Mathterpieces

This was such a great last-week activity. I gave the books to the kids first thing Monday morning, and then gave them time throughout the week to find a comfy spot in the room and work on it. It was never graded, but on the last day of school students could share their favorite entries if they wanted. I copied the cover onto different colors of cardstock so that students could pick one that they liked. And I copied the pages onto regular copier paper as single-side only, but it could also be don

I have the kids add one of these reference pages to the front of their journals. With the intermediate grades, I used Problem-Solving Strategies; with the middle schoolers, I use Heuristics. Throughout the year, I challenge them with higher-level thinking activities and we talk about "what to do when you're stuck." These pages help guide them through that process.

These were designed to be cut to 8.5" x 8.5" squares. I printed them onto white cardstock, trimmed them to size, mounted them to coordinating colored cardstock, and then laminated them.

I have the kids add one of these reference pages to the front of their journals. With the intermediate grades, I used Problem-Solving Strategies; with the middle schoolers, I use Heuristics. Throughout the year, I challenge them with higher-level thinking activities and we talk about "what to do when you're stuck." These pages help guide them through that process.