2025 MidSchoolMath National Conference

How do you start class? Homework review? A “Do Now” question? Does this really actively engage the thinking minds of your students or does it instead just fit into a section of the lesson plan template?

This session will explain why the traditional "Do Now" start to class may not be the best way to get the best out of your students! You'll gain a better understanding of cognitive engagement tools and strategies, and leave with new techniques for moving your students from Do Now to Think Now!!

Learn how to use unexpected information with students to get them talking about mathematics! This engagement strategy can be used in a variety of settings and spaces as a way to spark students' interest and to get them engaged in mathematics discourse with one another.

During this session, we will look at sources of unexpected information (including expired math rules) to use with students. We will also discuss the best times and ways during instruction to introduce the unexpected information. You'll even have the opportunity to practice teaching students to engage in “friendly controversy”!

Join this interactive workshop designed to enhance math literacy in secondary math classrooms! You'll explore powerful strategies like Number Talks and Novel Ideas, which encourage students to verbalize their reasoning and deepen math understanding. Discover how Interactive Problem-Solving Guides can help students organize their thinking and work through complex problems collaboratively, while Debate Math fosters critical thinking through structured argumentation on mathematical concepts.

Through hands-on activities, collaborative discussions, and practical examples, you'll learn how to integrate these literacy-focused strategies into your lessons to support students’ mathematical learning journeys. By the end of the session, you'll leave with new approaches to cultivate deeper mathematical understanding, enhance student engagement, and improve achievement in your secondary math classrooms.

Note: BYOD: Please bring a device such as a Chromebook or laptop to this session.

During this session, we'll explore how important vocabulary is for any mathematics lesson, but especially for laying the foundation for algebraic exploration. The formula for success in algebra is often said to be solid number sense. However, this foundation is well structured around a rich and deep understanding of mathematics vocabulary.

Using four Mathematical Language Routine strategies, we'll discuss how we can engage our students in mathematical discourse and discourse and empower all students with the strength of literacy in the language of mathematics, to make algebra accessible for all.

We know that our students learn far more wrestling with our questions than listening to our lectures!

This fast-paced, example-laden discussion will model a range of questioning techniques that foster student discourse.

The session will address one essential element in meaningful mathematics: Mathematical Language Routines (MLRs) that help not just the English language learners, but any students who can benefit from a scaffold to understand and connect with mathematics.

You'll have the opportunity to learn about the 8 different MLRs in mathematics, while deep diving into a few, seeing the impact of these MLRs on math tasks. hose already familiar with using MLRs in the classroom, will have the opportunity to share and interact with others, and learn from each other.

You'll leave with an understanding of MLRs, plus templates and resources you can begin using with your students immediately!

Stories activate multiple areas of the brain, including the visual processing centers, emotion, and motor cortexes. This makes the experience more immersive and memorable. However, what if our students struggle to access the story? In this session, we'll share and explore strategies for sheltering stories to allow this powerful experience for all of our students. You'll learn how to enhance your teaching with specific language structures and routines to unlock the power of a sheltered story, so that not only will students engage in Math in a deep way, but they will be able to connect their own stories to the context of the classroom!

During this session, you'll engage in a story as a student, engaging in sheltered instruction strategies that will not only model the effectiveness of this important practice, but to create a lasting experience you can draw upon when planning Math lessons. The story excerpt “Salvador Late or Early” by Sandra Cisneros will prompt educators to examine themes, such as equity, trauma and the student perspective. Teachers will examine bias as we change aspects of the story to reflect new meaning. We will discuss word choice and word meaning as we connect the story to teaching. The team will identify barriers to student’s accessing the story and the power of a classroom discussion to foster understanding.

Join us for an engaging and interactive session focused on research-informed strategies to support multilingual students in their mathematical learning journey—by getting miles on the tongue! As Jen York-Barr states, “The person who is doing the talking is doing the learning.”

This session will explore strategies to increase student engagement and scaffold mathematical discourse, while considering the unique way mathematical vocabulary develops. You'll have the opportunity to collaborate in discourse routines, examine current research on math vocabulary instruction, and learn lesson design principles that support all students in developing a deep understanding of mathematics. This session will also demonstrate how to transform traditional vocabulary practices—such as the copy-definition format—into a dynamic, student-centered learning environment.

Let’s build student agency with collaborative, structured oral routines and card sorts to help students get miles of math language on the tongue!

Integrating writing in the math classroom can deepen the learning for all students. In this session, we'll look at ways to creatively integrate writing, first starting with low-risk topics and  then (over time) moving into math tasks that push students to reflect and connect their math knowledge to the new learning

You'll have the opportunity to participate in introductory writing tasks, then move into the creation of larger tasks that require deeper mathematical connections including reflective writing. Leave with handouts and the knowledge needed to implement academic writing to support math knowledge with your students.