The first few weeks of school are the most important weeks of the year. This is your time to establish routines, review important procedures, and set clear expectations for students. The most challenging part is trying to balance these back to school procedures with teaching new content and getting to know your students. Because there is so much to cover, it’s tempting to skip over or rush through certain areas. This is a common mistake teachers make and one you want to avoid. In this episode, I share 3 common mistakes to avoid when starting a new year and suggestions for what to do instead. You’ll hear tips for fluency activities, setting up parts of your math block (small groups, choice boards, partner activities), and formative assessments to help you get to know your student’s academic levels. You’ll also hear a fun suggestion for your classroom newsletter in the Teaching Tip of the Week. This tip will encourage parents to ask their child about what they are learning and keep them involved in a unique and creative way. Topics Covered in this Episode: Fluency activities for Grades 3-5 How to introduce parts of your math block and expectations to share with students (partner activities and games, Boom Cards, choice boards, small group instruction) Formative assessments to gather data (Boom Cards and Google Forms) Resources Mentioned: Compare Numbers Boom Cards (Preview) Placing Commas in Large Numbers Boom Cards (Preview) Word Form to Standard Form Boom Cards (Preview) Place Value Base 10 Boom Cards (Preview) Xtra Math Fluency Program  To view the show notes with the full transcript, head to https://krejcicreations.com/episode6. P.S. Has this podcast been helpful for you? If so, screenshot an episode, add it to IG, and tag me @krejci_creations. This helps spread the word to other teachers!