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Halloween Math Messages

October 2022 👻 Boo!

HalloweenMath Messages October 2022 👻 Boo!
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Witching You a Happy Halloween!

💀 Why didn’t the skeleton go to the Halloween party?
– Because he had no-body to go with!


⚰️ How can you tell if a vampire has a cold?
– Because of the coffin!

🎃 Find more goofy Halloween jokes here

🦇🦇 🦇🦇 🦇

Table of Contents


  1. Instructional Focus: Conceptual Understanding
  2. Instructional Strategy: Interactive Number Lines
  3. Pacing Guide Updates
  4. Upcoming MPS Professional Learning
  5. Math Circles
  6. PD in Your PJS
  7. Savvas and Big Ideas Tips
  8. Candy Corn Math
  9. Stations
  10. Children's Literature Connections
  11. Winner! Winner!
  12. October Drawing
  13. Jenn's Contact Information

Mathematical Actions and Process of the Month: Conceptual Understanding

Develop Conceptual Understanding

Develop a Deep and Flexible Conceptual Understanding Demonstrate a deep and flexible conceptual understanding of mathematical concepts, operations, and relations while making mathematical and real-world connections. Students will develop an understanding of how and when to apply and use the mathematics they know to solve problems

Instructional Strategy of the Month

Interactive Number Lines

During in-person professional development we have been focusing on number sense and using number lines to help our students. Interactive VERTICAL number lines are a great way to get students engaged in the lesson and to develop conceptual understanding. Check out the video and article below about how to incorporate interactive number lines in your classroom.

Children's Literature and Manipulatives

I have added more resources in the K- 2nd math pacing guides for the second quarter. You will find suggested manipulatives, links to virtual manipulatives, songs, and children's literature read-aloud books connected to math lessons. You will find these under "Additional Resources" and "Teacher Planning Notes." I will continue to add these resources to the third and fourth quarters.


If you have book, activity, or manipulative ideas, please let me know so that I can include those in the pacing guides.

Upcoming MPS Professional Learning

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Vocab Strategies

October 25th 4:30 - 5:30

ASC - Boardroom


Students struggling with academic vocabulary? We will be looking at engaging ways to include more academic vocabulary into your lessons and how to incorporate anchor charts into your math class.


Register here

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Make-and-Take

Let’s make math FUN. We can learn number sense and math fluency through play. This session does require registration in order to purchase items for this Make-and-Take session. Registration will close on October 24th!


PK - 1st: Nov. 8th 4:30 - 5:30


2nd - 3rd: Nov. 15th 4:30 - 5:30


4th - 6th: Nov. 29th 4:30 - 5:30


Register before October 24th!

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Schedule a One-on-One Meeting

Need to talk about some specific going on in your class? Need help with EnVision or Big Ideas? Want to have a co-teacher for a lesson? Just need to chat? You can make an appointment for Jenn to pop by at your convenience.


Make an Appointment

Math Circles

Math Teachers' Circles

The Central Oklahoma Math Teachers' Circle welcomes math enthusiasts from across all grades to join us for dinner and some fun problem solving activities on Thursday, October 20, 2022, 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. on the University of Central Oklahoma campus in Edmond, OK.


Amy Schachle will be joining us and facilitating the evening’s activity. Amy comes to us from the University of Tulsa where she “strives to engage students with understanding the ‘why’ questions in math and in having fun with math.” She is currently a leader of the Tulsa Math Teachers’ Circle, has led sessions for the Tulsa Girls’ Math Circle, as well as professional development workshops for K-12 teachers.


The meeting will be held on the UCO campus in the Education Building Room 101 from 6 - 8 p.m. Dinner will be provided by McAlister’s Deli and will be served from 6 - 6:30 p.m.; then the fun begins!

Register via the link below by Monday, October 17, at 10:00 PM.


Central Oklahoma MTC Meeting Registration

PD in Your PJS

How to Set Up Your Math Classroom to Foster Engagement, Collaboration, and Problem Solving

In this edWebinar, you’ll learn:

  • What kinds of math tasks and problems should you be asking your students to work on
  • How to inspire students to construct their own understanding versus simply giving them algorithms
  • Questioning strategies to keep students thinking when they struggle
  • How your walls and classroom set up can help stimulate engagement while supporting your learning goals
  • How to arrange your classroom so that mathematical resources are readily accessible
  • How to arrange desks to stimulate collaborative mathematical investigations and discourse
  • How to establish a safe culture for sharing ideas and developing a growth mindset during the first few weeks of school



Link to Recording

Student Engagement in Mathematical Discourse: Let’s Give Them Something to Talk About

Teachers and administrators can enjoy the practical takeaways that can be applied in math classes with ease as well as the changes they notice in student interactions during learning. In this edWebinar, viewers:

  • Learn strategies to elicit quality mathematical conversations amongst students
  • Discover practical and easy-to-implement ideas for use in the classroom tomorrow
  • Discover new approaches to increase student interactions during learning



Link to Recording

Savvas and Big Ideas Tips

Creating Playlists in Savvas
Finding it hard to teach from Savvas because of ALL the resources and the scrolling? Try playlists to make life a little easier.
Dynamic Classroom - Big Ideas
Dynamic Classroom is a teacher presentation tool that you can use during your instruction.

Candy Corn Math

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Candy Corn Comparing

Use the shape of the candy corn to introduce or practice using

greater than and less than.


Early childhood: Compare numbers 0 -10 or 0 - 100

Middle Elementary: Compare larger numbers. You can use dominoes, cards, or dice to randomly create numbers or use the Random Number Generator

Upper Elementary: Compare fractions and decimals. The Random Number Generator will work for this too.

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Candy Corn Addition

We are still using the candy corn to represent greater than and less than, but now we are making inequalities.


Use dominos (or dice) to add. Compare the sums.

Use dominos (or dice) to subtract. Compare the difference.

Use dominos (or dice) to multiply. Compare the product.

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Candy Corn Measure & Estimate

Younger students need to practice with non-standard measurement. Why not try it with candy corn?


All grade levels need to practice with estimation? Try it with a bowl of candy corn!

Stations

Station Ideas

I love using stations in math! Stations let student practice previously learned skills in different ways while helping with fluency. It also allows you time to work with small groups. We are going to be highlighting station ideas in the Math Messages. Three are listed below. Doesn't match your grade level? Take the idea and alter with your grade-level content.
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I Have, Who Has Station

Normally "I Have, Who Has" is played with an entire class, but there's no reason we can't make it into a station.

To create this station:


  1. Create a START Stick with a problem to solve.
  2. On the next stick, first place the answer to the preceding problem and then write another problem.
  3. Continue until you have 10 -25 sticks. (Depending on the difficulty of the problems and level of students).
  4. On the last stick, write FINISH.
  5. Mix up the sticks and give to a team of students to solve.




You can create questions for K - 6th using this method.

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Break Apart 100 Chart

Getting acquainted with the 100 chart is one of the first steps to true number sense. In Break Apart 100 Chart, students have to put the 100 chart back together again.


To create this station:


  1. Print 100 charts. LINK HERE.
  2. Cut up 100 chart randomly. The bigger pieces for beginners and smaller pieces for more advanced.
  3. You can give a whole 100 chart to the student to allow them to match pieces if necessary.
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Multiply Squares

Remember the game you used to play as a kid when you got bored at restaurants? You'd make a grid of 100 (or so) dots on a napkin and each person would get to draw a line to connect 2 dots on his or her turn. When you drew a line that closed a square, you got to write your first initial in the square to show that you had "captured" it.


1. Download and print your FREE copy of the game board by clicking here: Multiplication Squares Game.

3. Grab two dice and a different colored marker for each player.

4. Roll both dice and multiply.

5. Find the product on the board and draw a line to connect two dots that form part of the square around that product.

6. When a player draws a line that closes a square, that player gets to color in the square with his/her marker. That player rolls the dice again and takes another turn.

6. When all of the dots have been connected, the player with the most squares colored in wins!

From: game4gains.com

Children's Books + Math

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This Plus That: Life's Little Equations (Pk - 1)

Whether it's "wishes + frosting = birthday" or "birds + buds = spring," each equation is a small delight. This Plus That proves that life's total experience is always greater than the sum of its parts.

This is a great way to introduce the concept of equations and problems that have more than two addends.


Read Aloud

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Mall Mania (2nd - 3rd)

It's "Mall Mania" Day at the Parkside Mall. To celebrate, the 100th shopper to enter the mall will win all kinds of cool gifts. Jonathon, Nicole, Gabby and Steven—members of the Wilson Elementary chess club—are adding up the number of shoppers to come through each of the mall's four doors, sharing the data via walkie-talkie.


This book addresses counting on up to 100.


Read Aloud


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Math Curse (4th - 6th)


Did you ever wake up to one of those days where everything is a problem? You have 10 things to do, but only 30 minutes until your bus leaves. Is there enough time? Then you start to wonder: Why does everything have to be such a problem? Why do 2 apples always have to be added to 5 oranges? Why do 4 kids always have to divide 12 marbles? Why can't you just keep 10 cookies without someone taking 3 away? Why? Because you're the victim of a Math Curse. That's why. But don't despair. This is one girl's story of how that curse can be broken.


Read Aloud

Winner of September's Drawing