Mindset

Welcome

Welcome to A Pocketful of Pi! This site is one math teacher’s effort to change the way the world views math. If you are looking to understand the math your child is learning in elementary school, searching for ways to bring joy to your budding mathematician, or looking for some research-based information about mathematics instruction and changing your mindset, you have come…

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Coin bank made from wood and an old post office box with key in the lock; a metal model mail truck sits on top
Mindset, Problem Solving, Resources

How Many Pennies?

A three act math discussion Many years ago, my husband’s best friend made this bank for him using and old post office box. They were both postal workers and this friend is no longer with us, so this bank is pretty special to us. We use it to save our pennies.  I shared about this on social media a few years…

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Games & Puzzles, Patterns, Problem Solving, Resources

Can you spot a SET?

Last week my class participated in Global School Play Day. I was a bit nervous about an entire day of “unstructured” play with my high energy crowd, but I stepped through my fears and let it happened. It wasn’t completely unstructured, I guess. Our day is kind of broken up into manageable chucks with the placement of specials, lunch, and recess…

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Mindset, Problem Solving

Algebra is Not the Enemy

My t-shirt says it all. “When will I ever use this?” is a question I get a LOT as a math teacher. Especially from middle school level students. Believe it or not, I’ve even had conversations about this at the college level. Have you ever told someone (maybe even your child) that you didn’t see the point in learning algebra? That…

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Mindset

Two Tens and Eight

How we talk to kids matters. But did you know that the way the English language names numbers is often confusing and doesn’t reinforce important mathematical concepts? If math is about patterns, then counting should be a pattern, right? Well, counting does follow a pattern, but the language we use doesn’t make it intuitive. Think about the names of the numbers:…

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Games & Puzzles, Resources

YouCubed

For a while now I have wanted to write about this fantastic resource. Well, I am finally getting around to it! YouCubed.org is a site that was founded by Stanford professor of education, Jo Boaler, “to give teachers, parents and students the resources and ideas they need to inspire and excite students about mathematics.” The information and resources here are backed…

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Mindset, Problem Solving, Resources

What do you think?

Scene 1: In a typical first grade classroom. Student: {staring at a broken pencil} Teacher: Looks like your pencil is broken. Student: {shifts stare to teacher} Teacher: What do you think you should do? Student: {continues to stare at teacher} Early in my teaching career I had a class of first graders in a fairly large elementary school. I don’t recall…

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Making Math Moments, Mindset, Number Sense

How to Be a Fueling Sense Making Ninja – Making Math Moments Week 4

Fueling sense making. This is the point of being a teacher in any subject, right? Finding ways to push students from being mere recipients of information to thinking critically about that information and using it to construct their own real knowledge. For years I have battled within myself about the merits of memorizing math facts. I know being fast at math…

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Making Math Moments, Mindset

Making Math Moments Series

I have been away from blogging for a while now. Actually, since I began a new job teaching math to middle school students back in August. I didn’t intend to step away from blogging, but with the 65 mile each way commute I have now, it’s been a process to find time to do all the things. My new mobile office…

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Mindset, Number Sense, Resources

Nix the Tricks!

Have you ever had trouble remembering how to “carry the one” or had difficulty understanding what it means to “borrow?” Do you pause when deciding which way to “move” a decimal or how many zeros to “add” to the end of a number? Most people I talk to believe math is a {really, really large} set of rules and steps and…

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