Implementing Guided Math

get-your-groove-on-guided-math

Hi Friends… Welcome to my NEW blog series on Implementing Guided Math! At the end of this 10 week series, you will learn the ins and out of All Things Guided Math and I am so excited you have decided to join me on this journey! It is going to be a fun ride. So buckle up… and let’s get crack-a-lackin on learning all about Implementing Guided Math in your classroom!

There are 9 basic components of Guided Math. Below I will give you a brief overview of each component and then we will dive DEEP into each component as my Get Your Groove On with Guided Math Blog Series continues.

Here are the 9 basic components of Guided Math:

{Click each LINK below to read a more IN-DEPTH blog post about each component.}

Organization

Flexible Grouping

Managing Rotations

Whole Group Instruction

Small Group Guided Instruction

Independent Practice

Math Stations

Math Journals

Fact Fluency

Small Group Guided Instruction

Small Group Instruction

Small Group Guided Instruction is just that… a small group where you guide your students through the lesson you have created. I call this rotation: Teacher Feature. However, the focus of this small group instruction is meant to be a rigorous lesson, yet presented at the level that your students are currently performing at. In addition, each lesson should not be longer than 15-20 minutes. I usually stay closer to the 15-minute mark. However, at times, I may need a few more minutes with my strategic intervention group to ensure that they have understood the lesson and the independent practice activity that I have assigned.

Whole Group Instruction:

Whole Group Instruction

 Whole Group Instruction usually takes place on my carpet area. Honestly, I am NOT a fan of whole group math instruction. I know that might seem strange and definitely not the norm, but I KNOW with certainty that I am not reaching the needs of all of my students when I teach my math lessons to my entire class simultaneously. The only time I use whole group instruction during math is when I am first introducing a new unit of study by reading a mentor text and creating an anchor chart, doing whole group Number Talks/Number Study, doing whole group scoot games and “I have, Who Has” games, and making crafts that align with the unit of study.

Independent Practice:

Independent Practice is the activity that your students will complete INDEPENDENTLY after their lesson during our small group instruction time. After they engage in our 15 minute rigorous lesson and our guided practice activity during our small group instruction, they will be expected to practice the skill and/or strategy they just learned. I call this rotation: Workbook Nook (sometimes their independent work is in their workbook, printable pages, or interactive notebook activities.)

Math Stations:

Math Stations or in my classroom called “Elation Stations,” students are expected to practice and review skills and strategies that have been taught during a previous unit of study. The MOST IMPORTANT aspect of Math Station work is that the skills/strategies/activities that the students are engaged in MUST BE REVIEW!

For example, if you are in the middle of your unit on multiplication, the math stations that they are working on will be activities of previously taught material, like measurement or addition and subtraction, IF you have already taught these skills. Once your unit on multiplication is complete and you are on your next unit of study, that is the time where you will add multiplication math stations into the mix or station work that you will have your students complete.

The activities that are in your math stations should be organized and easy to understand. And in my opinion the most IMPORTANT aspect of Math Stations is CONSISTENCY! If you have a TON of different types of activities and games, the students will be confused, have questions, and ultimately interrupt your small group instruction with questions….which you DO NOT WANT! You have 15 minutes to facilitate a rigorous instructional period and you and that group cannot be interrupted with students who are confused on what they are expected to do during stations. So remember… Math Stations are review stations!

Fact Fluency:

When my students have completed their Independent Work after small group instruction or their Math Station activity, they are expected to practice their fact fluency. I have a couple of different choices for the students to use during this time. They can use Fact Fluency Hot Dots, Beat The Clock from Lakeshore Learning, or they can use my fact fluency sheets in my sheet protectors or C-Line clear pockets. When they use the fact fluency sheets, I have these fun timers that they use to time themselves when they practice their facts. They LOVE practicing their facts in this station!

I have also introduced My Fact Fluency Math Muscles to my students to help build their fact fluency skills. We will complete these Fact Fluency Math Muscle Assessments either during morning work time or at the beginning of my math block.  It is so important that the students learn and gain automaticity when solving basic math facts! I am very hopeful that my Math Muscles will truly help my kiddos with this skill!

Math Journals:

Another activity that my students must accomplish after they completed their Independent Work after small group instruction or their Math Station activity, are Math Journals. These math journals incorporate math word problems with one, two, or three-step problems that the students must complete.

However, the word problems that are in this station are REVIEW skills. For example, if I am in the middle of my money unit, my students DO NOT have any money word problems in this station. I wait until my entire unit is complete and THEN I add Money word problems to this station.

The reason that I wait until AFTER I complete the unit is because I want to ensure that they have learned all of the different skills within that unit to be able to choose the different strategy they want to use to accomplish the word problem… AND… if they are confused or stuck on a word problem they will try to interrupt me during my small group instruction. AND THAT is a big NO NO! My fifteen-minute small group instruction time cannot be interrupted with students who do not understand a word problem. That is the reasons that I want the skills to be review skills. It truly reduces any confusion that students may be having because every skill is a REVIEW skill!

Coming Up in our Get your Groove On with Guided Math Blog Series

Organization

Flexible Grouping

Managing Rotations

Whole Group Instruction

Small Group Guided Instruction

Independent Practice

Math Stations

Math Journals

Fact Fluency

So… get ready to GET YOUR GROOVE ON because you are going to be a GUIDED MATH GURU!

If you would like to check out my 2nd Grade Guided Math Yearlong Curriculum or my 3rd Grade Yearlong Guided Math Curriculum, click the images below to check them out!

guided math resources

What is Guided Math that Works?

If you are interested in learning how to implement Guided Math using a Step-by-Step approach, I have created an online Professional Development Guided Math workshop called Guided Math that Works.

Guided Math that Works is an online Professional Development Workshop that I created for elementary teachers in Grades 1-5! This professional development workshop has been a true labor of love that took me a year to develop to ensure that I took all of my LESSONS LEARNED and mistakes that I made along the way and help YOU AVOID making the same mistakes that I made when I first implemented the Guided Math framework AVOID making the same mistakes that I made when I first implemented the Guided Math framework

Guided Math that Works provides you with a clear and actionable ROADMAP to easily and efficiently get Guided Math up and running in your classroom! I am teaching you EVERYTHING I have done in my own classroom to have a calm, organized, streamlined, and chaos-free guided math block where you will begin to see your students’ math success SOAR!

Here’s the lowdown on Guided Math that Works…

This Professional Development Workshop includes:

  • 5 Learning Modules that contain 24 video-based lessons
  • 5 hours of learning that can be used towards your professional development requirements
  • PDF downloadable workbooks for each module
  • TONS and TONS of amazing BONUSES in the bonus module of the course (OVER $40 in BONUSES ALONE)

This Professional Development Workshop can be done in the comfort of your own home (PJs acceptable) or your school district can purchase licenses for their teachers through our school district licensing program.

Here is an overview of the modules:

(WAIT until you see the BONUSES included!!!)

Wait! Before you go! CHECK OUT this FREEBIE I have for YOU! Click HERE or the picture below! Thanks again! Happy Teaching!

Chat with you soon…

signature
Posted in

Keep Reading

Anna D.

14 thoughts on “Implementing Guided Math”

  1. This sounds like a wonderful plan to transition to. I’m wanting to begin something like this next year. My question is how does this work on Day 1 of a new unit, whole group lesson for 15-20 (however long) and then I’m guessing you break off into your first small group lesson, but what do the other kids do? Especially in the beginning of the school year when you haven’t taught much else so you don’t have math stations to really choose from. Do you have students review concepts from the last grade? Also, do you meet with all your groups in one day or spread out into 2 or 3 days? Do you have an example week’s plans on how this looks in the classroom? Sorry for so many questions! I appreciate any insight you can provide for me. Thanks!

  2. Anna,
    Please let me know where I can find the subsequent posts/detailed descriptions regarding the “Getting the Groove On – Math” 10-week lessons.

  3. HI, I bought the Guided Math Year long Bundle last week. I can’t find the station check off sheet for the students.
    And I can’t seem to get on to the special facebook page for those who buy the bundle. Can you help me.
    Thanks!

  4. I just bought your guided math and can’t wait to use in the classroom. I received the invitation to join the facebook group but the link doesn’t work. How can I get this sent to me again? Thanks!

  5. Pingback: Guided Math: Flexible Grouping – Simply Skilled in Second

  6. Pingback: Guided Math and Math Stations – Simply Skilled in Second

  7. Pingback: Guided Math & Math Stations {Part 2} – Simply Skilled in Second

Comments are closed.

anna-round-pic.png

I'm Anna DiGilio

Hi, I'm Anna! I was a primary teacher for over twenty-three years, wife of a firefighter, mother of twin teenage boys, obsessed with being creative and helping teachers and love my Saturday morning quiet cup of coffee!
Thanks for stopping by!

Freebies

how-to-launch-guided-math

Get The Freebie

streamline-your-guided-reading

Get The Freebie

growth-mindset

Get the Freebie

read-its-freebie

Get The Freebie

You've Got
Mail!

join-today

Anna in Your Inbox

Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.