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We expect our students to use higher level thinking skills, but too often we don’t explain to them what that means. Words such as “analyze” and “interpret” can sound a bit daunting. However, if we take time to show students how easy these tasks really are, they will find it much easier to use them throughout the school year.

1. Analyze: separate a whole into its component parts

Analyzing material asks students to break down information into pieces in order to better understand the overall meaning. To show them the importance of understanding the parts to explain the whole, take apart a spring loaded pen and ask them the purpose of each of the components in making the pen write properly. Then, have them summarize each stanza of poem and use them to analyze the meaning of the poem as whole or ask a series of questions to analyze an informational text.

2. Interpret: to explain or tell the meaning of

Bringing out the true meaning of a resource entails a deeper explanation than the definition indicates. If a student is asked to interpret a map of the Atlantic Slave Trade, he or she may simply explain that it is a map showing the Atlantic Ocean and four continents. But a true interpretation of that map would connect each continent’s role in the trade.

3. Describe: discourse intended to give a mental image of something experienced

Description is not typically considered a higher level thinking skill, but the ability to use detail properly is lacking in many students. Giving a proper mental image, as the definition suggests, requires descriptors related to emotions, sights, sounds, and smells, as well as the prudent use of adjectives. Have your students describe the school cafeteria’s ambiance and food quality and watch the description flow. Ask them to describe the Invasion of Normandy scene from Saving Private Ryan. Then have them describe a print document. The skill of description can be honed, but they have to see the simplicity in it first.

4. Infer: to derive as a conclusion from facts or premises

Students often miss context clues in a reading and get bogged down in minutiae unimportant to comprehending the document. I sometimes use children’s books (my favorite is “It looked Like Spilt Milk” by Charles G. Shaw) as a way to show how you can build an educated guess about what you are reading without having all of the information that you think you need to fully understand it. Hand out a written prelude to an important historical event and ask what do you think happens next and why so they not only make an inference but explain what facts led them to that conclusion.

5. Evaluate: to determine the significance, worth, or condition of

In their real lives, students deal very much in a black and white world, but academically they love to hedge their bets. If asked to evaluate something, students will inevitably ask, “Can I say it was good AND bad?” Taking a position is a difficult proposition for them, mostly because they fear being wrong or not having enough to say about a topic. But once they understand the simple tenets of critical thinking explained above, opinions should be firm and explanations should be lengthy. Always begin with a simple evaluation that has greater weight in their private lives. For example, you could evaluate the social importance of Facebook in the lives of teens.

The best part about spending valuable class time teaching higher order thinking skills is that they will always be a part of your lessons throughout the year. You teach the skills in September, and you reinforce them every day until June. They will be better students for it, and you may even enjoy reading their work!

For more information about essential skills, check out our social studies lessons which cover the historical thinking skills of contextualization, corroboration, multiple perspectives, and source reliability.

HelpTeaching.com offers an extensive collection of math images along with free printable and Common Core aligned worksheets using them. Recent additions to our database of images include decimal grids, digital clocks, rulers, inequalities, box plots and histograms.

These build upon the wide selection of math graphics on HelpTeaching.com, including images for:
Arithmetic – Pictographs, Fractions, Base Ten Blocks

Measurement – Clocks, Money, Protractors, Rulers, Thermometers, Statistics and Probability

Algebra – Lines, Tiles, Graphs and Functions

Geometry – 3-D Shapes, Angles, Protractors, Circles, Polygons, Triangles, Nets, Area, Perimeter, and Volume, Symmetry and Transformations

To find questions already created that use math images, view our Questions with Images page to browse through each category.  Be sure to look for the newest questions featuring clocks, inequalities, and decimals.

When creating math questions and tests with images, remember that they can:

• Have more than one image (Place Value),
• Include answers choices with images (Area),
• Be used as activities (Nets – Foldable Cube),
• Use groups to ask several questions about one image.

Parents with young children and early education teachers will enjoy our free, number coloring worksheets and hands-on clip-cards featuring images of shapes, colors, and numbers.

Help Teaching subscribers can use all our existing questions with images or create their own questions using our extensive image library. In addition, subscribers may upload their own custom images to use in questions and worksheets.

Visit HelpTeaching.com to browse our collections of math worksheets and math lessons or create questions and worksheets that meet your teaching needs.

Related Topics:
How to Write Higher-Order Math Questions
How To Use Questions with Images
How to Format Math Equations
How to Customize Your Tests Created on HelpTeaching.com
How to Find Questions on HelpTeaching.com
How to Write Good Test Questions

As educators, we expect our students to learn and apply math concepts using higher-order thinking skills that go beyond rote learning. With the adoption of the Common Core Math Standards, many of us must do just that, by focusing more in-depth on fewer math concepts. However, writing math problems that require higher-order strategies can be almost as difficult as solving them.

To get started, try writing a lower-level math problem then apply one or more of the following techniques:

Tips for Writing Higher-Order Math Problems

•  Have students determine and extrapolate a mathematical process or pattern and apply it to an unfamiliar problem or scenario
•  Ask students to identify and evaluate missing or incorrect information
•  Challenge students to solve one problem using multiple methods
•  Consider asking, “Given ____, what would happen if ____ changed?” questions
•  Give an answer and a mathematical concept, have students write their own questions or equations that produce the given answer
•  Ask students to justify their solutions or identify and justify the “best” or “most correct” solution from a selection of plausible choices
•  Write problems that ask for connections between more than one set of information, this could include charts, tables, equations, graphics, and data sets
•  Watch that answers for multiple-choice questions are logical and that the correct choice is not structurally different from the incorrect answers
•  If you are having difficulty writing a problem, start by constructing questions that incorporate these higher-order key words and concepts: analyze, justify, explain, apply, interpret, compare, estimate, predict, prove, formulate, modify

Consider the Common Core Math Standard 7.G.4

Know the formulas for the area and circumference of a circle and use them to solve problems; give an informal derivation of the relationship between the circumference and area of a circle.

A lower-order question for this standard could be:

What is the area of a circle with a radius of 5?
a) 5π
b) 10π
c) 25π
d) 100π

As presented, this question strictly tests student knowledge and application of the required formula. Instead, consider structuring the question using a “real-life” scenario that requires multiple steps to solve:

Official tournament play of Ringer marbles requires a circular game ring with a diameter of 10 feet. Alexis needs to construct multiple rings for a tournament using rope to mark the circumference of each ring. If she has 100 feet of rope, what is the maximum number of rings Alexis can make?
a) 2
b) 3
c) 4
d) 5

Finally, try constructing an open-response question that requires students analyze and evaluate the information in a non-routine manner:

Jackson explains to his classmate that doubling the circumference of a circle results in the doubling of the circle’s area. Is Jackson correct? Use the formulas for area and circumference to justify your answer.  

This problem still satisfies skills posed in standard 7.G.4, however it now requires students not only demonstrate knowledge and application of the formulas, but also analyze the relationship between them.

Writing higher-order problems takes time, but ideally, the additional time will help students further develop the critical-thinking skills we strive to nurture as educators.

For more examples of higher-order math questions, view these questions created by HelpTeaching.com members:

Example 1:  Problem Solving Strategies
Example 2:  Fractions
Example 3:  Logical Thinking
Example 4:  Area
Example 5:  Exponents
Example 6:  Ratios

Visit HelpTeaching.com to browse our collections of math worksheets and math lessons or create questions and worksheets that meet your teaching needs.

Related Topics:
Using Math Images on HelpTeaching.com
How To Use Questions with Images
How to Format Math Equations
How to Customize Your Tests Created on HelpTeaching.com
How to Find Questions on HelpTeaching.com
How to Write Good Test Questions

Bringing the Common Core State Standards for ELA into the classroom may seem like a challenge. With the new shifts in ELA instruction and a wealth of standards, it’s hard to know where to begin. While they look intimidating, the Common Core ELA standards simply promote a comprehensive approach to ELA, focusing on the skills students need to be ready for college and their future careers. Keeping this focus in mind and incorporating a few key elements can make teaching the Common Core ELA standards much easier.

#1 Introduce Informational Texts

One of the biggest elements of the Common Core ELA standards is the focus on informational texts. While literature still plays a key role, kids need to learn to read texts with more technical vocabulary, analyze arguments, and pay attention to key text features such as charts and tables. When reading these informational texts, kids can also focus on key reading strategies, such as analyzing cause and effect relationships, finding the main idea, and comparing and contrasting ideas within and between texts.

#2 Introduce New Formats

Along with introducing informational texts, teachers should introduce new text formats. This includes showing kids the movie version of a book they’re reading or even using movies as a teaching tool. It also includes incorporating newspapers, advertisements, and other text types to help kids learn in different ways. Websites such as LearnZillion provide videos to help students learn and teachers can also search for interactive websites on the subjects they want to teach to help students see the information in new ways.

#3 Bring in Modern Texts

While teachers need to bring in new text formats, they also need to move to teaching more modern texts. The Common Core has a place for teaching traditional literature, but kids also need to see how writing has changed over time and read texts that deal with more current issues. This includes some of the latest children’s books and young adult literature. To find books, teachers can look to resources such YALSA’s book awards and selected book lists and the latest Caldecott and Newberry Medal winners.

#4 Compare Texts

As students read a variety of texts, teachers should encourage kids to read texts with similar themes or topics, both literary and informational texts. They can then compare and contrast how those texts deal with their specific themes and topics. At lower grade levels, teachers can take a traditional fairy tale and have kids compare and contrast different versions. At higher grade levels, teachers can introduce two passages on the same topic and have kids compare and contrast the point of view or author’s approach to the topic.

#5 Connect to Other Subjects

In the ELA classroom, teachers should also pay attention to what kids are learning in other areas. By connecting other subjects to ELA, kids can start to see the importance reading and writing play in nearly all subject areas. They can also start to develop the skills to help them read and analyze subject-specific texts, thereby improving their performance. Many of Help Teaching’s reading strategy worksheets focus on subjects such as science and social studies, but teachers should not limit themselves to traditional reading passages or worksheets. They can also bring in charts and tables and take the time to review them with kids or even solve a set of math word problems, focusing on helping kids recognize the vocabulary they’ll find in traditional problems.

#6 Focus on Vocabulary

In fact, the Common Core ELA standards place a greater emphasis on vocabulary, especially domain-specific vocabulary than most previous ELA standards. While teachers may still want to incorporate spelling and vocabulary tests into the curriculum, the words they choose should tie directly to the texts kids are reading or the subjects they are talking about. Teachers can find a wealth of vocabulary words related to science, social studies, math, and other key subjects in Help Teaching’s collection of vocabulary questions and use those questions to create their own vocabulary worksheets for students or get started with some of Help Teaching’s subject-specific free vocabulary worksheets.

#7 Change the Way You Teach Grammar

The way teachers teach grammar also has to change. Instead of simply diagramming sentences and filling in the blank, kids should move to analyzing how certain elements of grammar are used within a text and to actually putting those elements of grammar to use in their own writing. At the younger grade levels, this will still include a lot of simple grammar activities, but at higher grade levels, grammar instruction should be more complex. For example, instead of simply identifying adjectives, kids can analyze the degrees of meaning in adjectives and determine whether the correct word was used.

#8 Encourage Analysis

In everything they do, teachers should encourage analysis. This includes analyzing the author’s word choice and determining how the words help shape the meaning of a texts. It includes comparing and contrasting within texts, making inferences and drawing conclusions as they read texts, and determining the main idea and theme of a text. Instead of simply saying “what does this say?” kids should be asking “how does it say it?” “why does it say it that way?” and “how does this compare to or differ from other things I’ve read and heard?”

#9 Conduct Research

As kids start to analyze and ask questions about texts, they start to come up with ideas for mini research projects. Instead of providing kids with the answers, teachers should encourage kids to look the answers up themselves. As they conduct research, kids will learn to read a variety of different texts and learn to make meaning from those texts.

#10 Get Kids to Write

After conducting research, kids can write about what they’ve learned. They can also write essays, short stories, poems, and other traditional texts. However, the Common Core ELA standards encourage kids to write more than just the traditional types of texts. They should write in journals and write as they answer open-ended questions on exams. They should write letters, speeches, advertisements, experiment summaries, and a wide variety of texts that help them get used to different types of writing and express their thinking using the written word.

When teachers incorporate these 10 different elements, the Common Core ELA Standards will become less intimidating for both kids and teachers. Kids will also get the opportunity to think more critically about what they’re reading and gain skills to help them in college and their future careers. Many of Help Teaching’s ELA worksheets support the Common Core State Standards, but we know there are other resources out there as well. What are some of your favorite resources or strategies to help bring some of the elements above into the classroom?

Math is an inherently visual subject. Would you ask a first grade student to describe the properties of a triangle, but not allow her to draw one? Test a geometry student’s understanding of the relationship between parallel lines and transversals, but provide no visual model for the question? Ask an algebra student to solve a quadratic equation, but never have him plot one on a graph? Math questions with graphics allow students to comprehend mathematical concepts more quickly and more completely than those without images.

Help Teaching maintains a database of hundreds of graphics that directly support Common Core math standards. So whether you are introducing kindergartners to counting or high school students to the Law of Sines, here are some suggestions on how to incorporate images into your standards aligned math questions or worksheets.

	Visual Fraction Models support a range of grade one to six standards in the Geometry, Numbers & Operations – Fractions, and Number System domains. Students can develop an understanding of equal shares and fraction equivalence by comparing shaded models while older students can use models to hone critical thinking skills by solving real world problems.
	Base Ten Blocks provide a visual representation of place value and support Number & Operations in Base Ten domain standards for kindergarten through grade five. Base ten blocks can be used to represent ones, tens, hundreds, and thousands and build up to illustrating multi-digit arithmetic. Combine blocks with pictographs and their use can be extended to include Counting & Cardinality standards by having students use them to learn number names and count sequences.
	Grids and Graphs are mathematical staples when it comes to problem solving, so it comes as no surprise that the coordinate plane is mentioned across domains for middle and high school Common Core standards. For example, fifth graders can use Cartesian planes to learn to graph and locate coordinate pairs, directly supporting geometry standards while high school algebra students are expected to create and graph equations in two or more variables.
	Circle and Polygon diagrams effectively illustrate geometry concepts across all grade levels. Beginning with learning to name and identify attributes of shapes in kindergarten to understanding circle terminology in high-school geometry, the inclusion of shape graphics in geometry questions is essential to improving student comprehension of Common Core standards.
	Angle images directly support a wide range of geometry standards. Elementary students are expected to draw, recognize, and classify angles, while middle school students extend and apply this knowledge to describe geometric figures based upon their properties and solve multi-step problems to determine the measurement of an unknown angle. At the high school level, geometry students benefit from graphics to prove theorems like  vertical angles are congruent.

These are just a few examples of the Help Teaching images available that support Common Core math standards. View our complete selection of images or browse our collection of questions featuring graphics. Have suggestions for new math additions? Post your comments below or send us a note.

Read “How to Write Higher-Order Math Questions” and “How to Use Questions with Images” for more tips on creating quality, standards aligned math content.

Maps are ubiquitous in the social studies classroom, but they aren’t always used to their full capabilities. Social Studies teachers often fall into the trap of simply using maps when it’s obvious, failing to remember how maps can be used for a variety of skill building assignments and to meet various common core standards. Maps can be used to improve so many academic areas that they can be used almost every day to improve a host of skills. Some examples of the benefits of maps are:

	A map of the Silk Road can lead to a research assignment that uses graphic organizers. This allows the students to see how a map is a vessel for information, while allowing them to take ownership of that information by   researching the parts they find most interesting.
	A map showing the spread of the Black Death can help children improve their reading comprehension by properly using the symbols in the key, or it can be a used for chronological tracing of the path of the disease. Either way, the students see that a map is not just a collection of cities; a map tells a variety of stories within the confines of small area.
	A map of Latin America can help students understand where countries are by placing visual representation of the places they learn about. This may be the most common use of a map, but it’s still very effective in showing students where the events that they learn about every year take place.
	A map of the Greek city-states can illustrate the impact of geography on history, a central theme of state assessments and standardized tests throughout the country. Maps that ask students to infer the effects of what they see on a map help to sharpen those skills and improve their critical thinking.
	A map of the Atlantic Ocean and the surrounding continents allow students to be active learners by asking them to show how this region was part of history. Ask them to trace the routes of the Atlantic Slave Trade themselves. History comes alive anytime kids are doing and not just listening or watching.

Whether you use them for a homework assignment or entry into a deeper analysis of the great historical questions of our time, maps can do more for your lessons than you may be giving them credit for. The suggestions above touch upon the skills of analysis, reading comprehension, inference, compare and contrast, and many others.

By using a few words and a picture, a map can say so much more than text. By my count, maps can be used to meet five of the ten ELA Common Core Anchor Standards used to measure college and career readiness. Whether through their use in document based essay writing, compare and contrast activities, or as a summary of a historical event, maps can play the skill building role of a primary source reading passage.

Help Teaching has a full complement of historical and geographic maps to improve your lessons, projects, and assessments. You can create your own versions of the activities linked above that include your personal style of teaching. Few other websites have such a varied selection of maps to include in your lessons. There are also plenty of questions paired with maps that you can add to your tests and activities.

Got feedback for our maps or suggestions for new additions? Post your comments below or send us a note. Help us spread the word about our maps and printables by pinning our pages to Pinterest, liking on Facebook, and adding to your bookmarks.

Teachers have embraced Pinterest, the modern day equivalent of clipping magazine photographs and showing them to your friends, as a source of inspiration for classroom organization, projects, and curriculum resources. Pinterest offers a multifaceted platform for educators to research ideas for their classrooms, follow other pinners, and create boards linking to resources for students. For STEM educators, Pinterest is a visual brainstorm of hands-on science activities, curriculum materials, and the most recent advances in science and technology.

If you are looking for new ideas for your science, technology, engineering, or math classroom, get started by following some of these Pinterest boards:

Best Kids Science Experiments – Steve Spangler fans will enjoy this collaborative board and visual playground of icky activities to engage students in the scientific process.

Citizen Science Programs – Check out these pins and find a citizen science project for your class to participate in.

Earth Science – Kids Discover offers a host of interesting boards for teachers, but geo-geeks will especially appreciate these pins to earth science articles, videos, and images.  

Explore and Get Outdoors – The National Wildlife Federation’s board of ideas on getting kids back to nature.

Explore the Natural World – STEM educators will appreciate this board by PBS, featuring stunning images of nature that blur the boundaries of science and art.

Invertebrate Love – View these stunning images and videos of strange sea critters lacking skeletons.

iPad Landia – With the integration of iPads into more and more classrooms comes the need for finding quality apps and educational best practices. Get started with iPad Landia.

Los Alamos National Lab – Cool collection of boards for those who embrace their inner geeks. Pocket protectors anyone?

NASA EDGE Vodcasts – Engage students with these vodcasts by NASA EDGE. Maybe one of your students will become a rocket scientist.

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center – Don’t miss out on any “Wicked Cool Space Stuff.” Follow any or all of these boards from the Maryland Space Center.

NGSS: Next Generation Science Standards – The standards are out. Become familiar with them and stay up-to-date with NGSS progress with these pins by The Einstein Project.

Scientific Explorer – An essential collaborative board dedicated to “exploring scientific knowledge”.

Science & STEM – Get your STEM ideas flowing for hands-on, home projects with this resource board.

STEM STEM STEM – In case the name was unclear, this collection of pins by the National Science Teachers Association helps teachers stay up-to-date with trends in STEM education.

STEM Works – The STEM-Works program strives to increase science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills in communities nationwide and maintains this collection of boards including pins about CSI, jobs, lesson plans, robotics and more.

Students Like Tech! – Follow Edutopia’s board for EdTech ideas and trends.

Teaching with Sci-Fi – Even reluctant science students may enjoy a good science fiction book.

U.S. Department of Energy – Get the latest information on everything energy related, from STEM education to green energy.

Video Lectures in Mathematics – Looking for a refresher course on differential equations, a tidbit on the history of math, or a good math joke? Check out this collection of boards with over 1,400 pins to math lectures.

Women in Science – These photos of groundbreaking women in science, courtesy of the Smithsonian Archives, link to further information about these pioneers.

Follow Help Teaching on Pinterest to keep up with our newest free printables, premium worksheets, and blog articles!

It might start by simply hiding behind their mother as a toddler and progress into a sense of anxiety so strong it inhibits everything from classroom instruction to proper socialization.

While many children are boisterous and creative through imaginative play, some struggle deeply with shyness.

Shyness has positive points, but when it is so extreme that it affects their daily life in a negative way, then there may be ways to help.

Group activities for shy kids can be very beneficial when executed correctly. Timid kids can learn to find strength in numbers and to be accepted in ways they previously feared.

It might seem the worst thing you could do is put a shy child in the middle of a team or arranged social circle – but in many instances it can also help.

Classroom Structure

While some kids may never be the spokesperson of the group, they may contribute ideas to a more outgoing member of the team and feel proud where they otherwise would’ve just been silent.

An attentive teacher will recognize a shy student who is struggling, and will often try to help.

One way to help is to arrange the classroom so that desks are in pairs or small clusters rather than individual rows. This promotes teamwork in the classroom – the various clusters of desks work together to come up with an answer, or they brainstorm together for an activity.

Leading the Way

Many shy children tend to be excellent students or independent workers.

Why not tap into these positives by asking them to mentor younger children?

Whether in the classroom or on the soccer field, the opportunity to build relationships with younger kids can make the shy child feel more comfortable and able to speak up more in other life situations.

This works even better if they can be paired with another to assist a handful of younger ones. This mentorship system is the core of the Montessori school structure – it has been known to raise confident and capable children, and in some instances, abolish shyness.

Get Active in the Classroom

Although it may seem a recipe for disaster, one of the best activities for shy kids is group physical activities or sports. They experience victories without having everything rest on their shoulders, but also learn the important lesson of other people counting on them to be confident and do well.

Team activities have proven time and again to be effective in bringing children out of their shell, and don’t include the pressure of individual sports like gymnastics or figure skating.

When Shyness is a Problem

If a child is so shy that they are experiencing anxiety attacks, problems even walking into the schoolyard or signs of depression, encourage the child’s parents to seek the help of a health care provider right away.

While many kids are shy and go through life in a simpler, quieter way, shyness can sometimes lead to more serious issues. Sometimes even a one-time therapy session with a quality counselor can get to the bottom of the situation and help the little one to feel more confident and secure in who they are.

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Sarah Antrim is a blogger and social media manager for ActivityHero, a website that helps parents find, plan and book kids classes and summer camps. She blogs extensively about kids activities, providing parents fun and time-saving tips on how to engage kids. As a mother of two, Sarah firmly believes in the company’s mission to keep kids active & healthy.

ELA & Reading – Most Popular

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Joe Pizzuto-Pomaco is an educator, writer, and editor who has taught in public and private schools 15 years.