I’ve been writing this post in my head for a while, but have been putting off writing it down on the blog because I thought it showed failure. But then I realized that I want to make sure I share with you the real side of teaching, not just the highlight reel.
My hope for this post is that it shows you that it’s okay to try something and then change it… even half way through the year. Teaching is all about doing what’s right for your kids, so if something isn’t working for them… fix it! {And I apologize if it gets lengthy!}
I started the year how I do each year with guided math. Here’s the format that I found has worked for my class every year so far (and I now stress the SO FAR part): one group meets with me, one group works on the computers (we used to have a program called SuccessMaker, but now we use a free website called happynumbers.com), and two groups go to math stations.
This format “worked” for a while, but when we came back from Christmas break, I realized something was wrong. I knew I was meeting the needs of all of my kids because of the activities I was choosing and how I was differentiating, but I still didn’t FEEL like I was meeting the needs of all of my kids, because I just wasn’t seeing them enough.
In the past, I was able to meet with all 4 groups in a day. With our schedule this year (and the fact that I have 5 groups because of large class sizes), I can only meet with 1 or 2 groups a day, so there were some kids I was only seeing once a week. Even though I knew they were making growth from looking at their work, I didn’t feel like I knew them as mathematicians.
And I could see it in my kids. My kids weren’t engaged. They wanted to do math with me. I was leaving my table A LOT to redirect kids. I was dreading teaching math. I didn’t know what was going on since “my guided math” had always worked great.
So I made a change. I split the kids up into smaller groups of 3 and chose the most engaging, open ended math stations that I could. This may be the most important part. I needed the math stations to be open ended so that no matter how many times my kids went to a math station, they could have a NEW, meaningful experience there. So no, I don’t change out the stations often. (We’ve actually been using the same stations for 3 weeks now) There are no matching games. We use a lot of dice, a lot of spinners, and a lot of playing cards. This way, they can never say “I’ve already played this game,” because the game will be new each time they play. Here are some of our favorites:
*Let’s Go Fishing: Students choose 2 fish cards to create an addition equation to solve. They can use the fish bowl mat and manipulatives to help them solve the equation. Differentiate by splitting the cards into different baggies (1-5 number cards and 1-10 number cards)
*Spin and Color: Students will use a pencil and a paper clip to spin the spinners. Two versions: spin an equation and color the sum OR spin the sum and color the matching equation. Make it reusable by putting the mats in a sheet protector and having kids spin and COVER instead of spin and COLOR.
*Drop It, Build It: Students will drop 2 manipulative on the playing mat, and add the 2 numbers together. They will cover the sum on the picture with a pattern block.
*Race To Add: Students will play this board game with a partner. The partner will read the equation, and the student will answer with the sum. The partner can check the answer in the bottom right hand corner of the card! Differentiated for you- green cards are sums to 5 and blue cards are sums to 10!
*Playing Card Subtraction– Students will choose 2 playing cards and make a subtraction equation to solve.
We also use our iPads as one of our stations (which are engaging themselves). Kindergarten Game Show allows me to differentiate for my kids and have them play games that focus on the skills they need to work on.
While the kids are engaged in their math stations, I have one small group with me. I introduce them to a new concept, we do some guided practice, and I get them started on some independent practice. Then, I leave them to work for a bit, and I go around the room and work with the rest of the kids. I give support to some kids, and extend the learning of others. My students can not WAIT to show me the work that they’ve done.
By doing this, I’m able to see each one of my kids each day, whether or not they are actually in “my group.” I have seen SO much growth in my kids since we’ve started this “new” guided math format, and I now feel that I really know each one of them as mathematicians! I hope I’ve given you some ideas you can try in your classroom too! If you want to give these math stations a try too, you can find them here!
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