My Story, My Mission

Hey y'all!

I'm Elaina, better known in the social media world as The Classy Teacher.

I am blessed to get to teach my very favorite thing of all the things.

Seventh Grade Math!

But believe it or not, math as not always been my favorite.

See, I was never the best math student.  I made good grades but only because I could regurgitate what the teacher said.  I could follow some steps like no one else!  The problem was I never really understood the why or the how of math.  

Fast forward to college where I was busy getting my degree in middle childhood education with an emphasis on language arts and social studies.

I told myself and anyone who would listen that I planned to NEVER teach math or science.  They were not my thing.

Ha!

That one came back to bite me.

My first real teaching job was 7th and 8th grade Science.  I didn't want to apply.  My husband told me to do it because it was a good school.

I worked in that district for six years and loved every minute of it.

I learned a lot and grew as a teacher under the leadership of some of the best administration I have ever worked for.  She gave me chances to teach a variety of things and figure out who I was and where I belonged.  

In those six years I taught 7th and 8th grade Science as well as 7th grade Social Studies, English, and Math.  

Guess which two were my favorite?

Math and Science.

Never say never, right?

When I left that district I got a job teaching 5th and 6th grade Math.  

I've been teaching Math ever since and that was six years ago.

When my principal first approached me about teaching math I thought she was crazy.  I explained that my math was not my forte.  

Know what she told me?

"That's why you'll be great at it."

I know what it is like to sit in a math class and feel like the teacher is teaching in a foreign language.

 Because of that, I knew I wanted my classroom to look and feel differently than those math classrooms I was in as a student.  

I didn't want my students to dread coming to Math class.

I wanted Math to be fun and engaging.

And not scary!

I believe my students would tell you that I have accomplished that goal.

It's taken me time to learn.

It's taken more great administration believing in me.

Now, I'm constantly dreaming about and looking for new activities to get my students doing math and talking about it with their peers.  I've learned that middle school students love them some stations.

Stations are NOT just for elementary.

I've discovered my love for a good digital activity.

Scavenger Hunts are among my favorite ways to review!

People say "They don't teach math the same way they did when I was a kid."

I think that's a good thing.  I wish my teachers had made math more interactive.  It would have helped me be a better student.  

Math doesn't have to be scary.

It doesn't have to have a bad reputation.

Math can be fun!

Math can be a student's favorite class even when they might not think it's their best content area.

That's my mission.

Let's make math fun while deepening student understanding.

Let's encourage our students to be problem solvers.

Let's give our students opportunities to make mistakes and then grow from those mistakes.

Want to grab some engaging activities for you students?

Snag some freebies by clicking the picture below.