*About Ms. Little

I've got math on my mind!

Glass on glass mosaic in progress.

Hello Math Families!

I have been a middle school math teacher for Berkeley Public Schools since September of 2001. I am also a graduate of the Berkeley Public School System where my parents were teachers as well.

My teaching career began as a gymnastic coach. Interested in human development, I earned a credential in early childhood education prompting the opening of my own pre-school, Sausal Creek. After 10 years of preschool teaching and directing I earned my multi-subject credential with single subject authorizations in math and English. I quickly learned that my real passion was for middle school students and math education. I have since earned my National Board Accreditation in Math Education and become a Master Teacher Fellow through UC Berkeley in the national Math for America program.

Though I have always loved math, it has not been an easy road. I very much identify with the math student who needs to read the directions five times, draw diagrams, ponder, erase, and sometimes use brute force to solve problems. I understand not understanding. This helps me help my students. Students who persevere through struggle and frustration while keeping a positive attitude about themselves will do very well, not just in math but in life.

Besides teaching math, I enjoy writing, art, dance, and most of all, my children.

- Liz

Article about Ms. Little's teaching: http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2015/11/19/how-turning-math-into-a-maker-workshop-can-bring-calculations-to-life/

B:

Favorites in no particular order:

Pumpkins, dusty old books, coziness, fog, wind, rain, the sound of bugs and frogs in the evening, chorizo, a harvest moon, a cup of tea, hot water bottles, small places, grand gestures, brown rolling hills, leaves, running water, feather pillows, cats, old dogs, dark chocolate, hose water on hot concrete, screen doors, fat pencils, red shoes, geometric proofs, a hearth fire, lavender oil, Latin music, Fall, moveable furniture, found objects, drum solos, the smell in a cedar box, children in costume, the color orange, cinnamon, crushed ice, big trees, tree houses, attics, colored glass, cellos, office supplies, hardware stores, paint chips, aprons, ticking clocks, .......the list could go on and on...

Monoprint 2011 "Fruit of the desert"

Coffee table mosaic with Spanish tile by Liz. Cat not

by Liz.

Ginkgo on concrete.