Links:
(From the Oklahoma Association of Math Leaders)
Practical Strategies for Welcoming Newcomers and Their Families
May 12th 4:00 - 5:00 (Register to receive a recording)
Join this practical edWebinar designed specifically for classroom educators who want actionable strategies to better support newcomer and multilingual learners. Attendees will explore tools that strengthen communication with families, promote reciprocal partnerships, and create more welcoming, culturally responsive classrooms.
We will highlight editable communication templates, strategies for multilingual engagement, and ways to center equity in everyday classroom practice. The session will also include guidance on supporting families through the school year—including welcoming students who enroll mid-year—and reflections that help educators deepen cultural competence and humility.
Leave with concrete tools you can use immediately to build stronger relationships, improve language access, and support newcomer student success.
3 Reasons Your Directions Aren’t Working (And What to Do Instead)
May 13th 12:00 - 1:00 (Register to Receive a Recording)
Students aren’t ignoring you; they just don’t know what success looks like. If you’ve ever repeated directions (again…and again) or watched students go off track, this edWebinar will show you what’s really going wrong and how to fix it fast.
When directions aren’t working, the impact goes far beyond a single task. It can lead to lost instructional time, constant redirection, and uneven student engagement, which quickly add up. In this session, you’ll learn how to make small, high-leverage shifts that lead to immediate, visible changes in how students start, stay on task, and complete their work.
Words Do the Math: Connecting Language & Literacy to Math in PreK-3
May 14th 2:00 - 3:00 (Register to receive a recording)
Math is often thought of as the subject where words get out of the way and numbers do the talking. But research tells a different story.
Language is at the heart of mathematical thinking and doing. From reading and interpreting a problem to reasoning through a solution to defending an answer to a peer, every step of the mathematical process depends on a learner’s ability to engage with language purposefully and confidently.
In this edWebinar, Dr. Kateri Thunder will explore what decades of research tell us about the critical role language plays in mathematical problem solving. Educators will walk away with a deeper understanding of how literacy skills and mathematical practices are deeply intertwined and what that means for classroom instruction.
Whether you teach kindergartners just learning to read or third graders tackling complex problem solving, this session will reshape the way you think about language in your math classroom.
Fractions Across Grades 4-6: A Learning Trajectory
June 19, 2026; 9:00 am - 3:30 pm
Fee $55; 6 hours of PD Credit (includes lunch)
Location: Willard Hall, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater
Audience: 4th-6th Grade Teachers
Facilitator: Bridget Broome
Fractions are a central focus of the mathematics curriculum in Grades 4–6 and serve as a critical bridge from whole number thinking to proportional reasoning and algebra. In this professional development session, participants will explore how fraction understanding develops across these grade levels and how concepts progress from equivalence and operations to ratios, division, and rational numbers.
Through hands-on tasks, visual models, and rich mathematical discussions, teachers will examine common student misconceptions and learn strategies to strengthen conceptual understanding alongside procedural fluency. Emphasis will be placed on number lines, area models, and real-world problem contexts that deepen reasoning and sense-making.
Participants will leave with instructional routines and practical tools to support students in building a coherent and connected understanding of fractions across Grades 4–6.
From Patterns to Equations: Developing Algebraic Reasoning in Grades 1-4
June 18, 2026; 9:00 am - 3:30 pm
Fee $55; 6 hours of PD Credit (includes lunch)
Location: Willard Hall, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater
Audience: 1st-4th Grade Teachers
Facilitator:
Algebraic reasoning begins long before students encounter formal equations. In this professional development session, participants will explore how algebraic thinking develops across Grades 1–4 through patterns, properties of operations, relational thinking, and early work with unknowns.
Teachers will examine how young learners move from recognizing and extending patterns to representing relationships and generalizing mathematical ideas. Through engaging, hands-on tasks and rich discussion, participants will experience instructional strategies that promote reasoning, justification, and mathematical discourse in the elementary classroom.
Participants will leave with classroom-ready activities, purposeful questioning strategies, and practical tools to support students in building a strong foundation for future success in algebra.
Making Math Real: Bringing Mathematical Models to the Middle Grades
June 11, 2026
Fee $55; 6 hours of PD Credit (includes lunch)
Location: Willard Hall, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater
Facilitator: Maria Stewart
In this session, participants will engage in middle grades focused mathematical modeling tasks designed to make mathematics feel real and purposeful for students. Through hands-on exploration, teachers will examine what defines a strong modeling task, what student engagement in modeling looks like, and how instructional moves can support and extend students’ thinking. We will unpack the nature of mathematical models and how they develop as students make sense of real-world contexts. Participants will leave with ready-to-use modeling tasks, practical classroom strategies, and renewed excitement for bringing meaningful mathematical modeling into their middle school classrooms.
OERB
Mark your calendars! We are excited to announce our 2026 summer workshop schedule. We look forward to providing opportunities for teachers across the state to connect, learn, and grow. We hope to see you there!
Summer Workshops:
Registration opens May 1st
June 18: Jenks High School (Jenks)
July 16: Dove Science Academy MS OKC (OKC)
2026-2027 Fall/Spring Workshops:
Check out HomeRoom on August 1 for Fall 2026 and Spring 2027 workshop dates!
As a reminder, we have updated our OERB Energy Education Workshop registration process. All teachers registering for a workshop will need to have an OERB HomeRoom account. If you don't have one yet, please click the button below and sign up now to reduce any delay in registration. Spots can fill up quick and we don't want you to miss out!
If you have any questions, please let us know by emailing teachers@oerb.com.
Polygon Quilt Game
This awesome game was created by Amy's Geometry (Los Angeles County Office of Education). Kids take turns coloring in a small triangle on the quilt board. When a player creates a polygon, he or she earns points. The tricky part is that each polygon must consist of only 4 mini triangles. The one with the most points at the end wins!
Quadrilateral Bingo
Every square is a rectangle, but not all rectangles are squares. Get a handle on quirky quadrilaterals with this free printable bingo game.
Learn More: https://youvegotthismath.com/quadilateral-bingo/
Learn about shapes with a Geo-board
Geo-boards are an amazing tool for inspiring creative thinking in your students. Use them to let students practice making simple shapes. Or download these free Geo-board activity cards for more challenges.
Learn more: Math Geek Mama
Create a Quadrilateral Family Tree
A square is a rectangle but is a rectangle a square? Sometimes it’s hard to know how to classify shapes. This fun activity lets kids explore shape families for deeper understanding.
Learn more: YouGotThisMath
Fold Shapes to Discover Symmetry
Break students into groups, and hand out a series of paper shapes. Challenge each group to experiment with folding their shapes to see which are symmetrical and how many lines of symmetry they have.
Learn more: Teacher Trap
Shapes Bingo
Make your own bingo cards with this free, simple app. Our bingo card generator randomizes your words or numbers to make unique, great looking bingo cards. Watch a demo.
Practical Ways to Use Protractors
Use dry erase markers and masking tape to give students lots of angles to explore and measure! If you can’t write on your tables, try using a big piece of butcher paper instead.
Learn more: Cursive and Crayons/Instagram
Idea for an extension/change: Instead of angles, put length of tape all over desks and have students measure in inches.
Play Geometry Vocabulary Go-Fish
While geometry can be light and fun, the vocabulary understanding needed to fully master geometry is huge! These vocabulary cards will help students master the lingo.
Learn more: Tarheel State Teacher
Treasure Hunt
The treasure has been hidden somewhere on this beach, where the grid lines intersect (cross).
Input coordinates to help find the treasure with the fewest guesses. The interactivity gives you the shortest distance you'd have to travel (along the grid lines) to reach the treasure.
Can you find a reliable strategy for choosing coordinates that will locate the treasure in the minimum number of guesses? How do you know that your strategy will always work?
Free Tutoring from Pioneer Library
The Pioneer Library System has several ways to help students - all for FREE! (Library card required)
- Live Online Tutoring - Online help from expert tutors
- Writing Lab - expert online writing assistance
- Skill Surfer - Live skills building, lessons, videos, practice test, etc.
- Send a Question - Send a questions and receive an expert reply within 24 hours.
- Language Lab - Live Help for language learners
- Flashbulb - Create and share flashcards, tests, and games
- MEET - Schedule sessions with friends in a virtual study room
- Brainwave - Create and share movie-like notes and ideas.
Experience Passes
Explore your Oklahoma with Experience Passes
Experience Passes open doors to museums to explore Oklahoma history, nature, art, and more by giving families* admission to the following museums, cultural centers, and more across Oklahoma. All you need is your library card.
Check out an Experience Pass from your library for free admission to:
Time for a Little Laugh🤣
Why does it feel good to go to the aquarium?
All the indoor-fins!
I accidently sprayed AXE body spray in my mouth. Now I talk with and Axe-scent.
Sunday was a sad day. The day before that was a Sadder day.
Identify 3-D shapes in Mystery Bags
Place a 3-D shape block into each numbered bag. Kids work in groups or on their own to identify each shape only by touch (no peeking!).
Learn more: Susan Jones Teaching
Fit Shapes Together to Make Other Shapes
Use pattern blocks with the free printable cards at the link to get kids playing around with simple geometry. They’ll practice recognizing basic shapes and learn they can use some shapes to make new ones.
Learn more: Susan Jones Teaching
Math Twister
On a traditional twister game, add number labels such as 3, 4, 5, and 6. Then, instead of saying “right hand on blue,” read out equations such as “right hand on 6 – 3” or “left hand on 2 + 4”. Then, watch the fun and twisting begin!
Building Towers
The Activity
Provide children with a selection of wooden blocks of various shapes. Talk about experiences of building and stacking. (Children may do all sorts of things with blocks, building towers is just one example you might choose to develop mathematically.)
Exploring 2D Shapes
The Activity
Provide loops made from string or elastic at least 3m long. For the task, these can be put on the ground or held in the air by children working in groups of three or four. Ask the children to make shapes with their loops and talk about what they see.
Making Footprints
The Activity
Provide children with soft dough and a selection of small wooden blocks of various shapes. Talk about experiences of making footprints in sand or snow. Encourage children to select a block and press it into the dough to make a 'footprint'. Show how to run a finger around the edge of the impression to feel the perimeter.
If You Were a Polygon
Good for grades K - 2
Zachary Zormer: Shape Transformer
Your students will love reading Zachary Zormer: Shape Transformer by Joanne Reisberg as they learn about geometry. School Library Journal says “youngsters will find Zachary’s quick thinking and solid explanations both entertaining and educational”, and they’re right! Your class will be highly entertained by Zachary, a boy who always forgets to bring in items for his math show and tell. Luckily, Zachary is also a quick-thinker and comes up with everyday items he uses to express common geometry concepts. This book serves as a great teaching tool by offering readers concise explanations and straightforward commentary about all things geometry.
Good for grades 1 - 5
Shape Up!: Fun With Triangles and Other Polygons
Shape Up! Fun with Triangles and Other Polygons by David Adler and Nancy Tobin is an incredibly fun book to introduce and teach your students about basic geometry concepts such as triangles, polygons, and angles. What makes this book so engaging is the hands-on and interactive nature of it. Your students will love the incorporation of food items such as pretzels, cheese, and bread pieces used during the interactive activities. I know that some teachers don’t care much for using food in their lessons, and if this sounds like you, don’t worry! Many of the best interactive activities in this book use a simple piece of paper!
Good for grades 2 - 6
Please Reach Out
My entire job is to help you in whatever capacity you need.
- Off on the pacing and need help getting back on track?
- Lesson just flopped and need some ideas?
- Have a small group of students still struggling and don't know how to help?
- Need help with the curriculum and how to use it?
- Had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day and just need to vent & talk?
These are just some of the ways I can help. Please reach out when you need some help, ideas, or just a shoulder to lean on.
Kayla Prather, Kingsgate
