With winter break being right around the corner, it's time to plan for your classroom holiday party! What activities and games will you play? What gift can you give your students that is cost-effective and something they will enjoy?

In this week's holiday-themed episode, I share two easy ideas for student gifts that are practical and perfect for the math teacher. I also share ideas for games and activities to play both as a class and in groups for your holiday party.

Student Gift Ideas Include:

Personalized Pencil 3-Pack

Dry Erase Board, Marker, and Eraser Set of 30 (Amazon Affiliate link) There is no additional cost to you, but it does help support the podcast if you choose to purchase through these links.

Class Party Ideas Include:

Draw a Holiday Picture

Candy Cane Hook 'Em Game

Make an ornament

Decorate cookies

Estimation jar

Jingle Bell Toss

Word search or word scramble

Saran-Wrapped Candy Ball Game

I know not all teachers throw a holiday party, so if you fall into this category but still want to incorporate holiday-themed activities into your lessons, I share two math crafts for equivalent fractions and factors that are holiday-themed and lots of fun.

Finally, don't miss this week's Teaching Tip of the Week where I share an efficient yet personal way to write thank you notes.Resources Mentioned:

Factor Trees

Equivalent Fraction Trees

To view the show notes with the full transcript, head to https://krejcicreations.com/episode21.

P.S. Has this podcast been helpful for you? If so, screenshot an episode, add it to IG, and tag me @krejci_creations. This helps spread the word to other teachers!

If you are looking for simple ways to build community and boost engagement in your classroom, I have one word for you: Kagan. I learned about Kagan engagement strategies pretty early on in my career, and I used them regularly in my lessons.

In this week's episode, I share 5 of my favorite Kagan cooperative learning strategies that engage students, promote teamwork and collaboration, and build peer relationships. I explain how the strategies work, when to use them, and what skills to pair them with.

Strategies Include:

1. Sage 'n' Scribe

2. I Have Who Has

3. Find Someone Who

4. Numbered Heads Together

5. Rally Robin/Round Robin

I also share a tip for your small group center to help cut down on transition time in the Teaching Tip of the Week.

Episodes Mentioned:

Episode 6: 3 Common Mistakes to Avoid in the New Year Resources Mentioned:

Sage 'N' Scribe Video

I Have Who Has Video

Find Someone Who Icebreaker

I Have Who Has States and Capitals

Math Tasks

To view the show notes with the full transcript, head to https://krejcicreations.com/episode20.

P.S. Has this podcast been helpful for you? If so, screenshot an episode, add it to IG, and tag me @krejci_creations. This helps spread the word to other teachers!

The beginning of your lesson is your chance to grab your students' attention and keep it. Instead of doing the same every day, engage your students in unique ways that will keep them on their toes!

In this week's episode, I share 9 warm up activities that will engage your students and hook their attention from the beginning. I also give tips for implementing these activities, specific examples to use with students, and what skills to pair them with.

I also share a feel-good way to wrap up your lesson that will celebrate small accomplishments in the Teaching Tip of the Week.

Episodes Mentioned:Episode 2: 5 Tips to Build a Lesson Plan in Minutes Episode 4: What I Learned About Sub Plans From My Year of Subbing Episode 14: 5 Creative Ways to Use and Repurpose Task Cards

Resources Mentioned:60+ Free Lesson Plan Ideas Esti-Mystery Estimation Clipboards Math Anagrams Quiz-Quiz-Trade Which One Doesn't Belong

To view the show notes with the full transcript, head to https://krejcicreations.com/episode19.

P.S. Has this podcast been helpful for you? If so, screenshot an episode, add it to IG, and tag me @krejci_creations. This helps spread the word to other teachers!

Raise your hand if you love a good review game! Review games not only help your students prepare for tests, but they also build teamwork skills and teach students how to win and lose respectfully.

In this week's episode, I share 7 of my favorite review games to play in the classroom when reviewing for a test. I explain how each game works, what I like most about each game, and I give suggestions to help the games run smoothly.

I also share an organizational tip for your internet favorites in the Teaching Tip of the Week.

Resources Mentioned:

Survivor PowerPoint with Directions

Stinky Feet

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire

Factile (Jeopardy)

Kahoot

Quizlet Live

4th Grade Math Review Boom Cards Bundle

To view the show notes with the full transcript, head to https://krejcicreations.com/episode18.

P.S. Has this podcast been helpful for you? If so, screenshot an episode, add it to IG, and tag me @krejci_creations. This helps spread the word to other teachers!

At this point in the year, your small group instruction is up and running, but you may be feeling the need for a change, or you're curious if there's a better and more efficient way to run small groups.

The truth is, there is no one best way to pull small groups. What works for one teacher may not work for another, and what works for your class one year may not work the next year. Because of this, it's important to have different approaches to small group instruction.

In this week's episode, I share 4 different ways to pull students for small group instruction and how to use data from formative assessments to form these groups. I discuss ideas for meeting with strugglers only and ideas for meeting with all students.

I also share a festive craft and/or bulletin board idea for November in the Teaching Tip of the Week.

Resources Mentioned:

Factor Turkeys

Episodes Mentioned:

Episode 10: How to Scaffold and Differentiate Math Centers Part 1

Episode 11: How to Scaffold and Differentiate Math Centers Part 2

Episode 12: How to Scaffold and Differentiate Math Centers Part 3

To view the show notes with the full transcript, head to https://krejcicreations.com/episode17.

P.S. Has this podcast been helpful for you? If so, screenshot an episode, add it to IG, and tag me @krejci_creations. This helps spread the word to other teachers!

While many lessons can be taught easily in one day, interpreting the remainder isn't one of them. Students not only need time to process the different ways to interpret remainders, but they also need a lot of practice. This additional practice will help students see the similarities and differences between the various ways to interpret the remainder.

In Part 1 (last week), I focused on the concrete and pictorial phases of the CPA approach. In this episode, I focus on the abstract phase and share helpful tips and ideas for this part of the lesson. In addition, I suggest an idea for small group instruction to help students connect the parts of a division problem to the story.

I also share a fun challenge to get your students to complete tasks in a timely manner along with my Spotify playlist in the Teaching Tip of the Week.

Episodes Mentioned:

Episode 15: 3 Essential Steps for Teaching Interpreting Remainders Part 1

Resources Mentioned:

Leftover Brownies PowerPoint

Interpreting Remainders PowerPoint Lesson and Guided Notes

FREE Interpreting Remainders Worksheet

Spotify Playlist

To view the show notes with the full transcript, head to https://krejcicreations.com/episode16.

P.S. Has this podcast been helpful for you? If so, screenshot an episode, add it to IG, and tag me @krejci_creations. This helps spread the word to other teachers!

Interpreting remainders is one of the most challenging skills to teach. Students often lack the real-world experiences these questions refer to, making our job as teachers even more difficult. So, what can we do to help students overcome these challenges?

In this week's episode, I share two small changes to my instruction that made a big difference in not only my ability to teach this lesson but also my students' ability to understand. I explain how to use a 3-step CPA approach (concrete, pictorial, and abstract) to help students gain a conceptual understanding of interpreting remainders.

This week's episode covers Day 1 of teaching interpreting remainders in the concrete and pictorial phases of the CPA approach. I give suggestions for manipulatives to use in the concrete phase along with sample questions to use with your students. Next week's episode will cover Day 2 in the abstract phase along with ideas for small group instruction.

I also share a fun idea for a Halloween-themed small group activity in the Teaching Tip of the Week.

Episodes Mentioned:

Episode 2: 5 Tips to Help Build a Lesson Plan in Minutes

Resources Mentioned:

Interpreting Remainders PowerPoint Lesson and Guided Notes

*Eyeball Gum

*Ping Pong Eyeballs

*The Amazon links mentioned are affiliate links. There is no additional cost to you, but it does help support the podcast if you choose to purchase through these links.

To view the show notes with the full transcript, head to https://krejcicreations.com/episode15.

P.S. Has this podcast been helpful for you? If so, screenshot an episode, add it to IG, and tag me @krejci_creations. This helps spread the word to other teachers!

Chances are you have a few sets (or maybe stashes) of task cards in your classroom, some of which haven't been used in years. You've most likely used them for small group instruction, but task cards aren't just for small groups! They are an extremely versatile resource that can be used in many ways.

In this week's episode, I share 5 of my favorite ways to use and repurpose task cards to help you get the most out of these resources. I share ideas for choice boards, partner activities to pair them with, and how to use them with cooperative learning structures. In addition, I explain how to use them in your whole group instruction and within a Google Form assessment.

This week's Teaching Tip of the Week is a request from my Instagram Stories on how to scaffold and differentiate small group questions on multiplying decimals.

Episodes Mentioned:

Episode 12: How to Differentiate and Scaffold Math Centers Part 3

Episode 13: 6 Small Group Activities for Every Math Teacher

Resources Mentioned

Quiz-Quiz-Trade

Task Cards to use with Quiz-Quiz-Trade

3rd Grade:

Compare Fractions

4th Grade:

Estimate Products

Estimate Quotients

Divide By Multiples of 10

Multiply by Multiples of 10

Place Value Review

2D Figures

5th Grade:

Simplest Form Clip Cards

Simplest Form Task Cards

To view the show notes with the full transcript, head to https://krejcicreations.com/episode14.

P.S. Has this podcast been helpful for you? If so, screenshot an episode, add it to IG, and tag me @krejci_creations. This helps spread the word to other teachers!

Small groups are often where the aha moments happen. Students sometimes need just a few more practice problems before the concept sticks, which is why small groups are so important. Now that you know how to differentiate and scaffold math centers (from Episodes 10-12), you might wonder what type of activities to use.

In this week's episode, I share 6 of my favorite activities to use in small groups, some of which are ideal for differentiation, and others that are just as effective but with more of a fun factor…because you gotta have a mix of both! I also share suggestions for what skills you can pair them with and simple ways to increase engagement.

Topics include:

1. Task Cards
2. Writing Leveled Question Sets on the Board
3. Writing Leveled Question Sets within a 3-Column Table
4. Matching Activities (with and without themes)
5. Sorting Activities (plus ideas for extension activities)
6. 4-Section Activity Mats (perfect for review!)

You'll also hear a helpful tip for YouTube videos to prevent ads from ever appearing in the Teaching Tip of the Week.

Dice Sets Mentioned:

12-sided dice

Place Value Dice

The above links are affiliate links. There is no extra cost to you, but purchasing through these links helps support the podcast. 🙂

Activity Mats Mentioned:

Rounding Activity Mat

Factors and Multiples Activity Mat

Area and Perimeter Activity Mat

Add and Subtract Word Problems Activity Mat

Matching Activities Mentioned:

Multiplication Milk and Cookies Match: Basic Facts

Multiplication Milk and Cookies Match: 2 x 1 Digit

Multiplication Milk and Cookies Match: 3 x 1 Digit

Multiplication Milk and Cookies Match: 4 x 1 Digit

Multiplication Milk and Cookies Match: Bundle

Partial Product Multiplication: Eggs and Bacon Match

To view the show notes with the full transcript, head to https://krejcicreations.com/episode13.

P.S. Has this podcast been helpful for you? If so, screenshot an episode, add it to IG, and tag me @krejci_creations. This helps spread the word to other teachers!

In this third and final episode of the series, I share specific examples for you to use in your classroom that are scaffolded and differentiated across three levels.

The first level includes additional support for strugglers with a lower difficulty level. The second level includes grade-level questions with little to no support, and the last level provides unique and fun challenges for your high achievers!

The skills discussed are as follows:

3rd Grade:1. Determining the unknown within a multiplication or division equation relating three whole numbers within 100 2. Add and subtract whole numbers within 1,000

4th Grade: 1. Multiply a whole number of up to 4 digits by a 1-digit number (partial product method) 2. Find whole-number quotients and remainders with up to 4-digit dividends and 1-digit divisors

5th Grade: 1. Use parentheses, brackets, or braces in numerical expressions, and evaluate expressions with these symbols 2. Compare decimals to the thousandths place

You'll also hear a tip for what to do if you accidentally close out an internet tab too soon in the Teaching Tip of the Week!

Grab the free handout that goes along with this episode here!

Resources Mentioned:

1-Digit Partial Product Multiplication

2-Digit Partial Product Multiplication

Long Division Work Mats

To view the show notes with the full transcript, head to https://krejcicreations.com/episode12.

P.S. Has this podcast been helpful for you? If so, screenshot an episode, add it to IG, and tag me @krejci_creations. This helps spread the word to other teachers!