Read about lesson plans, activities and more! (Math, STEM/STEAM, ELA, Fine Arts, etc….)
Candy Land Fun: Engaging Math Activities for Preschool and Beyond
Does your preschooler love to play Candy Land? I know mine does. Not only does he like playing the game, but he loves the board. The board sparks his imagination of a Candy Land world. I remember feeling the same way when I was a kid as Queen Frostine, Princess Lolly and Grandma Nutt came…
Teaching Middle School Geometry: High Quality ExampleS and Free Printables
Many teachers need to supplement their Geometry curriculum. Lessons created by Word and Numbers and Ohio’s instructional supports aligned with the van Hiele Model of Geometric Thinking can help. They offer effective strategies to enhance student learning in geometry. These strategies emphasize hands-on activities and real-world connections.
Using Ten Black Dots by Donald Crews to Decompose Numbers
The author, a licensed educator in Math and ELA, emphasizes integrating both subjects through engaging picture books like Donald Crews’s Ten Black Dots, which facilitates counting and addition. The lesson encourages imagination and communication. Educators are invited to subscribe for more creative math and STEM activities.
Using a Picture Book and Magnetic Tiles To Teach Integers
The activity inspired by “Elevator Magic” by Stuart J. Murphy engages early elementary and middle school students in teaching subtraction with whole numbers and integers. It combines storytelling with creativity, allowing students to draw an elevator journey while solving equations at each stop, enhancing their mathematical understanding through imaginative learning.
All I Want for Christmas is a Good STEM Lesson | The 12 Sleighs of Christmas
This post suggests using Sherri Duskey Rinker’s The Twelve Days of Christmas for engaging Christmas math and science lessons. It outlines the STEM Design Process, emphasizing the importance of creativity, communication, and iterative improvements in student projects. Incorporating picture books enhances engagement and connects literacy with STEM activities across all grade levels.
Counting Our Blessings: A Thanksgiving Math Activity
The post emphasizes the true meaning of Thanksgiving as a time for gratitude, suggesting a math activity centered on counting blessings across various grade levels. It links counting to mathematical concepts, ranging from basic counting in early grades to statistics and infinity in higher grades, encouraging reflection and service to others during the holiday.
Winnie the Pooh Day: Incorporating Literacy with STEM
The author recounts a delightful “Winnie-the-Pooh Day” with their son, featuring themed activities, STEM connections, and outdoor adventures, fostering imagination and quality time together.
Fun Mathematical Modeling Problems for Halloween
Are you looking for something fun to do with your students on Halloween that still hits the math standards? Why not give my Halloween Fermi Problems a try?Fermi Problems engage students in estimating challenging questions, enhancing problem-solving and critical thinking skills. They align with math standards, making them suitable for Halloween activities in classrooms.
Using Patterning to Explore Powers and Exponents | Free Math Lessons
Do your kids always confuse all the exponent rules? If so, then you need to use patterning to help students create understanding around exponents!This post offers free math lessons to clarify exponent rules, aimed at helping students understand positive, negative, and rational exponents while aligning with Common Core standards.
Using Understanding to Teach Linear Equations |Free Math Lessons
This content highlights free math lessons on graphiing linear functions available on WordandNumbers.com. These lessons use patterning to help students make predictions, and create their own rules highlighting the math practice standards.
Our 16 Favorite Picture Books about Giants
This is a summary of the 16 best books about Giants for toddlers and preschoolers. It features a wide variety of stories and picture books.
How to Talk To Students About Perseverance Using Monster Truck Math and John Cena’s Elbow Grease
The post discusses the importance of teaching perseverance to students, especially in mathematics. It emphasizes using picture books like “Elbow Grease” to illustrate concepts like gumption and resilience. The author encourages creating a classroom culture that values mistakes, offers engaging tasks, and promotes self-reflection to enhance students’ problem-solving skills.
Learn How to Overcome the Top 5 Problems in Problem Solving
The article outlines strategies for math teachers to alleviate student anxiety and foster engagement in problem-solving. Key methods include creating a positive classroom culture, utilizing picture books, encouraging mistakes as learning opportunities, and implementing scaffolded questioning. Engaging students with relatable tasks and using rubrics for assessment can enhance their mathematical experience.
Use Knuffle Bunny and Corduroy to Incorporate Literacy into your STEM Lesson
This lesson integrates early literacy with STEM concepts, using beloved picture books to engage students in the design process while exploring practical questions about everyday objects, like stuffed animals and washing machines.
Fostering Estimation Strategies Using The Best Mouse Cookie by Laura Numeroff
The content discusses using Laura Numeroff’s books, especially The Best Mouse Cookie, to teach Fermi Problems in math. These estimation problems engage students across grade levels, promoting critical thinking and problem-solving skills in mathematics.
Celebrate Square Root Day with Fun Math Activities
Square Root Day offers fun activities for students, including creating squares with tiles and reflecting on mathematical patterns. This lesson aligns with Grade 8 standards, promoting concepts like area and square roots while encouraging exploration through games, music, and food. Teachers can enhance learning with student worksheets and additional resources.
Increase Student Engagement by Using Picture Books to Launch the Notice & Wonder Routine
The article discusses how to address students’ skepticism about the importance of math by igniting their curiosity through the Notice and Wonder Routine. By encouraging students to pause, observe, and wonder, educators can enhance engagement and insight in math. Integrating picture books can further inspire creativity and imagination in learning.
What is Your Beautiful Question? |Reflections on A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger—Part 5.
What Is Your Question? What motivates you? What do you prioritize? What are your dreams or ambitions? What in the world are you passionate about? What bothers you about the world that we live in? What do you truly believe, and do you act on those beliefs? Do you have a nagging question or questions…
Using Ohio’s Model Curriculum To Teach Statistics and Probability
You are in the home stretch! Either you just had spring break or spring break is right around the corner. Testing is coming! But wait, you haven’t got to the Statistics and Probability standards yet, and it makes up a chunk of the state test. What are you going to do? Don’t worry! Check out…
What Would Jesus Ask? (W.W.J.A) | Reflections On A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger —Part 4
The post discusses the significance of questioning as demonstrated by Jesus. It highlights how Jesus asks questions to engage others, challenge faith, encourage self-reflection, and provoke thought. The author draws parallels between these questioning techniques and effective teaching strategies, emphasizing the role of questions in building relationships and fostering active participation in discussions.
How to Practically Create a Culture of Questioning? |A Reflection on A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger—Part 3
How has questioning has changed the world? Western civilization is built on the ideas put forth by the Greek philosophers (Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle) and Christianity. And both Jesus and the Greek philosophers are expert question-askers! If you want to impact your world, you need to develop the art of questioning. Are you convinced yet…
How Can I Ask an Impactful Question?|Reflections on A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger —Part 2
The post discusses the significance of questioning, inspired by Warren Berger’s book, A More Beautiful Question. It highlights how curiosity declines with age and the benefits of educational methods like Montessori that promote inquiry. The author encourages fostering questioning habits through practices and various questioning techniques to inspire personal and professional breakthroughs.
How Can a Question Be So Powerful?| Reflections on A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger–Part 1.
The post emphasizes the transformative power of questioning, inspired by Warren Berger’s book “A More Beautiful Question.” It examines how effective questioning enhances learning in education, impacts leadership, and facilitates positive change in personal lives. Additionally, it advocates for developing better questioning techniques to inspire deeper insights and collective understanding.
Numberblocks and Math Mondays: Making Math Fun for Toddlers
The post praises Numberblocks, a BBC math show, for its effective pedagogy and entertaining content for young children, particularly those aged 3-6. The author enjoys using the show as a bonding educational experience with their toddler, emphasizing the importance of early numeracy in academic success and advocating for structured learning like “Math Mondays.”
The Top 15 Truck Books For Toddlers
A mother shares her son’s passion for trucks, describing how it transformed her perspective. They enjoy various truck-themed books together, emphasizing the joy and creativity found in this obsession.
Zero and Infinity: Sparking Kids Imagination in Math Class
Many students find math unexciting due to its procedural nature, but exploring concepts like zero and infinity can reignite curiosity and wonder, potentially inspiring STEM careers. The author shares cross-curricular lesson plans from Pre-K to high school that align with Common Core standards, emphasizing creativity and holistic learning in math education.
Exploring Asimov’s ‘The End of Eternity’ in High School Curriculum |A Cross Curricular ELA & High School Statistics Lesson
The author recommends Isaac Asimov’s The End of Eternity for high school juniors and seniors, highlighting its engaging blend of sci-fi, mystery, and statistical concepts. The book serves as an excellent cross-curricular resource for math and English teachers, fostering discussions on infinity, ethics, and technology while providing a thought-provoking reading experience.
Ten Flashing Fireflies |A Cross-Curricular STEM Unit on Fireflies for Math, ELA, Science, and Music
This lesson plan for preschoolers and kindergartners creatively integrates math, ELA, science, and music using the theme of fireflies and lightning bugs. It includes activities like identifying fireflies on maps, counting exercises based on “Ten Flashing Fireflies,” and exploring firefly behavior, while promoting critical thinking about environmental issues like light pollution.
Pointillism and Density of Numbers | A Great STEAM Lesson for International Dot Day
International Dot Day on September 15, 2025, celebrates creativity, courage, and collaboration through a STEAM lesson focused on pointillism and mathematical concepts like rational numbers and density. The lesson, adaptable for grades 4-12, encourages artistic expression while exploring math standards via engaging activities involving dots, points, and color theory.
Improve Test Scores and Student Engagement by Starting Your Year Teaching Statistics
The content emphasizes the importance of statistical literacy for students, preparing them for a data-driven world. It discusses the GAISE model’s framework for teaching statistics, encouraging student engagement through real-world applications. Effective professional development for teachers is also highlighted, aiding in the effective instruction of statistics across various grade levels.