Hi Friends!
The reason I decided to join this linky is because I have been talking A LOT about my reading/Daily 5 time and I wanted to take a minute to talk about Math. I have spent the last few years trying to get my math time just right. And now with CCSS coming our way I think I Finally have it just right. So I will take you through my math block today. I originally posted this on
October 6, 2012.
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I am excited to share the entire day's math block in pictures. I hope that it will help you better understand the flow of the hour.
We start our time with "Problem of the Day" I love this so much I can't even tell you! This is a sample page from a student's math journal:
We don't do one EVERY day but I would say 3-4 days a week. The kids are getting really good at the steps and how to represent the problem with a picture and an equation.
After they have time to solve the problem, I call several up to our document camera to teach the class how they solved the problem. It is so great to see the variety of ways the children decide to solve the problem! And having them "teach the class" is perfect math talk!
Click {here} to see the word problems at TpT.
After about 10-15 minutes on the word problems (this is after they are independent) I gather my students for a whole group lesson. I love to use my smart board for this time. I spend about 15-20 introducing a skill or reviewing a skill.
This might also be a time that we stop and record a new vocabulary word in our math vocabulary books (like the word "digit" as seen above). I then add the math word to our math word wall. (to see the vocab pack click {here} or {here}).
I also have first and third grade too!!
Depending on the day or my timing, at this point I might have all the kids do an independent practice sheet based on the lesson.
Then we break into our Math groups.
I work with a group based on their needs (High, Medium, or Low group)- this is my favorite part because I can really cater to what they specifically need to work on!
hehe... my aide took these photos and they crack me up! She was SO careful not to take any faces... including mine! :)
This is a group of about 5-6 kids... you just can't see them all here.
The rest of the kids are either in a "Math with a Friend" group:
We LOOOOVE Bump!
Or a "Math On My Own" group:
The Math Workshop is a product in my TpT store and it has changed my math life! This is from a teacher who grew up not a fan of math, struggled with math all her life and dreaded teaching math. Now I can't get enough of math!! And my kids are so disappointed when we don't do Math Workshop. Gone are the days of all paper pencil activities and kids slipping through the cracks because you think they are all "getting it."
Sometimes my math time ends here. Other times we gather back together for a recap or even an "exit slip" type of activity. We spend about 20 minutes in our groups. I have about 60 minutes devoted to math (give or take).
Once a week we do a math timed test (mad minute). I test the kids on the facts that they already know and they work on a set of facts that are the best fit. For example, if they are struggling with the 10 facts, their mad minute is all sums of 10 or less for their addition math fact test. I started doing it this way because in the past I had kids that were trying to do a 40 problem mad minute (TOO MANY problems) and were stuck on the first problem that was 9 + 8 when in reality they needed problems more like 5 + 1. They were defeated before they even got started! I then created all my own timed tests, assessments, and parent letters for addition and subtraction. You can see them
I hope this helps a bit! It took me 14 years to find a great balance to my math time, and to do things that REALLY work! (and that have improved my math scores!)
PLEASE let me know if you have any questions...
just email me! :)
Thanks so much for reading... as always I looove your comments!
How do you divide your math block?
