Q. How do I subscribe for new posts?

Subscribing is easy – and you’ll be among the first to know when new materials are posted!  To subscribe to the email list, visit this page and enter your email address.

Q. Where do I click to download materials?

To download materials, look for the blue links throughout the blog. To keep it simple, the links are generally the name of the file.

Q. How do I use PowerPoint materials in Google Slides?

Nearly everything on my blog will work in both PowerPoint and Google Slides. If you are using Google Slides, then after you download the file, simply save it into your google drive. From inside google drive you can then open the file and play it with google slides. In 2018, I began using only animations that work in both PowerPoint and Google slides. There are some older materials, like The Animated Multiplication Table and The Maze Hundreds chart, that have advanced animations that do not work in Google Slides, but nearly everything else works perfectly. Simply save it into your google drive, open it with google slides, and then click present.

Q. How can I make the reveal work?

The Reveal is one of the most important parts of Esti-Mysteries. There is a single answer beneath the reveal box – and you’ll want to show it to your class at the end of the Esti-Mystery. To make sure that it shows, be sure you are playing the presentation. To play the presentation, if you are using PowerPoint, click on “Slide Show” then “From Current Slide.” If you are using Google Slides, click on “view” then “present.”

Q. How do I get the Esti-Mystery clues to show one at a time?

Esti-Mysteries usually have 4 or 5 clues. You will want those clues to appear one at a time – instead of all at once – so your students can think carefully about each one. This also adds to the fun. If you open the slide and see all 5 clues at the same time, then you are on the right slide, but the slide show isn’t playing yet. Simply play the slide show to make it work. To play the presentation, if you are using PowerPoint, click on “Slide Show” then “From Current Slide.” If you are using Google Slides, click on “view” then “present.” You’ll quickly see how the clues will each appear one at a time when you click.

Q. You must have a LOT of stuff!

I hear this exclamation often! Yes, I am constantly gathering new materials for Esti-Mysteries and Estimation Clipboards. I also recycle the materials throughout various materials. A keen eye will sometimes spot something from an Esti-Mystery making a reappearance in an Estimation Clipboard that appears at a different time. I am running out of storage space, but my heart is full of math joy!

Q. How do you have time to do all of this?

I might just write a short book about that some day! I do most of my work in large blocks of time, and I usually start very early on Saturday mornings. A few times each year, I’ll take a writing retreat to create as many materials as I can.

Q. Can I search by grade level?

Most of the materials are labeled by grade bands rather than levels. That’s because concepts like estimation do not fit in only some grade levels. To help identify grade level bands most materials, such as Esti-Mysteries, have recommended grade level bands in the blog.

Q. You have a multiplication course on YouTube and multiplication workbook. Are they connected?

No. They are two different resources.  I wrote the multiplication course on YouTube in the summer of 2020 when students had just had a school year interrupted. The multiplication course on YouTube is a set of 156 videos, sorted into chapters that students and teachers can watch to learn about multiplication. It’s completely free, and it’s available to everyone.  You can find it on my YouTube channel here.

Separately – the consumable multiplication workbook I wrote, titled “The Multiplication Advantage” is unrelated to the YouTube course. The Multiplication Advantage is a paperback consumable book – meant for each student to have their own copy – that is 150 days of ready-to-use multiplication practice experiences embedded within routines, including self-checking feedback keys. You can learn more about it here.