I am
linking up again with Courtney and Sarah for the second to last chapter in the
book study on Guided
Math in Action by
Dr. Nicki Newton. I have learned a lot by rereading this book, answering the
discussion questions, and reading other people’s responses. I am super excited to be implementing guided
math this year. I feel that Chapter 8 is
one of the most important chapters in the book because it is all about what the
other students are doing when you are working with a guided math group. We all know that if the rest of the class is
not engaged in their activity, you will not be able to give
your full attention to the students in your small group. Another struggle is giving students an
activity that they can complete independently (or at least without the
teacher’s help), but is still rigorous and worthwhile. I loved all of Dr. Nicki’s ideas in Chapter 8
about what the other students could be doing.
She believes that students should be working independently, with
partners, and in groups during this time.
She also suggests seven must-have centers:
1.Basic
Fact
2.Hot
Topics Review
3.Geometry
4.Word
Problem
5.Math
Poem
6.Math
Journal
7.Math
vocabulary
I
have used basic facts, hot topics, geometry, word problems, and math journals
in my math centers in the past. I had
never considered using poetry in math centers, so this is something I need to
look into. I honestly, don’t usually use
much poetry in math. If anyone has any
great resources, please let me know. My
grade level has decided to put a focus on vocabulary this year, so it only
makes sense to tie that into math. I’m
not sure what a math vocabulary center will look like in my classroom, so I am
looking forward to the first Wednesday Link-Up all about Math Vocabulary. See the schedule below to link up if you have
any great ideas about math centers or if you just want to get some new ideas:
Now
onto this week’s discussion questions:
Question
1: How
often do you give students the opportunity to practice on their own, in pairs,
and in groups? I
have students the opportunity to practice math on their own every day. This can be their morning math worm-up or
math fact practice in writing or on the computers/tablets. I also have students work in pairs
frequently. These can be homogeneous or
heterogeneous groupings. In the partner groups, students play cooperative and
competitive games. They also have
opportunities to work together on problem-based tasks and other hands-on
activities. I do not have my students
work in groups in math as often as in other subjects, so this will be an aspect
to incorporate more this year. I love
Dr. Nicki’s idea for having students work together to solve a word problem by
having each student take on a role (reader, number cruncher, checker, etc.)
This is definitely something I will be incorporating in my classroom this
year.
Question
2: How
do
you hold students accountable for the work they are doing? In
the past, I have had students complete worksheets and turn in for me to
accountability. I honestly hate making
copies of worksheets, so I try to use them as infrequently as possible. This is
one reason why I love using
math journals. Not only do I not need to make copies of
worksheets, but I can also include more open-ended questions to challenge my
students. The math facts centers that I use are often on the computer or
tablet. When my students use programs
like XtraMath, the computer sends me email updates to keep up with
accountability. The other math fact
activities that I have students complete are laminated or in sheet protectors,
so there is nothing to turn in. When
students work in partners or groups, I believe that they keep each other
accountable. Sometimes I include an
answer key in a center, so that students can check their work. I think that I
may have students reflect on their work in their math journals even if they do
not have a worksheet to complete. This
will give me and them something to discuss when I do math conferences.
