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Geometric Subitizing: A Different Kind of Number Talk
The discussion cards posted on this site can be used to discuss counting and grouping strategies with students. This could be a great way to engage students using vocabulary around numbers and shapes.
The Story of Two Words and One Simple Tweak to Get Students Talking
Teacher Sarah Van Der Werf shares some observations about attending to vocabulary in math instruction and shares a strategy for helping students access unfamiliar vocabulary in math class.
Thinking Routines
A variety of instructional strategies that can be used with various levels of math instruction. Prepared by Minnesota teacher Joe Cole.
Tweet Me, Maybe
Max Ray-Reik of the Math Forum suggests using Twitter for personalized professional development in this 5-minute talk.
Visual Patterns
A gallery of visual patterns can be used with students exploring algebra. Fawn Nguyen, the teacher behind the site, also documents her students' discussion of the patterns at mathtalks.net. You can also read about how ABE teachers are using the patterns.
Rethinking How We See Mistakes
Math teacher Audrey McLaren writes about encouraging students to make and learn from mistakes. She recommends specific strategies for changing a classroom's culture around mistakes.
Progression of Early Number and Counting
What is an instructional progression that leads to conceptual understanding of counting and numbers? This 8-minute video lays out a progression for children learning these concepts, but ABE teachers of students with beginning numeracy will find useful ideas here.
Purposeful Numberless Word Problems
In these blog posts, Brian Bushart addresses types of word problems and a strategy for instruction.
Problem Strings
Problem Strings are an instructional strategy where the teacher facilitates students working through and thinking aloud about a set of math problems (for example: 5 x 6, then 5 x 60, and so on...) as a method for students to learn from each other about math strategies. The strategy offers a way to pack significant math learning into a short time in class.
Playing Uno: The “Combine Like Terms” Version
Instructions and printables for a "combine like terms" UNO game.
One Formula to Rule Them All
Before you teach another formula for area of a 2-D shape, check out the "applets" on this page. Teachers who do not have access to internet in their classroom can learn from the animations and do a similar demonstration with paper.
Math Visuals
Imagine that a math teacher made simple, attractive visuals to spark student discussion around counting and basic operations. Berkeley Everett did - and here it is!
Instructional Strategies for Counting
These three blog posts from an elementary math coach describe instructional strategies around basic counting that may be useful for some ABE teachers addressing very basic numeracy.
Introducing the Orangamallow
A quick reading about a quick strategy a teacher uses to make "like terms" meaningful to her students.
Let’s Laugh About Math
In this 11-minute video is Laila Nur's talk from ShadowCon 2015, where she suggests using humor to build students' relationship with math.
Linear Matching
A printable matching activity for matching graphs to equations.
Listen to Your Students
Description of video: "Teachers are busy—so busy we often don’t hear what students say. Sometimes we hear things that students don’t say. I’ll make a case for the importance of listening carefully to students of all ages. I’ll encourage you to make time to listen more carefully, and I’ll give you some simple strategies for doing it."
How much did the temperature drop? Absolute Value
Robert Kaplinsky describes the lesson this way: "This lesson uses a time lapse thermometer video as a context for discussing integer operations and absolute value. The video should provide some added meaning to the classic temperature drop problem."
If Graphing Linear Inequalities Is Aspirin, Then How Do You Create the Headache?
Brief blog post by Dan Meyer that addresses teaching students not just the procedure for how to graph linear inequalities, but providing the opportunity for them to consider why the conventional representation (graph) is an efficient way to go.
Ignite Videos – Math Forum
Ignite is a presentation format where each presenter speaks for 5 minutes. This site has some excellent talks from the Math Forum at Drexel.
New Resources
Story by Story (2008)
Story by Story was developed for Beginning ABE students needing (and wanting) systematic and contextual phonics instruction. However, it has been successfully used with many Beginning-Intermediate ESL students as well. This website provides 12 printable Story by Story lessons that each include the story text, a word study, and sentence-writing exercises.
Levels of Knowing Mathematics
This resource outlines the levels of knowing math proposed by Mahesh C. Sharma: intuitive, concrete/experiential, pictorial/representational, abstract, applications, and communication. The chart explains each level and gives an example of what that level would look like in the classroom.
Adult Diploma Forms
Find Standard Adult High School Diploma forms and checklists here.
Presenter Information
Get information about stipends, reimbursements, and other instructions for presenters.
MN ABE YouTube Channel
The MN ABE YouTube Channel is a free online PD resource that you can use to explore teaching techniques and classroom ideas in action! Find out more in this MN ABE Connect newsletter article.
Upcoming ABE Events
January 25, 2022
12:30 pm–1:15 pm
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MN Lunch & Learn: The Teacher’s Zone and the Admin Zone
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Registration Deadline: TUE. 1/25/22 In this session, we will cover the different functions of the Teacher’s Zone tile and the Admin Zone tile and what the differences are. NOTE: Attendees must have current login credentials for their BE account. Learn More
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January 25, 2022
6:30 pm–8:30 pm
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Core Training Module 4: Instructional Best Practices: Working with Materials
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Registration Deadline: TUE. 1/25/22 Participants learn about the types of materials that they may be working with, including prepared texts and realia. Participants also learn about the practice of explicit instruction, how to effectively give instructions, and suggestions for extending worksheets to maximize understanding and practice. Learn More
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January 26, 2022
2:00 pm–3:15 pm
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United States Citizenship & Immigration Services: Adult Citizenship Education Program & Naturalization Test
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Registration Deadline: TUE. 1/25/22 Join us for the following overviews: Overview of the USCIS Adult Citizenship Education Program Development Guide Overview of the U.S. Naturalization Test Overview of the Citizenship Resource Center Overview of the Interagency Strategy to Promote Naturalization Get more information about USCIS at… Learn More
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