I’m not going to lie to you, this is the only part of a PD session that I actually use: new resources and activities.
There is something so exciting about going to real professional development, if you ever get the chance. Now, I’m not talking about a presentation from an administrator in your district during or some video training for you to watch on your own time with no reflection or follow up. It’s never the PBIS or RTI or assessment strategies.
I’m talking about an expert coming to your school and giving you a fresh perspective. The most valuable PD for me is always new ideas, activities, and resources that I can make my own and actually put to use in my classroom.
I want to spend two hours collaborating with my department and creating new lessons or units rather than watching four 30-minute video trainings that reiterate the same things I’m already doing in my classroom.
You already have so much on your plate and sitting through hours of professional development fluff is just not worth the time. And let’s be honest, most people don’t even finish these training sessions…
That’s why I’m sifting through all the fluff and just giving you the good stuff: resources you’ll actually use in your classroom.
In this blog post, I’ll be digging into how you can teach critical thinking in math class.
Resource Templates
Warm Ups & Exit Tickets
This toolkit includes 10 templates that can be used for warm ups or exit tickets. Each template has sentence starters that you can customize for any topic. Two blank templates and moveable pieces are also included to help you fully customize your warm ups and exit tickets.
Guided Notes
These guided notes templates will help you seamlessly integrate critical thinking questions into any of your lesson plans. Each version includes spaces for learning targets, example problems, and critical thinking prompts to naturally start discussions in your math classroom.
Math Journal Template
This template has two versions that can be used as full page journals or half pages that fit right into your students’ binders or notebooks. Version 1 has space for just a written response and version 2 has space for students to show their work and write a written response.
Solving Word Problems Graphic Organizer
This graphic organizer will help your students differentiate between the words and phrases used to describe different mathematical operations. You can use this as an introduction to an activity or small group review of word problems.
Test Corrections Template
This simple template makes test corrections a breeze and puts the accountability back on your students. They will explain where they made an error and what they should have done instead to get the correct answer.
E-Book
This ebook includes 40+ critical thinking questions that can be used with any of the templates in this toolkit. You can use them for warm ups, exit tickets, assessments, or add them to any of your current lessons.You’ll also get tips and tricks for the best ways to use these resources and templates in your math classroom.
Video Tutorials
The short video tutorials for each template will help you edit these resources and make them your own! Don’t worry…these videos are less than 30 minutes combined!
Final thoughts about teaching critical thinking in math class
Let’s take your classroom from this…
✅ At the end of each lesson, you have a line of students at your desk asking for help
✅ Your students are bored and uninterested in their work
✅ As soon as you assign a word problem, your students seem to give up
to this…
✅ You walk around your classroom and listen to the conversations your students are having about math.
✅ ALL of your students are participating in conversations and group work.
✅ Your students showcase their creativity and strengthen their problem solving skills every day.
