Most of this thinking started when I attended the first of four professional development opportunities with Joan Smith. In these sessions, she is working with the fifth grade teachers in my district on helping our students to understand the basics of math (what numbers are, mean, and how they work in the world), begin using this knowledge to problem solve real life problems, and taking a hands off role to allow students to make mistakes (after all, that is where the most concrete learning occurs).
Last week, I jumped right in by setting the stage for what we would be learning and how we would do this this year.
We then worked on our first real life problem solving activity. This is where I had to take a complete hands off role. I provided students with the problem, manipulatives, the time, and I watched, took notes, and made observations about what students fully understood and where their "missing links" were. My how surprised I was! This was a two day event. On the second day, we charted all of the thinking and math processing we had been doing for two days. Take a look at our work below.
This experience was so valuable for my students and myself. They learned from one another, they had a chance to practice what they knew and understood, and I learned where "missing links" were, how I should begin grouping the kids for "guided math, "and where to begin with each student. Ultimately, I did a second lesson in a similar fashion since this one went so well.
My focus for this second lesson was lesson on the concept we were working with and more on the practical use of manipulatives and tools. In the process, the students surprised me with their connections to new math rules we had not learned or discussed. Take a look at the chart we created together based on this lesson and learning below.
A little more than a week later, I have begun thinking about pulling students into "guided math" groups. I am excited to dive into this with my students. My developing plan for my 80 minute math block is below.
Problem of the Day (still thinking about this one)
Mini-lesson (using my current district program)
TIME work (check out more details here)
Sharing from our TIME work
As I begin to implement this and other developing ideas in the classroom, I am excited to share them. What are your thoughts? Where should I go next? What have you tried that worked well?
I love that one of the kids listen "my brain" as a manipulative. Ha! :) I do a math workshop with my first graders. We use Everyday Counts for our calendar, so that's our first 10 minutes. Then we move into a brief mini-lesson, followed by guided math groups. My first group is my "low" group, and they meet with me first for additional instruction. The other groups do either an activity that reinforces the mini-lesson or play a math game that reviews familiar math concepts. When I meet with my advanced mathmeticians, they usually do an extension activity. It allows me to meet everyone's needs, intervene for the kids that need it, and push the kiddos that are ready for a challenge. I love it!
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