Guided Math

I use to have a love/hate relationship with teaching math. Some days I loved it; some days I hated it. It wasn't until I began to incorporate Guided Math into my daily math block that I started to actually look forward to teaching math everyday. I've changed how Guided Math looks in my classroom every year, but this year, it all of sudden has just clicked for me. I've said it before on my blog... I love teaching small groups! It just gives me an opportunity to really get to know my students. Here is a little peek into how I teach Guided Math.

I begin my math block with a 10-15 minute mini-lesson. I typically chose one skill/standard to cover during the week. I either create an anchor chart, work on problem solving using the I Do, We Do, You Do instruction format, or play a quick whole class game.

Here I simply wrote balanced equations on sentence strips. Some were true and some were false. Students had to work in pairs to determine if their equation was correct or not. If it was incorrect, they had to work to make it a true equation. 

After my mini-lesson, students go to math centers. One of the rotations is called instruction time. This is where students work with me in their Guided Math group. This usually lasts about 30-45 minutes. Students are grouped based on pre-assessments that are taken prior to the unit. We begin Guided Math by reviewing the skill we learned during the mini-lesson. After I see that my group is comfortable with the skill, they play a game with their Guided Math group. The lesson above has students arranging the steps to solve a word problem, in order, and using the steps to solve the problem.

Sometimes I have my kiddos record their answers on a recording sheet in a clear plastic pocket protector or we just write on the table with dry erase markers. 

These activities are part of my March Guided Math product. Each skill has a small group lesson and small group game. I've also included recording sheets for the small group game and assessments for each skill that can be used as a pre- and post-test. The small group games can be easily differentiated based on your students' needs.

I hope you're enjoying your Sunday friends!