Tag: Math Teacher

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Digital Activities in Math Should Still Require Showing Work

One challenge math teachers face using digital activities in the classroom is that students put down their pens/pencils and don’t pick them up at all while working on the assignment. How many times have you given a digital test and students do not work problems on paper? Do you notice they sit and stare at the screen and try to answer questions without the aid of working the problem out by hand? I think this is a big mistake on our part as teachers. We need to train students to show work even if they are filling out answers online.

Most math teachers require a journal or a notebook for notetaking. I believe that this is the perfect place to show work. Require students to date and title a page in their journal and work problems in an organized manner in the journal. The page can be a part of the overall grade of the assignment. Showing work will allow students to show steps, explain reasoning and they will have the ability to go back and find mistakes. A teacher only needs a quick glance to confirm the students did what they were supposed to do. Here are three things to consider:

  • If a student has hardly any work done, that is a sign that the student may not know what to do.
  • If students miss all the problems and don’t show work, they are clueless.
  • If students get all the problems correct and don’t show work, they may be cheating.

There is a direct correlation between the amount of work shown and how much a student understands.

For example, I use Boom Cards in my class. My students know, when working on the cards, they have a page in their journal dedicated to showing work on the assignment. I allow students to work the boom cards as many times as they want to get the grade they want. When they show work, they are able to look back at the work and see if they can find a mistake. I haven’t tried this next part but, what if I took this a step further? Have the students highlight incorrect problem(s) and, if they find their mistake(s), they write a quick statement analyzing the mistake. How much better will the math “stick” if they analyze their own mistakes? If you’ve never used Boom Cards, click on the picture below:

The one time I would not use the journal to show work is for tests. I like to provide a colored sheet of paper for showing work on a digital test. The paper must be turned in when the test is completed. Even better is to have a piece of paper that has space for each problem. If you don’t have time to print one, then have students fold the paper in half, then in half again and then again if you need that many places for answers. When students open up the paper, it is separated into 8 boxes on the front and back if the paper has been folded three times.

I recommend taking up the paper after the test rather than have them take a picture and upload it. Here is why: students take a picture of their work to upload it. Now, they have that picture to send to whomever, like a friend in a later class.

A digital place to show work could be on a Google Jamboard. I used Jamboards alot during Covid. Students can easily open a Jamboard if they have a Gmail and use a separate slide for each problem. The Jamboard only comes with 20 slides, so think about this before having them use it. The Jamboard can also be shared with whomever so, be sure they put their name on it.

Example of a Jamboard

As math teachers, we tend to make a big deal about getting the right answer, but just as important as a correct answer is HOW to get the answer. If we constantly use digital activities in our classes and we are never looking at student work, then we have no clue if students really understand what they are doing. Looking at the work does not have to be time-consuming. You can quickly know if the work is legitimate or gibberish. You can catch cheaters by requiring work as well.

If we get away from having students show work, we are doing them a disservice. Our job as math teachers is to create problem solvers. It is hard to solve problems without going through steps or explaining how the solution is derived. Let’s change the way students think about digital activities and train them to show their work.

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Making Mistakes in Math

Say this to yourself: “I make math mistakes and it’s ok!” Most of the mistakes we make as teachers are probably because of being careless. Our minds are processing 20 different things while we are teaching. We are wondering if the students are understanding or if Susie is on her phone or if Johnny is ever going to come back from the restroom. 

Make it known from the beginning of the year that you WILL make mistakes and you need the students to catch those mistakes. If they catch the mistake, then give them bonus points or a sticker or some reward to let them know it’s important that they notice your mistakes. Also tell your students that you do not know everything about math. That might shock them. You need to show vulnerability so that the students feel comfortable about their own mistakes. When you make a mistake and a student points it out, say THANK YOU!

Something that I have said many times this year is that I want the students to be wrong… a lot. I want them to mess up. I want them to make mistakes. I want them to leave the class and say, “Well I made a lot of mistakes today in math.” Weird, I know…but if they can say that, then they worked hard in class. Mistakes are a part of learning. Mistakes mean effort. No mistakes will probably mean no work. 

Have you asked a student a question and they say, “I don’t know?” Tell them they can’t say that anymore. Do not let them write IDK for an answer on a paper. That’s a big no no. I tell the kids to “Fake it until you make it.” Act like you know. Put something down or give some sort of answer. Who cares if you are wrong! 

Next week when you are teaching, look at your students and see who is just sitting. Walk the room. Who has a blank paper. Don’t let this happen. Get the students involved and teach them to be ok with math mistakes. Mistakes are necessary! 

(Here is a gift to you. A digital display poster of Mistakes are Necessary. This is from my Google Drive… if you cannot open it, try from your personal email and not your school email.)

This post was a newsletter first. This is the kind of content that I like to write for my email subscribers. If you’d like to be a part of my email list, sign up here. My goal is to provide tips, ideas and resources for the busy secondary math teacher or tutor. If that’s you, please join.

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Teaching Regular Math Students – The Good, Bad and Ugly

Teaching math has given me so much joy and so much stress over my career. Out of my 35 years of experience, I would say 75% of the time I was teaching regular students. When I use the word “regular”, I’m referring to students not in a Pre-AP, accelerated or honors math class. I’m not going to lie… it has not been easy. If I had to describe to a new teacher my experience over the years, I think I would describe it as GOOD, BAD and UGLY!

Side Note: I’m a Clint Eastwood fan. I have a picture of him on my wall in my living room so I’d say I’m a pretty big fan. One of his most popular westerns, was The Good, The Bad And The Ugly. You can’t think about that film without hearing the music that plays constantly throughout it. If you’ve never watched the movie or heard the music, you should do it. Here’s the music. Play it softly while you are reading. You’ll enjoy it.

The Good: Of course the good part about teaching regular students are the students! The kids are mostly awesome. Sure, you’ll have a student who tests your patience now and then, but for the most part, the kids are awesome. If you will take the time to make connections and get to know them, you will find out how wonderful they can be.

How do you make connections? First of all, don’t be their best friend. You are the adult. It’s ok to listen to them tell you about their bad day, but it’s not ok to take them to Sonic and have a drink. Don’t be THAT teacher! Make connections by finding out about their hobbies. Ask questions about their past math experiences. Ask them how they learn best. Go watch their school football or volleyball games. It’s great for the students to see that you care about them, but be super smart about your actions.

Students that act out in class are not bad kids. If they talk too much, or sleep during class, there is a reason. Try to get to the bottom of the issue. You can remedy problems very quickly if you can get to the root cause. Ask them questions like:

  • “I notice that you sleep during class, do you have a job that keeps you up late?”
  • “How have you done in past math classes?”
  • “Do you get along with everyone in this class?”

The kids themselves are not the issue in regular classes. There is much more to this! Keep reading!

The Bad: One bad thing about teaching these classes will be the size of your class. The majority of students are in regular classes, so it makes sense that these classes will be bigger. That’s bad because how do you help these students individually? It’s tough, but one solution is to let them help each other as much as possible. I like to do lots of partner work and group work which can be good and bad. You have to train the students how to act. Give them specific directions on duties and protocols. Be consistent and it will get better. If you keep them in rows and stand and talk at the front of the room all day, they will not learn a thing. Trust me on this one. I’ve been THAT teacher.

One of my favorite things to do in groups is group tests/quizzes. The strategy is to get everyone engaged and learning from each other. To learn more about my group quiz strategy, go here.

Organization can be a booger too! Here are a few things to make your classes run smoothly:

  • DON’T grade everything.
  • Keep a seating chart at all times. This saves so many headaches! Students see you have an expectation of where they will sit. This shows them that you are organized.
  • Make use of a hall pass and keep a tardy log.
  • DO use every ounce of time in class to work. Free time is not good with this type of student…which leads me to the next paragraph…

Many of these students do not know how to self start, so you will need to guide them in this. Motivation levels in regular students are not always the best either. How do you teach them to be motivated and be a self starter? First of all, have procedures. Students need to know exactly what you expect when they walk in the door. Phones are put away and the spiral notebooks come out! Figure out what is best for your classroom. The motivation comes over time if students are not bored, see value in what they are learning and gain some confidence.

The Ugly: The ugliest part about teaching regular math students is the wide variety of abilities. This presents a huge challenge. Is differentiation the answer? You can differentiate all day long but when you have 170 students, 11 of them are SPED, several students are dyslexic, and 59 are ESL, then it gets ugly. How can I differentiate? Differentiation does not have to be create a brand new lesson that is specialized for each person. Here are some ideas to differentiate in a math class:

  • Reducing the number of problems by looking at a worksheet and deciding which ones are tougher and taking those off. Another way of reducing work and letting the student feel like they are playing a role is to tell them to do any 5 out of 10 problems.
  • Choose between a digital or paper and pencil.
  • Give students a choice between written practice and a hands-on activity when either will meet the goal.
  • Create their own problems and work them.
  • Record their explanation instead of writing it.
  • Let them redo the work many times until they understand. Don’t recreate the wheel… Boom Learning is great for doing an assignment until they get it right.
  • Working with a partner or a group.

I don’t want to sugar coat what it’s like to be a teacher of regular math students. It’s hard, but there are ways to make it work and make it better. I hope that I’ve given you some ideas to use to help make your teacher life more doable. Be positive and treat yourself with grace. This is a tough job, but it can be rewarding. If you have any questions, please email me. Have a great year!

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10 Simple Teacher Tips For Less Stress at School

Over the years I have tried many things to make teaching a little less stressful. Some people thrive on chaos, but I don’t. I can’t think straight when my environment is chaotic. I like order (even though I’m not the most organized person). I want a system in place so that I can teach and not worry about other things. Here’s a list of things that I do to keep me sane. I hope you can get at least one idea that will help you!

Tip #1: KEEP ALL ANSWER KEYS IN ONE SPOT – Seems simple but I did not start doing this until several years ago. I was constantly searching for my answer keys. I now keep every answer key in the same folder in my top drawer. I empty the folder each 6 weeks. This was super helpful the years that I taught 3 subjects. I would still put all the answer keys from different subjects together because then I did not have to wonder where they were. I could go straight to my answer keys and not waste time on making a new one or searching for the one I already had. When a student is absent or I get a late paper, I know exactly where the answer key is and I can grade it quickly.

Tip #2: PREPARING FOR THE NEXT DAY – Do not leave school until you know exactly what you are doing the next day and you have all your copies made and you are ready to go. (Please don’t stay long hours after school doing this. Ideally, get it done during your planning. Decide on an activity and prepare it and be done! Dwelling on what to do will get you no where and will waste your precious home time.) Technically, you should have a broad plan for the year or at least a plan for a six weeks. I get it though. Sometimes you go into survival mode and you end up planning a day ahead or even the day of. I’ve been there and I still have those days occasionally. I feel so much better when I leave school knowing that I’m ready for the next day. I do not like the feeling of scrambling at the last minute. If you are prepared, then you can handle anything that comes your way…even those unexpected things that can happen. Try not to “wing it” very often.

Tip #3: KEEP AN INTERACTIVE NOTEBOOK – You know all of those papers you get at meetings? Put them all in one place. Every meeting that I go to, I tape in the papers that I receive at that meeting. If I don’t, it will go into a pile and I’ll never see the papers again. I’ve had administrators come to me to ask for something that they handed out to the teachers but couldn’t find it themselves. (Oy Vey)

Tip #4: KEEP CERTAIN THINGS IN VIEW – Tape your school bell schedule and school calendar in an easy to see place in your room. It’s for you and your students. Trust me, it makes life much easier if you don’t have to search for these items when you need them.

Tip #5: SEATING CHARTS ARE A MUST – Make a seating chart from day 1 and keep it handy! As you rearrange the room, be sure to keep your chart updated. Yes, students need a seating chart…EVEN IN HIGH SCHOOL. You don’t want to learn things the hard way on this one! I number my desks and that helps too! The more you can control what’s happening in your room, the better.

Tip #6: BE A GOOD NEIGHBOR – Exchange phone numbers with your fellow teachers that are on either side of you. If you are running late, you can get one of these teachers to help watch students until you get there. This has saved me on many occasions.

Also, think about how loud your classroom is. You do not want it to affect the classes around you. If you know you have a loud activity coming or you will be playing a video, warn your neighbors and see if they have a test planned or something you need to know.

Tip #7: “NO” > “YES” – Don’t be afraid to say no. As a matter of fact, say NO more than you say YES. You do not have to be on every committee. Don’t take on a task when you know you don’t have time! It gets easier to say no the more you do it.

Tip #8: DON’T GRADE EVERYTHING – Some items can be graded on completion. Have students hold up their paper and show you both sides. If they’ve done most of it, it’s a 100. If they haven’t, you can be the judge on what you want to do. You could give them a 50 until it’s done or whatever seems best for you and your class. I don’t take up many papers anymore. I don’t want to touch them for one thing. I have students tape them in their journal. I usually let them use their journal on quizzes or even tests. I want them to see the value in doing their work and keeping it. Everything is not about the grade, but it IS about the knowledge!

Tip #9: ROUTINES – Make sure you have a beginning of the class routine and an end of the class routine. At the start of class, students need to know they sit down and start the bell work. (Put phones away, get materials out and start.) Have a paper that they pull out or something on the board for them to do. With 5 minutes left at the end of class, have students clean up after themselves, put materials away and prepare to leave. If you don’t do this, your room will be a wreck. If you don’t want them to stand up until the bell rings, then let each row leave one at a time. I know this sounds elementary, but it doesn’t hurt especially if you have a rowdy group. I’ll say, “I’m letting the cleanest, straightest, quietest row go first. This works so well. If one kid is messing it up for his row, then I hold the one kid back.

Tip #10: TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF! – Do not hesitate to lock your door between classes and run to the restroom or to fill your water bottle. Make sure to keep snacks in your desk or extra money to get that caffeine fix when you need it. Put some Advil or Tylenol, Tums, gum, air freshener, hand sanitizer, deodorant, lip balm and a mirror in your desk. During your planning period, get the calming music going and try to relax for a few minutes before working. Don’t skip lunch. Try not to plan things during lunch. For some teachers, lunch is the only break all day! If this is you, then make sure you take time for yourself and get your mind off of school for a few minutes.

I hope you can take at least one tip and use it to your advantage. It’s important to make your school life more enjoyable. Teacher burnout is real. Set up systems ahead of time and keep a routine as well as you can. Some days will be chaotic no matter what, but the more you can think ahead for yourself, the better.

Don’t reinvent the wheel. If you have a need, then go see if you can find it in my store. If you can’t find it, email me. I probably have something that you can use. I’m just an email away: lisa.hamiter@timefliesedu.com

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Small Group Quizzes in Math

I love small group quizzes for so many reasons! Its a win win situation. I cannot say enough about this type of strategy. I’ve done group quizzes for many years, but with the help of my peers, I’ve figured out the way that works best for me. I’ve also discovered that it will evolve the more you do it. You’ll get an idea to try something new or you’ll stop doing something else that’s not working the way you want.

What are group quizzes? Group quizzes are collaborative quizzes that give students a chance to deepen their learning through discussions. Imagine awesome engagement and conversations. Imagine all levels of abilities working together and activating growth. THAT’s what happens during a well constructed small group quiz.

I have 2 ways of doing these quizzes:

  1. Students are put into groups of 4. Each student will receive their own version of the quiz. Yes, this means you need at least 4 versions of the same quiz. Students work together through discussions to complete their own quiz. THE DISCUSSIONS ARE AMAZING! I do not allow students to grab each other’s papers and copy straight from them. That is a big no no…(so you do have to walk around a bit, but I can still get so much done while the kids are working together it’s not even funny.)
  2. Students are put into groups of  3, 4 or 5. All students in the group have the same quiz. Assign each student a letter or a number. They write that letter or number beside their name in INK!  The students work together to complete the quiz. (Again, they cannot grab someone’s paper and copy it.) At the end of the allotted time, the teacher will spin a spinner, roll some dice or use some sort of number or letter picker to decide whose paper will be the one graded for the group. The person that is selected will put their paper on top of the group pile with everyone else’s paper below. The quizzes are paperclipped and turned in. I usually grade the top paper only, but I’ll flip through the pile to make sure everyone was successful. I tell the students ahead of time what will happen at the end of the time. Throughout the quiz I give reminders to not allow anyone to sit and do nothing since their paper might be the one graded for the group. A little peer pressure is ok. I don’t allow anyone to be mean, but I’ve never found that to be the case. If I see that someone actually could hurt the group, then I’ll do something creative so that person doesn’t cause any issues.

If you’ve never tried a group quiz or think that your students are too rowdy for this, then think again. Try it! You will need to put some thought into your groups ahead of time. I like to make sure that I have some high abilities with some strugglers. I try to put some quiet people with the loud people. I never let them pick their own groups. I do not ever put all strugglers together or all high abilities together. I usually go by grades in the gradebook and then I think about who gets along. I use my name plates (we make these at the beginning of the year and it is mentioned in the post: 1st Week of Math Class Ideas) to put people in their groups. I will not let kids enter the room until I’ve place the names plates on the desks.

Hopefully, I have you motivated to try this strategy. If you need some quizzes to use, I have started creating some. I will be making more throughout the year, so please check often. Each set has 4 versions of the same quiz, so you can use either of my two strategies that I mention above. If you will follow me on Teachers Pay Teachers, you will know when I upload new resources. They are always 50% off for 24 hours.

Disclaimer: This site contains affiliate links in which I will get a commission if you decide to buy something using the link I provided.

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Give Your Students Hope on a Math Test

Semester finals are coming! Of course you will review and try to prepare your students, but time is limited. How can you help your students do better and still keep your standards high?

USE   AN   ANSWER   BANK.

If you have a 20 question test and you have 20 answers in an answer bank, your test is still challenging but you are giving your students hope which means they will put more effort into trying! That’s what we want, right? EFFORT! 

Will some students guess by using the answer bank? Absolutely! When I give an answer bank, I have two rules:

  • Students have to keep the test for a certain amount of time before turning it in.
  • Students have to show work on all of the problems. 

Try it this year. I think that you will be pleasantly surprised. If students feel like they have an advantage, it makes a big difference in their attitude. Please let me know how this goes for you.

I have two final assessments with answer banks if you would like to try them. (My Algebra 1 Final with an Answer Bank is in the works. Be on the lookout for it soon!)

Finals with answers banks are below:

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Help Struggling Students Factor Quadratics

It’s the truth! Factoring is a major topic and somehow, we have to make sure students can do it. Factoring is needed for all math classes after Algebra and for all college entrance exams (SAT, PSAT and ACT) and placement exams (ACCUPLACER and TSI). Algebra teachers have enough on their plate without this pressure, but it’s our job to teach it and hopefully it will be reinforced in future math classes.

About ten years ago, one of my coworkers showed me a cool calculator method that I use with struggling students. Some students have a hard time with their multiplication facts which will make factoring a nightmare for them.

I hate most calculator tricks, but this one is actually a great tool. Let’s say a student needs to know all the factors of 135. Have them go to the graph of the calculator and type 135/x (135 divided by x). Next have the student look at the table. In the table, they will look for whole number values. For instance, across from an x of 1, is a y of 135. That of course means that 1 and 135 are factors of 135. The next set of whole number values are x = 3 and y = 45. When the list of numbers starts repeating, all of the factors have been found.

Look at the sample factoring problem below this paragraph. I have my students multiply the 9x^2 and the -15. The answer is -135x^2. To the right of the problem, they draw a large X . On the top, they write the -135x^2 and on the bottom of the X, they write the middle term: 22x. Next, they start making a list of all of the factors of 135. I tell them not to think about the negative at first…just make a list of factors. If they are not able to do that, then use the calculator to make the list. Once the list is made, then the students decide which factors will multiply to get -135 and subtract to get 22. The answer would be 27 and -5. Those two numbers are written on the left and right side of the X. Next, the original trinomial is turned into a polynomial with four terms. The second step below was 9x^2 + 27x – 5x – 15, before I started the grouping process. The problem is grouped and the factors are found. (Yes, I teach grouping. It helps with this type of problem and it helps with factoring out a GCF. Don’t skip grouping. If you’d like to see more about how I teach factoring go to this Factoring Blog Post.)

Here’s a quick video explaining the same problem:

All students can factor! Believe it, teach it and recycle it!

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Take A Picture, It Will Last Longer And Be More Effective For Your Math Lesson

Real-life examples in math are super important, but it takes time to think of examples and to prepare a lesson using your examples. A quick way to make a lesson interesting and tied to a real-life situation is to take a picture then pose a question. This gets students to analyze details of a situation.

In the next few weeks, I will be talking to my Algebra students about arithmetic sequences and direct variation. I have a great blog post titled, “Examples of Real-Life Arithmetic Sequences.” Check it out if you’d like. I love all the pictures in that post, but I thought I’d take a new picture that I could pose a question to see what the students would say. Below is the question and picture. Feel free to use it yourself if you like it. 

(Yep, that’s my dishwasher in the background😂)

I’d give students a little time to think and jot their thoughts down. Next, I’d ask for feedback. Finally, my plan is to let them create a table using height of cups vs. number of cups for each situation. We will create equations and graphs and talk about the similarities and differences. Students will pay more attention to the details and take part in this activity. All the students will need is some grid paper and the picture which I will post on the board and in Canvas for them.

As a side note, I took this picture with my iPhone, then I used a free app called Layout from Instagram to create the collage. I used another free app called Typorama to add the question. Very simple and easy once you’ve done it a couple of times. I save all my photos in Google Photos which is easy to get to via phone or computer. 

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Get Your Math Students Engaged!

How is it going in your classroom? If it seems that your students are not paying attention and just not getting the concepts you are delivering, could it be that you are not engaging them? When school really gets going and you are super busy, it seems like we go into survival mode. The way we survive is lecturing because we really don’t have time to plan and be creative. I’m going to give you some ideas that turn a dull boring lesson into an engaging lesson without much prep.

Here are 5 Easy Ideas:

1) Get the dry erase boards out and dust them off! Kids love to draw on the boards, so give them equations to solve, equations to graph or shapes to draw. Maybe you had a worksheet planned. Don’t do it the traditional way, instead call out the problems and let them work them on the board then raise the board up to show you. You can make corrections and help kids that are struggling. You can have students show their partner and talk about which person may or may not be correct. Dry erase boards are a savior for me. I get them out anytime I feel like I have a boring lesson and it really spruces it up. 
2) Find a related Desmos lesson. Desmos is easy to use and can be something quick to search and find quick lessons or activities for your students. If you are teaching exponential functions soon, I have a good activity from Desmos that I created. I would say to do this with Algebra 2 rather than Algebra 1. It’s called “The Towers“. I love the Tower of Hanoi and I use it in my Exponential Functions Stations. 
3) Another quick way to gain interest in note taking is make the notes colorful or turn it into a graphic organizer. If you have 4 things the students need to know, then create a paper folding graphic where students write on the outside 4 flaps and they open to reveal answers, definitions or a diagram. 
Here’s two examples of using colored pencils or using a foldable:

4) Let the students partner up and go to a spot on the board or use poster paper. Ask them to write everything they know about a topic. I recently did this and the students did not realize how much they actually knew. I kept adding stuff and reminding them of a few things along the way. Before they knew it, they had a ton of concepts on the board. 
5) Turn the lecture into a game. One way is to make it a Bingo Game. Create a list of things you know you will be saying that day and put it on the board. The students will be given a blank bingo card and can write the words randomly into the boxes. As they hear you say the phrase or word, they cross off that box. If they bingo, you will take off a couple of problems on the homework to shorten the assignment. 

If you look up from a lecture and you have kids falling asleep or looking at their phones, you know you’ve got to do something to change the dynamics of the class. Try implementing one or two of these ideas in the next few weeks and let me know how it goes!

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Learning Loss in Math

Learning loss is evident this year. I’m sure you have noticed it too. How do you deal with it? We can either complain about it or we can do our best to address it.

When I coached basketball, we practiced fundamentals everyday. The kids could already dribble and shoot layups, but we still practiced these skills to keep them sharp. What would be wrong with doing this same thing in a math classroom? No, don’t bring a basketball into your classroom. All I’m saying is practice those math fundamentals. There will always be learning loss and students will struggle with certain concepts in math. We should plan for it every year! Here are a few ideas on how to deal with it. If you have some other ideas, please let me hear from you.

1) Plan for mini lessons on content that you have a feeling students will struggle with. 
2) Figure out which students are your star students and make them helpers. Let them tutor other students during class time. 
3) Use bell ringers for content students should have learned last year. (I have algebra bell ringers for Geometry students if you are interested.)
4) Add a problem or two to your worksheets with content from the previous year. 
5) Use dry erase boards to have students work problems, then show you quickly if they understand.
6) For fundamental work, do quick timed worksheets. Let’s say students do not know the order of operations. Give them 5 problems each day for a week. Have a set time and do not go beyond that.
7) Announce a tutoring session that covers a basic skill. You could say, “This Tuesday after school, I’m going to focus on one- and two-step equations.” 
8) Use those videos you made last year to reinforce the material this year. You may do an in-person lesson and then post a video so students can watch it if they need it. 
9) Give students flash cards to study. Let’s say some of the students are struggling with operations with integers. Give them some index cards and some problems with solutions. Put the problem on one side and the solution on the other. 
10) Sage and scribe is a great way to get students to work through some problems and see if they know what they are doing. My algebra students are struggling with combining like terms. I could have one person stand (this is the sage) beside the other person’s desk (the scribe) and talk the scribe through simplifying an expression. The scribe can only write and is not allowed to talk at first. This is great since both students are really having to concentrate on what they are doing. The two students switch roles after each problem. 

If I could add a #11, I think I would say to just make learning more fun. Get students excited about your class. Get them more involved. When I feel like I’m being boring, I pull out games. Students want to have fun. Here are a few games that I use in my classroom:

I hope you can take an idea or two and implement in the coming weeks. Let me know what worked and what did not work. This is going to be a tough year on math teachers. Don’t let anyone put too much pressure on you. You can only do so much. Try your best, but remember to take care of yourself.