Many teachers have tried teaching using small groups. However, they think that math groups are too complicated and tend of quit before Thanksgiving comes around. Their math groups may not have been successful, because they really weren't teaching guided math. Guided math is more than just putting up a cute rotations board ...
Read More
New on the Blog
Teaching Time – Level 1: Resources for Beginners
Telling time is a difficult skill for second and third graders. When students get to third grade, teachers will focus on telling time to the minute and solving elapsed time problems. To complete these challenging tasks, students need to have mastered the basics of time. Below is a list of ideas and resources you can use in ...
Read More
Goals for the First 5 Days of Math Workshop
It's Friday and school starts next week! This means I have 3 'work days' to get ready before my students come in all excited and ready to learn! :)
I've been thinking about my math block A LOT. I am SO thankful that I wrote this detailed blog post of how I ran my math work block. I just reread it and printed the ...
Read More
Organizing All Your Notes in One Place
Today I'm going to share with you a notebook that I created to help keep all my notes together. This notebook is going to combine 3 notebooks into one. First, It will serve as a spot for me to check the status of my class (what book they are reading). Second, it will store anecdotal notes that I take (reading/math). Third, ...
Read More
Teaching Measurement & Data with Interactive Notebooks
Using interactive notebooks is a great way to review concepts during math workshop. Finding a way to keep everything organized can sometimes be a challenge.
Using MATH MENUS is the answer! Each math menu lists 6 activities that the students can complete. Students keep track of the activities as they complete them. There is ...
Read More
Fractions: Area Models & Equal Sharing Problems – 3.NF.1 – Part 1
I am sure many of you will agree that looking at the common core math standards can be confusing at times. I have decided to start a new blog series where I will do my best to look at each standard and explain what it means, what it looks like, and how to best teach it to students so they will build a deep understanding. ...
Read More
How to Plan & Organize Your Guided Math Groups
The school year is halfway through. If you're like me, you are thankful for this winter break and are enjoying time with family. You are also using your break to review what is working in your classroom and what needs to be changed.
Today I will share with you how you can set up and organize a math workshop model that ...
Read More
Math Sorts – A Math Workshop Station
I’m always on the lookout for math stations that will make math workshop run smoothly. Today I’m going to share with you one of my favorite math stations: Math Sorts! Why use math sorts?
There is no prep! Just print, place at a math station, and you're done!
They are organized by standard! You can easily pick what ...
Read More
Getting Started with Math Workshop
Teaching reading in a small group setting has always made sense to me.
I've been doing 'centers/guided reading' back since my 2nd year of teaching (in 1st grade). I think it was my first year of third grade that I started looking into teaching math in the same method: small group.
I have never turned back!
I LOVE how I can ...
Read More
Working With Wonders
After receiving many questions on how I run my reading block, I've finally sat down and typed up a summary for you to read! Please keep in mind that what I do in my reading block changes from week to week - I am sharing with you a quick summary.
My reading block starts right after specials/snack/bathroom. 10:25
We ...
Read More
Bookmark Book Report Printable
I typed the following bookmark tri-folds for students to complete during the beginning of the year. My students always have a hard time sticking to one book, and it can take a while keeping track of which books they are reading and what page they are on. So, I created these mini-bookmark book reports that they will be ...
Read More
