Subtraction Strategies Still Lacking?

Fellow teachers- did you ever have a student do 7 - 6 using their fingers? Even worse, have you ever seen a student do 8 - 8 on their fingers? I have and all I could think was, OUCH!
Fourth and fifth grade teachers- do you ever see your students, when executing a long division problem, borrow when subtracting 12 - 7? And then after the borrowing (or trading, or whatever you call it in your area), they still have 12 - 7 and they don't even notice that they got nowhere with all of that work?  It pains me every time!
I believe the problem in both of these situations is that students have no number sense. They are not looking at and thinking about the quantities of what they are subtracting and considering what strategy to use on the numbers involved.
Anchor charts can help as well as time and attention. Though I am sure you are over and done with teaching subtraction strategies this late in the year, as an interventionist, I still have to! And if fluency is suffering maybe you can't not hit this again!
Check out the product I made for help in these situations. It is a mega-pack of 10 subtraction strategy mini-lesson mini-posters, practice, flashcards, assessments, and even some games. There is a student interview sheet to see what strategies students need or are using, as well as a student data notebook graph.
If your district has done away with dreaded timed tests, these shorter fluency practice pages can be timed for how long students take to complete, with students trying to beat their previous score. If your district still mandates timed tests (like mine!) these will bridge the gap between the impossible and the possible with gradually increasing rigor.
I hope you find it useful. Stay tuned for posts/pics of the launch in my classroom.
See it in my TPT store here>>http://bit.ly/1OGaDO3
Happy subtracting!

Long Division Woes No More!

Long division is many a teacher's nemesis. As crazy as it sounds, I do love teaching long division. It stresses students out to no end. It stresses teachers out too- you can tell when a teacher is on long division- that look on their face as you pass them in the hall tells all! But that moment when a student finally gets it- there is nothing better! I created an organizer several years ago to help in the release of the responsibility from the teacher telling students the steps, to the students taking charge. I have used it for years and have not changed it. Watch the video on my Facebook page here>> http://on.fb.me/1SsZS9l to see my tier III intervention students using the organizer on day 2 of long division. 

Grab the organizer here for 99 cents! >> http://bit.ly/1oEAktj It works!

The Enrichment Project Continues

So, what has happened to the Enrichment Project? It is nearly dead in the water- BOO TO ME! As I reflect on my goal to spend 5 minutes a day with a high student in need of enrichment (my district has cut all elementary advanced or accelerated programming leaving it up to the teacher to differentiate and enrich high students), I can think of several reasons why this project is about dead.
First, it is all about the relationships. I started out the project reaching out to fifth, fourth and third graders that I knew were at or above level and who I thought might want to do extra math on top of the regular classroom curriculum and homework. I was hoping that this project would catch on like a forest fire and I'd have a line of kids waiting for my half-page extra math sheets. I think it is called delusions of grandeur. Anyway, I was wrong about that but I do have two students in the project. What now?