Instagram Links for Math With Minis
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About Me and Math With Minis
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Hey, teacher friend!! 🤗
I’m Brittany – the creator behind Math With Minis.
As teachers, there’s always some kind of struggle for us.
Just over two years ago, I was straight-up miserable.
I was still learning how to teach, and I felt like I was constantly failing.
I took ALL of the education classes, yet I still didn’t know how to effectively teach math.
And on top of that, I HATED math myself.
Reading, writing, social studies, foreign languages… I was all about those.
I LOVED hyping students up about books, and seeing the light come on when kids realized they could read.
But I just couldn’t get into math.
It stressed me out to teach it, so of course my students didn’t enjoy learning it.
Then, it hit me.
My students had massive gains in reading when I focused on building up their phonemic awareness.
Yes, this is typically a “K-2 thing.” But the problem is, if students don’t have that down before they get to upper elementary (3rd-5th grades), everything else is harder to learn.
It blew my mind that we were trying to help students get inferences, when they can’t even sound out the words yet.
So, what if I could find that missing link for math??
The Missing Link for Math Mastery
I started doing a TON of research.
I talked to successful, veteran teachers to see what was working in their classrooms, and I watched some amazing master teachers in action.
I finally found a correlation:
The classes with the highest scores in math had 90%+ of their students master their math facts.
The tough part about this is, we only ever see the finished product when we’re looking at test scores.
So I decided to test this theory myself.
AND IT WORKED.
How This Has Changed My Life and Teaching
Figuring this out has really changed the way I teach.
I still pay attention to standards, sure.
But I’ve totally reworked my pacing guides.
I build a strong foundation with each student based on where they’re at, which allows me to move much more quickly throughout the year.
I ensure that most of my students truly “get it” before we try to move on.
And once my students became truly fluent in their math facts, once they have TRUE math fact mastery, they’re able to do so much more mathematically.
Sometimes, we need to slow down now to speed up later.
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At first, some of my colleagues thought I was crazy for spending the first month of the school-year on phonics and math facts.
But it really pays off!! My students are way better prepared to master on-level concepts throughout the year, and I’m able to accelerate the gaps in understanding they have.
What Does Teaching Math Feel Like for You?
Because that’s why I’m here, and that’s what really matters.
Do you teach math with confidence?
Are you seeing your students make gains?
Are your students enjoying math?
And, how do you feel about teaching math?
My hope is that I can save you some time and stress when it comes to teaching math.
Check out some resources I have for you!!
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