Guided Math

When I first began my teaching career 14 years ago (oh my has it really been that long!?!), a very wise teacher told me to pick one are to focus on every year and make it be your mission to master that area of teaching. Well, since it seems that education is (or at least WAS!) so focused on literacy, that is where I focused my growth as an educator. I observed other master teachers, went to conferences, read MANY professional books- initially about guided reading and then switched my focus to a reading workshop approach. I then focused a couple of years on really mastering the art of using a reading workshop approach to literacy- which I firmly believe is an extremely effective way to differentiate instruction and meet the needs of all your learners. (NOT just the struggling ones!) I eventually learned more about using the 6 traits of writing and teaching those traits during a writing workshop mini-lesson. I focused on improving my writing instruction for the next several years. So it would seem like a natural progression to focus on improving my math instruction- which has been a professional goal of mine for the past three years.

The problem, I quickly found out, is that there is NOT a lot of MATH resources out there!!!! I have yet to find high quality guided math and math workshop resources for elementary school teachers. The Fountas and Pinnell and Kathy Collins of literacy need to get the ball rolling with math…ASAP!!! In the meantime, teachers need to be able to find an effective teaching method for math (research based!) to meet the demands of common core implementation and the oh-so-scary reality that we will soon be evaluated based on the academic performance of our students. Forget if Jonny forgot to take his meds this morning, Jenny’s dog passed away, or Megan’s mom is out of town on a business trip….the higher powers don’t realize that we teach kids, emotional little human beings. Nope, forget any of the real life issues your students deal with because teachers will soon have their evaluations based off of how our students are performing on high stakes testing. (And this is a WHOLE different blog post, right?) Back to math….with the pressures of classroom teachers to meet the needs of all the learners such a hot topic right now, educators can’t afford to wait for resources to come to them.

Does your district use MAP data? Well, my MAP scores have always been very strong with reading and my math scores overall have been slightly lower. I could blame the lower class average in math due to the fact that our school does not have any math interventions, I did not have any aides, there was handful of kiddos with ADD, anxiety, or other emotional issues….and the list goes on! But, doesn’t it seem that those students are now the majority of the classroom??? Why are we making excuses for these students? If they are showing growth (significant or not) in reading, shouldn’t they be showing the same growth in math? Why does it seem like there is this stigma with “math is harder?” I asked myself these tough questions and realized that I needed to overhaul my math instruction.

Whether I wanted to or not, was ready or not, something had to change. For my sake, for the sake of my current and future students. I then began to experiment with guided math. I searched high and low for resources to help guide me in this new direction. I mean how hard can this guided math be, right? I was having successful results with guided reading, why not try it with math?? Fast forward hours and hours of searching for those high quality and descriptive resources that I mentioned above….they were far and few between! However, the one treasure that I found is Beth Newingham’s guided math…that woman is unbelievable!!! I modeled my guided math groups with Beth’s schedule and her teaching tips in mind. And let me tell you….I struggled!!! That first year was tough! It was very challenging to find engaging and creative resources for each of the different groups!!! And the planning…..it takes a lot of organization and planning. You are, after all, teaching three different math groups.

This was my very first guided math bulletin board: Using this bulletin board, I met all groups every day. I started my math instruction by meeting with my lowest group and then assigned them with their independent work for the next station. Using this model, my high group was the last group that I meet with and they started with independent work. The next year, I used a “Wild about Learning” design for my animal print themed classroom. The “wild things” were my students in each math group.
After getting two years of guided math under my belt, I was then ready to start a math workshop approach! I was still looking for a model that provided me with more flexibility to meet with one group a bit longer that the scheduled 20 minutes or meet with several students in a math conference. It was very difficult for me to plan three different math groups every day…again making sure that I was TRULY differentiating their instruction!!! (NOT giving them worksheets!!!!) This is the math workshop bulletin board that I am currently using: Whether you decide to use a guided math or a math workshop approach, there are a few “must haves!” Wherever you are at with your math instruction, I am hoping these tips will help you!! A special space for you to work with a small group of students: In the picture above, I am teaching my mathematicians a geometry lesson about different types of lines. I use the kidney bean table, which is what I also use for guided reading groups, when I want to use my dry erase materials to draw or illustrate concept. Although you can’t see in the picture, the students are sitting and facing ME!!! I, on the other hand, and facing the rest of the class so that I can monitor all of their whereabouts.
You KNOW what I mean! In this picture, I am working with a groups of students who are taking their “M and M’s” which is just a fancy way that I get the students excited about taking their daily “Math Minutes.” I don’t real believe in the whole “mad minute” philosophy, so I just call that time math minutes. Instead of doing math minutes as a whole class quick check, I like to use this small group format.

After the math minute, we move right onto the guided math lesson! Again, in this picture, my back is against a wall so that I can see the rest of the class and monitor what they are doing. The students in the group have their backs to the rest of the class. That way, they will not get as easily distracted by what the other students are doing during their work time.

An organized space in your classroom where you can store all of your math manipulatives:

With lots of high quality math manipulatives!!! I have taught kindergarten, first grade, second grade, (now teaching) third grade and even gifted students at Northwestern University. EVERY grade level has benefited from these same manipulatives, just with different focuses for the content areas in math! I found so many of these manipulatives at garage sales, teachers who were retiring, or teachers who were just giving them away. Just like my classroom library, my little nook of math manipulatives has grown so much over the years. In the picture above, there are geo boards and peg boards. The students below are using peg boards during their work time for math workshop. Pattern blocks, unifix cubes, fraction strips, oh my!!!

Again, I have used pattern blocks with kids in grades kindergarten through third grade! In Kindergarten, I used them to teach patterns, colors, and basic shapes. In third grade, I use them for tessalations, making arrays, and fractions. I just love how versatile manipulatives are….that could be a whole separate post! In the picture above, the student is learning about rotational symmetry using the pattern block cards (Learning Resources) At the beginning of the year, I spend at least a solid week of my math mini-lessons during my math workshop time to focus exclusively on how we use manipulatives as a TOOL to help us learn abstract math concepts. Below is one of our anchor charts from our mini-lessons about working with manipulatives at the beginning of the year: Teachers pay Teachers has been a lifesaver for printing out awesome math games to use during my math workshop work time!!! I adore Becky…and I adore her games even more!!! My students love her resources, which you can find on her Dots N Spots blog or TpT store: She has amazing FREEBIES!!! Ginger has some AWESOME math fact wheels that my students use to practice their math facts in a fun way. Another AMAZING freebie!!! Check out Ginger’s math fact wheels by clicking on the image above! MOOOORE manipulatives!!! I love these Georeflector mirrors to find the line of symmetry with pattern blocks. I found these mirrors a few years ago from Learning Resources. Once you have the must haves for your little mathematicians, you are then ready to group your students!! I previously thought that it was much easier to group my students by their reading level, because my district mandates that we use the Fountas and Pinnell leveling system.

At the beginning, middle, and end of every school year, we “simply” test our students for their instructional reading level and then form groups based on that data (along with MAP data). However, I found that grouping students for math is similar to reading- groups are formed based on data, change frequently, and have different learning targets based on their level of understanding.

The key is to take advantage of using… I give formative assessments throughout a unit to determine a student’s progress and if they need additional support or enrichment. Formative assessments are on-going and used to improve and direct instructional methods. Student feedback is a KEY component to authentic and valuable formative assessments!

My students monitor their progress with performance tasks, exit slips, and graphing their results of chapter tests. These results guide my instruction by allowing me to provide a different instructional strategy to help a student further grasp a solid understanding and mastery of the topic. Here is an example of how I use assessments during guided math.

My students’ compare their pretest with their post test, and determine the growth they made. After each module, the students graph the results of their pretest and then their post test. They identify how many correct they had on each and fill in the bar graph. Students then identify the difference, and determine their growth.

A very important component to using a working approach for math is allowing the STUDENTS holding themselves accountable for their learning. My students actually share this data with their parents during their student led conferences. It is amazing to hear these kiddos explain how they grew for each math module!

Can you imagine the sense of pride and accomplishment that these students feel when they discover the strong growth they made? That is a powerful motivator! One point I am sure to stress is that we need to focus on GROWTH. Based on the results of the pretest, I place my students into guided math groups. I then gather all my materials to differentiate instruction based on the results of the students in each group.

The hardest part of guided math (in my opinion!) is making: is making lesson plans for each group of students!!! I know that many teachers simply teach the same lesson to all the different guided math groups. But…that is not truly differentiating instruction! In a whole separate post, I with go into depth on differentiating math instruction for guided math groups.

I also hope to write another post about having… with my students.

WHEW!!!!! I am realizing that this is a really ***LONG*** post and appreciate if you are still reading it at this point!!!

If you are looking for some inspiration to jazz up your own math instruction, you will find the materials listed in the post are included in my new math files!

Guided Math 101:

Guided Math Resource Description:

1. Introduction to Guided Math- Definition and breakdown of guided math, addressing CCSS with a guided math approach, and poster with a list of mathematical practices.

2. Managing Guided Math Groups- Information to guide the teacher in creating and managing groups, list of benefits to use small groups, breakdown of what to do before/during/after group meetings.

3. Math Survey for Parents and Students- Determine how your students feel about math at the beginning of a new school year.

4. Math Manipulatives Resources- Math manipulatives contract and think about it sheet, as well as 26 labels (in color) for you to label your math manipulatives.

5. Pirate Glyph- How “arrr” your students feeling about math? This is a great activity to do with your kiddos as you embark on your guided math journey! Students complete the guided math survey, use the legend to color their pirate template according to how they answered the questions on the survey. Pirate craft also includes a “math toolkit” for students to write about important math tools they use in their every day life. Color bulletin board posters, directions, and student reproducibles included.

6. Formative Assessment- One page summary of formative assessment, color poster to write down the learning target, notes to send home to parents to celebrate student achievement and notification of concerns.

7. Anecdotal Records- Templates to keep, organize, and write anecdotal records for your students. Resources include 4 different forms for you to choose from.

8. Math Conferences- Two math conference templates for you to choose from, conference prompts, and compliments to give to students.

9. Organizing Groups for Guided Math- Daily and weekly schedule, templates, and examples.

10. Guided Math Bulletin Board Display- Posters to print and display for your guided math bulletin board! Title of posters include: Mathematicians, Meet with the Teacher, Math Facts, Math Work Stations, Independent Work. Students will use the bulletin board display to identify the rotation schedule and where they need to be for each rotation.

11. Guided Math Lesson Planning- Five different lesson plan templates for you to choose from. Write your lessons for each group on the template you choose. Also includes information about what the teacher does before, during, and after a guided math group.

12. Student Data Collection- Students take ownership over the assessment process by analyzing their growth from pre to post- test. There are three different templates to choose from.

Purchase Guided math on Teachers Pay Teachers by click HERE.

Save 10% by purchasing Guided math directly from my website.

Math Workshop 101:

File Description of Math Workshop:

1. Introduction to Math Workshop- Definition and breakdown of math workshop, list of advantages and challenges of using a workshop approach to teach math, and a list of guidelines to keep in mind when starting math workshop.

2. Color Posters Explaining Math Workshop Structure- Five posters that break down each part of math workshop, including: the overall structure of math workshop, the mini-lesson, work time, closing/sharing. These pages can be displayed in your classroom or kept as a reference in your math/lesson planning binder. Also included is a list of ideas for activities to use during independent work time.

3. Creating Anchor Charts– Tips and examples of how to create effective anchor charts as part of your math workshop mini-lessons.

4. List of Procedural Mini-Lessons- List of 11 procedural mini-lessons that are suggested to teach as you implement a workshop approach to teaching math.

5. Anchor Charts- For every procedural mini-lesson, there is at least one color poster that you can use to display with your anchor chart. Some mini-lessons have multiple color pages for you to print and display.

6. Accountability with Math Workshop- Ideas for how to keep your kiddos accountable during math workshop! Included are four different recording sheets that students can fill out to track their work for the day/week. You could also use these recording sheets as exit tickets to informally assess the students’ understanding of the lesson.

7. Math Workshop Bulletin Board Display- I explain how to display the posters to create a math workshop rotation bulletin board. Color posters for the following rotations are included: teacher time, manipulatives and games, on my own, and practice math facts.

8. List of Activities for Each Rotation- There is a color poster with a shape to print and display for your students. On these posters, you can write the list of activities/options for the students to complete at each rotation. The shapes on the posters are as follows: parallelogram, octagon, trapezoid, hexagon.

9. Math Groups Display- Print these color posters to help the students identify the group they are in. Directions and a picture are included to explain the math group display.

10. Organizing Math Materials- Print the color shape posters (four ½ sheet posters) and post it next to the bin of materials that are available for each rotation.

Purchase Math Workshop on Teachers Pay Teachers by click HERE.

Save 10% by purchasing Math Workshop directly from my website.

Both Math Workshop AND Guided Math AND some extra goodies….are included in the

Crash Course in Guided Math and Math Workshop: The Ultimate Math Resource for any Teacher Bundle!

The following files are included: Guided Math, Math Workshop, Math Workshop Venn Diagram, and Guided Math Binder Cover Pages.

Guided math 101 (118 pages)