How to Munch Through Your Math Standards

Since I started teaching kindergarten, I have been disappointed with the resources that have been provided to teach math. Most math resources lacked depth and were not truly 100 percent "standards-based." I rolled around the idea for quite some time about creating my own resources for kindergarten math units. This past summer, I decided to take the plunge and have not regretted my decision since! I have many sleepless nights refining activities and researching the teaching topics, but it has become a valuable asset in my classroom and others' who have used it!

Munch Through Math: Kinder Math Units for TEKS and CCSS

How do you munch through the math standards for kindergarten? You use MUNCH THROUGH MATH, of course! It is my new kindergarten math series! It provides students with hands-on, engaging practice while meeting the specificity of the standards. These units were primarily designed to meet the Texas Kindergarten Math TEKS (adopted 2012), but also are correlated to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The great thing about this series is that it can be used to supplement ANY math program that you use. It allows the teacher to use the materials flexibly, but gives guidance on how to teach the concepts. There are many great components that you will find in each Munch Through Math Unit.

Each unit provides the teacher with the academic vocabulary necessary to teach the math unit. You will notice that there are some words that are more difficult and are uncommon to use. In these instances, I have created anchor charts that illustrate these words to help you and your students master this academic vocabulary.

Interactive math notebooks are becoming more popular each year. Each unit comes with a few folds and flaps to use as you teach the vocabulary and/or concepts to your students. At a minimum, your students should be using their notebooks to anchor their learning each week. 

Several hands-on, engaging activities are included in Munch Through Math. They activities will need to be prepared in advance, but can be used in so many different settings in your classroom including: introducing and practicing concepts with the entire classroom, practicing and refining skills within guided math, small group intervention, or tutoring, or they can be placed within a center for independent or partner practice. 

Every unit contains a variety of printables* to use for modeling, guided practice, and independent practice. If you do not want to print class copies, you could put them in a dry erase sleeve or pocket for students to write on with a dry-erase marker! While I realize that many teachers and schools are moving away from the "worksheet" or "printable," it is essential in many classrooms. For some, a gradable item that can be used in student portfolios or as evidence of learning is a must. I often use these pages as supportive documentation when getting students assistance through the Response-to-Intervention process and to provide evidence of intervention to the committee.

The piece that I spend the most time creating in these units are the checkpoints. Checkpoints are the formative assessments that teachers use to monitor students' progress working through the standards being taught. In my classroom, I use these checkpoints for formative assessment and the district-mandated assessments for our summative data collection. If you do not have any type of final unit assessments, these can be used as such too! 

*Many of the printable pages are broken up and are sold separately, if you are just looking for a small supplement for your classroom. The academic vocabulary and checkpoints are exclusive to the Munch Through Math Units. 

I hope this inspires you to create engaging math sessions for your students to munch through the standards and if you would like to use my math units they are in my TpT store.

Check out these Munch Through Math Units AVAILABLE NOW!

           

How do you munch through math?