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Summer’s almost here! While you plan family time, beach trips and lemonade stands, don’t forget summer slide – the learning loss in kids in the summer that typically needs 2-3 months of re-teaching when they get back to school.

There are many ways to prevent summer slide. If you haven’t already, check out our infographic 5 Ways to Avoid Summer Slide below.

Also, Splash Math Summer Program 2015 is launched. Prevent math summer slide – sign up open for teachers and parents. Continue reading →

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Research shows that with no cultural influences, there are negligible gender differences in math learning, with girls doing as well as boys right through the school years. If anything, in the early years of education girls tend to do somewhat better.

There are ways to level this playing field even in the elementary years though, and many parents and teachers say Splash Math is a great tool to achieve this. Sister Monica Martin, one such teacher using Splash Math, shares more with us.

Sister Monica Martin, St. Theresa School, Kauai, HI. Questions done by her students in the six weeks of SpringBoard ~ 23,955!

Sr. Monica is an elementary school teacher at St.Theresa School, Kekaha, Kauai, Hawaii, the westernmost Catholic school in the United States. This private school is in a lower population rural area resulting in small class sizes, Sr. Monica’s 2nd/3rd grade combined class for instance consists of only 12 students, 7 of whom are girls. Her small class packs a punch though, currently placed #4 on the SpringBoard leaderboard!

You have a small class, with a predominance of girls. How does math learning play out in your class, and are there any differences in the way girls and boys learn and perform in math?

My experience has been that at the 2nd/3rd grade age, girls tend to do better when we use the traditional methods of math teaching and learning. By traditional I mean books, worksheets, and practice with straightforward question and answer formats. Boys are not intrinsically disadvantaged in any way in their ability to grasp concepts or practice, it is just that those methods are less conducive to engaging and motivating them. Continue reading →

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It’s the season for standardized tests and end-of-year assessments. Teachers and students are gearing up for these tests by finishing up curriculum and reviewing concepts. First Grade teacher Mrs. Julie DeFelice shares with us how she is using Splash Math, very effectively, to prepare her students for their end of year standardized test coming up soon. Her class is currently Number 1 on the SpringBoard K-2 leaderboard.

Mrs. Julie DeFelice, 1st Grade Teacher at Barksdale Elementary School, GA. Splash Math problems done by her students in one month ~ 64,000!

Mrs. DeFelice loves integrating technology in the classroom, in fact the focus of her Doctoral study is ‘creative application of technology in education’. She has in recent years received the Technology Teacher of the Year and Teacher of the Year awards at her school.

How are you preparing your students for assessments and standardized tests using Splash Math? A guide from you would be very useful for other interested teachers.

Splash Math is a very effective math learning program for my class, but it is the perfect test preparation tool as well – proving very useful for these last weeks of the school year.

In our school district, we are required to administer and test the students using the Georgia Department of Education (DOE) approved Student Learning Objectives (SLO) tests. SLOs are grade level learning objectives aligned to common core standards, and test for growth in student learning in the school year. Continue reading →

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District Five Schools of Spartanburg County, SC, has a formal program for gifted and talented students providing programs and services which match their unique characteristics and learning needs. Through this district level initiative, schools serve eligible students in grades 3 and above in a gifted and talented classroom model. In grades 3-6, the content focus areas of the program are math and ELA.

Emily Starkey, Teacher of 3rd Grade Gifted & Talented Classroom, Lyman Elementary School. Math Problems attempted on Splash Math in less than one month ~ 20,000!

Emily Starkey is the teacher of a 3rd grade gifted and talented classroom at one of the schools in the district, Lyman Elementary School, with a majority of her class of fourteen students being mathematically gifted. Splash Math was recommended to her recently by a colleague, and she has been using it regularly since then for math learning in her class. Her class is now even on the Splash Math SpringBoard contest leaderboard. We spoke to Ms. Starkey to learn about their Splash Math experience.

Do you teach the same state standards curriculum to your students, or is there a different math curriculum?

It is different. We are based on the state standards but we also follow the NAGC (National Association for Gifted Children) developed national standards. Typically there is greater depth in the learning, there are more skills covered, and the learning curve is steeper. We tend to cover more in a school year. Continue reading →

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There’s never been as much math talk in this 2nd grade classroom, ever. The students have changed from being unsure about math, to confident, interested and motivated students of the subject, having many “Aha” and “Eureka” math moments! All thanks to Splash Math, says their teacher Mrs. Joan Biese. We spoke with her to understand this change better.

Joan Biese, 2nd Grade Teacher, Rock Ledge Primary Center, WI. Questions answered by her students on Splash Math ~ 35,000 in four weeks!

When did you start using Splash Math and why?

I am a big believer in using education technology for teaching and learning in the classroom. I have been trying out several apps and games for math in my class, both free and paid. While we used those occasionally, I was not quite satisfied, for two reasons – first, the curriculum which didn’t always match what I was covering in class both in content and in level, and second, the lack of engagement and interest in my students. I was on the lookout for better solutions.

I came across Splash Math some time back. I liked what I saw, both in terms of the thorough common core based curriculum, and also the interactive game-like design and interface. It looked very promising and so I signed up for a classroom account. Right after that I read about the SpringBoard contest. I therefore decided to introduce Splash Math to my students and tell them about SpringBoard at the same time, to get more excited and motivated. Continue reading →

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Ms. Howell’s 3rd grade classroom is abuzz with (math) activity these days. Sixteen students, eight laptops, two iPads, an encouraging teacher, and a ton of math confidence: that’s what it took for this class to get to the top of the Splash Math SpringBoard Leaderboard at the end of Week One!

Ruth Howell, 3rd Grade Teacher, Lyman Elementary School, SC

Ms. Howell shared with Splash Math how this relatively small class of 16 students got right there to the top.

When did your class start using Splash Math?

Last week! In fact we started on Splash Math only on Tuesday, a day after your contest started.

We had been using a couple of other online math programs, not very enthusiastically as my students never liked those enough to stay on task and stick with the program, so when I heard about SpringBoard, I immediately got my class working on Splash Math. I was hoping this math program would engage them better, and if it did, my plan was to motivate them further with the contest. Continue reading →