Shannon Olson, Educational Consultant

Shannon Olson, Educational Consultant Partnering with schools and districts to align evidence-based practices in elementary mathematics. Hi!

I'm Shannon Olson, an Educational Consultant and Professional Learning Provider for schools and districts across the United States. I have served as an elementary school teacher, math teacher leader, instructional coach, and district-level specialist in several school districts of varying sizes and demographics. I also have experience as a state agency Elementary Mathematics Specialist, university

instructor, curriculum writer, and professional learning designer and facilitator. I offer consulting, coaching, courses, and customized professional learning for school, districts, and agencies.

One of our favorite math tools? Base 10 blocks! 🙌From kindergarten through sixth grade, Base 10 blocks can help students...
09/04/2026

One of our favorite math tools? Base 10 blocks! 🙌

From kindergarten through sixth grade, Base 10 blocks can help students build conceptual understanding as they visually see place value.

Here are just a few ways you can use them:

✨ Build and compose numbers
✨ Explore place value
✨ Compare and order numbers
✨ Model addition and subtraction, including regrouping
✨ Explore rounding and number relationships
✨ Model multiplication with equal groups, arrays, and area models
✨ Model division and make sense of remainders
✨ Explore decimals and operations with decimals (you can add in thousandth chips for this!)
✨ Connect place value, decimals, and fractions

Linked below are some additional games, activities, and lessons you can use with Base 10 blocks:

https://www.hand2mind.com/resources/manipulative-resource-center/math-manipulatives/math-manipulatives-resources/base-ten-blocks

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1UgjKGS4qA3R0gBrD1npp9Saa78VdX9xva2fUOwk14vI/edit?usp=sharing

Sometimes, the simplest tools can lead to some of the richest mathematical thinking!

How do you use Base 10 blocks in your classroom?

Today I got to be back in Box Elder! We explored how to build procedural fluency from conceptual understanding and suppo...
09/04/2026

Today I got to be back in Box Elder!

We explored how to build procedural fluency from conceptual understanding and support teachers through modeling instruction. We wrapped up our time together engaging in some fun fluency games!

It was great to be back and learning alongside this incredible group!

Welcome back, Box Elder School District! 🎉We’re so excited to kick off year two of our Coaching Institute together! This...
09/03/2026

Welcome back, Box Elder School District! 🎉

We’re so excited to kick off year two of our Coaching Institute together! This year, we’ll continue building coaching capacity as we explore additional mathematics teaching practices, deepen our content knowledge, and add new coaching strategies to our toolkit.

We can’t wait to see where this year takes us and all that we’ll learn together!

The Professional Learning Day is just over TWO WEEKS away!We’re excited to connect with Utah charter educators and leade...
09/02/2026

The Professional Learning Day is just over TWO WEEKS away!

We’re excited to connect with Utah charter educators and leaders as we learn, share, and explore innovative practices that support meaningful student learning and success.

Registration is FREE, and lunch will be provided.

Register here: 👉https://lnkd.in/gTvpfaec

We hope you’ll join us for a day of learning, collaboration, and sharing innovative practices.

Back to School Favorite ThingsThis week’s favorite is a simple classroom investment: storage bags for organizing math ma...
08/28/2026

Back to School Favorite Things

This week’s favorite is a simple classroom investment: storage bags for organizing math materials.

These bags are a great tool to have ready at the start of the year because they help create systems for managing all the materials students use throughout the year. Whether you are storing manipulatives, task materials, student work, or papers, bags provide an easy way to:

➡️ Keep materials organized and easy for students to access
➡️ Create a consistent system for storing and returning classroom resources
➡️ Help students take ownership of managing their own materials

Simple systems like these make classroom routines smoother and allow more time to focus on the learning.

Get them here: https://amzn.to/3PHywSD

Back to school prep isn't just for teachers - it's for coaches too! As the school year begins, it’s a great time to cons...
08/26/2026

Back to school prep isn't just for teachers - it's for coaches too! As the school year begins, it’s a great time to consider the pre-partnership phase of the coaching cycle.

This important step focuses on building relationships with teachers and gathering student data to better understand the needs of the classroom.

When you start the year with a strong pre-partnership, the coaching work that follows becomes more meaningful and effective throughout the year.

How do you plan to build relationships with the variety of teachers at your school this year?

Can you completely re-energize teachers' vision of mathematics pedagogy in just two hours? Absolutely. Last year at Lake...
08/21/2026

Can you completely re-energize teachers' vision of mathematics pedagogy in just two hours? Absolutely.

Last year at Lakeview Elementary, I engaged educators in a high-impact, 2-hour professional learning session focused on mathematical representations.

Teachers walked out the door not just inspired, but equipped with practical strategies they could put into action the very next morning.

Read the excitement from Lakeview's teachers in the carousel!

Want to book a workshop for your school? Reach out! We'd love to get something set up for you.

The start of the school year is such a crucial time to set the tone for your math classroom! One of my favorite ways to ...
08/19/2026

The start of the school year is such a crucial time to set the tone for your math classroom!

One of my favorite ways to establish expectations around collaboration, reasoning, and discourse is by starting with non-curricular tasks before diving into standard curriculum content.

I’ve put together a collection of engaging non-curricular task banks, supplemental tasks, and discussion prompts to give you a great jumping-off point as you plan your first few days of math:

👇
https://tinyurl.com/Non-curricularTasks

As we kick off the 2026–2027 school year, setting up management, routines, and expectations is top of mind for every tea...
08/17/2026

As we kick off the 2026–2027 school year, setting up management, routines, and expectations is top of mind for every teacher!

While we often plan for classroom decor, attention-getters, and general transitions, it’s just as crucial to design routines specifically for math class. When we take time to intentionally think about manipulative storage and discussion protocols, student thinking becomes expected and math class runs more smoothly all year long.

Looking for where to start? I put together a Math Classroom Setup & Procedures Checklist to help you. These are some of my favorite set-ups and routines to consider when structuring your math block.

📲 Grab the free checklist here: tinyurl.com/MathClassChecklist

Is there anything else you would add to this list?

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Provo, UT
84601

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