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Sharing ideas and best practices to promote effective instruction in elementary math Inspired by educators around the world and the work we do at HappyNumbers.com

Helping Students Explain Their Thinking: Happy Numbers at Solvay Elementary

Helping Students Explain Their Thinking: Happy Numbers at Solvay Elementary

Solvay Elementary School serves kindergarten through fourth grade in the Solvay Union Free School District, next to Syracuse, New York. Before the school changed anything in its math program, teacher leader Maria Mercer observed how students worked in its classrooms. "A lot of times they just couldn't explain it," says Mercer.
Happy Numbers Team· 12 Nov
Building Fluency and Confidence in Grades 2–4: Happy Numbers at Wethersfield Elementary

Building Fluency and Confidence in Grades 2–4: Happy Numbers at Wethersfield Elementary

Wethersfield Elementary School in Kewanee, Illinois, part of Wethersfield Community Unit School District 230, serves about 300 students from pre-K through sixth grade. Its second, third, and fourth graders use Happy Numbers. “We were seeing a gap in students’ mathematical readiness and number sense skills,” says principal Kyle Dennison.
Happy Numbers Team· 12 Nov
Helping Students Believe They Can Do Math: Happy Numbers at Townville Elementary

Helping Students Believe They Can Do Math: Happy Numbers at Townville Elementary

Townville Elementary is a 4K–5 school in Anderson School District 4, in Townville, South Carolina. Like many schools, it serves students who arrive with a wide range of math abilities. "Teachers were working really hard to try to differentiate instruction to meet everybody's needs," says instructional coach Stephanie Dixon.
Happy Numbers Team· 12 Nov
Scaling Up What First-Grade Teachers Kept Using: Happy Numbers at Huron Academy

Scaling Up What First-Grade Teachers Kept Using: Happy Numbers at Huron Academy

Huron Academy, a public charter school in Clinton Township, Michigan, teaches students from preschool through eighth grade and is its own school district. The school has spent the last few years researching new math curricula because students were struggling with a basic understanding of math facts.
Happy Numbers Team· 12 Nov