Being able to recite math facts quickly is critical for students to be successful in math at any grade. Especially for students who struggle with math, it is important that they become automatic with their math facts so that they can spend their efforts solving the more complex problems. Helping students become fluent in their math facts is one of the most powerful tools a teacher can give his or her student. Sarah Powell from UT demonstrates a variety of ways to include fluency practice into any math classroom, using everyday items that teachers likely already have in the classroom.

Many students need to see math presented in a lot of different ways. Using a variety drawings and manipulatives can often help students understand complex and abstract math concepts. The CRA (Concrete-Representational-Abstract) model, as known as multiple representations, can be a powerful tool to help students who are struggling to understand what a math concept really means. In this video, Sarah Powell from UT demonstrates three different ways to represent numbers and math concepts, providing a guide to using multiple representations in your own classroom

Explicit instruction is a critical feature in teaching students who struggle with math. By walking through exactly what you want a student to know and allowing them time to practice, using explicit instruction in your classroom can help you reach students who may otherwise struggle. In this video, Sarah Powell from UT demonstrates how to use explicit instruction in the classroom.

Most people don’t realize it, but the words that we use to teach a concept have a huge impact upon students learning. Math is an especially tricky area where teachers must be precise and use the right word or they could confuse their students. Sarah Powell examines both the challenges of using proper mathematical language as well as strategies and examples to help teachers use precise and specific language to help students learn math.