Hi guys!
I have been having so much fun teaching math this year and have gotten a few questions about how math workshop works/where to get resources for it, so I wanted to share all about that here today! I'm just going to walk through what my math block looks like on a given day and then share resources with you in case you want to try this out in your classroom!
Warm Up:
I start every math lesson with a warm up problem just to get everyone focused and ready to learn. My students know that as soon as snack time is over, they are expected to head to their seats on the carpet with their math notebook and a pencil. (If I'm on top of things ahead of time, I'll type this up and project it on the board, but if not I just write the problem on the whiteboard).
Warm Up Review:
This is a part that I really like because the kids get to do the teaching - I ask students, not just to tell me their answer for the warm up, but to share step-by-step how they got to their answer. I write down what they did as they are speaking, so if they forget to explain a step I ask them to explain more clearly so I can keep up on paper. I usually create an anchor chart with the different strategies that they come up with for everyone to refer back to. I think this helps them all to check themselves and each other and sometimes my kids come up with strategies that I wouldn't have thought of but that might help one of their classmates! (Depending on the standard that we are working on that day, this part may be my entire mini-lesson).
Minilesson w/ Guided Practice
If the standard that we are working on requires me to teach a procedure rather than allowing for many different strategies (rounding, comparing numbers, etc...), I usually have a really short slideshow presentation or a quick pocket chart activity that requires some kind of work on their part. I'll show them how I solve a problem and then immediately give a practice problem for them to try. This allows them to ask the questions that they need to ask before going off to work independently and it lets me see who is struggling and who is breezing right through. (This also keeps my kids from getting wiggly and distracted while I am teaching!)
Here is an example of a presentation from my Place Value Unit that we went through and the pictures below are of students completing the practice problems during the minilesson:
Quick formative assessment
Sometimes I will use one of my math stations as a formative assessment, but recently I have been using the website Quizizz to do a quick check on who gets the math skill that we are working on each day and who doesn't. The reason that I like to use Quizizz is that it shows you students' progress in real time. As they are answering questions, you can watch on your computer and see how many problems each student is getting right or wrong. Once they finish, I get everyone set up doing independent stations and I pull the group of kids who got the lowest scores on the Quizizz to reteach and let them do more guided practice.
I create the Quizizz myself using test questions and/or task cards. You can upload an image as the question (see pictures below), so if I want to use task cards for my formative assessment, I just export them as images and then upload them to Quizizz. (This also saves me so much time when it comes to grading!)
Independent stations
I like to have at least three independent or partner activities for my students to do each day. I give them a Think-Tac-Toe board or a Math Menu before sending them off to work on their own, and I tell them that once they are done with all or at least three (or however many activities I want them to do that day), they can get on their iPad and do Reflex Math or Mobymax (both amazing, adaptive math programs that help with fact fluency!). The menu keeps them accountable and I usually have one activity that everyone must do that requires them to record something and turn it in. (I make them staple their menu to their work that they turn in so I can send it home and their parents can see that they did more than just the one activity that they turned something in for).
Students working on a partner game from Superteacherworksheets.com
(They each had to roll a 3-digit number and then compare their numbers)
Guided Math
Sometimes, for guided math, I teach my groups a new strategy for solving a problem, like using place value blocks to solve multi-digit addition (see video). I like to have manipulatives available during guided math lessons so kids can use them if they want or need to. I normally teach a strategy or "trick" for solving a problem and then have them do a bunch of practice problems at my table so I can watch and they can ask for help if needed. I try to pull my lowest group first so that we have plenty of time to work together before they go do their independent work.
Students working on ordering 3-digit numbers
Guided Math Group working on representing addition of multi-digit numbers using place value blocks
(This is also a great time to work on word problems related to the skill that I am teaching because I can read a problem to them and we can work together to extract the information that we have and everyone can share their strategy for solving).
Where to get resources
Math workshop requires a lot of preparation and resources, but I've got to say, it is so worth it! My students love math this year and I love teaching it. I like that it's not me standing in front of the whole class teaching the whole time. My role is a lot more like the "guide on the side" while they work through their activities for the day.
Superteacherworksheets.com is an amazing resource for Math Workshop. In addition to worksheets (which I give for homework) they have task cards and center activities for every math skill! I have also found a lot of free resources on Pinterest and TPT. One thing that has saved me a ton of time has been getting parent volunteers to help with cutting, laminating, and prepping station activities. I asked the parents at back to school night if they would be ok with me sending stuff home for them to prep for me and several of them said yes, so I try to plan as far in advance as I can and send home bags full of work for them to help me with.
I am linking my pinterest board for math in case you want to go check out some of the awesome, free resources that I have found & this is the link to the math section of my TPT store for even more resources!
