Skip Counting Task Cards- A New Product!

This year I have Guided Math fully up and running in my class and I must say that I am loving it. In the past I tried to jump in too fast and then it all fell apart but not this year, we have been going slow. Mixing in whole class lessons, math journal work, and the three-part lesson.

Right now we are working on skip counting and data management...I like to do two strands of math at the same time. It helps the students connect patterns between the types of math.

But anyway...I offered a skip counting freebie last week as part of the Halloween Blog Hop I participated in and now I have the full product for you.

Skip Counting Task Cards- By 2's, 3's, 5's, 10's, 25's, 100's

I think if you liked the freebie than you are going to LOVE these skip counting task cards.

This pack contains 65 task cards that can be used in a variety of ways in your math class.

I plan to use them as Must Do's during my Guided Math rotations and for assessment during Math Conferences.

I have included a recording sheet so your students can track the numbers they are counting with and begin to see patterns in their skip counting.

Communication in math is one of my favourite things to teach so I have also created 2 different reflection sheets that students can use to help explain their understanding and thinking about skip counting. 

I hope you find these useful in your class.

If there is a number that your curriculum dictates that you teach for skip counting and it's not included in the package, please email me and we can see if we can work something out!

Using a Math Huddle to Teach Workshop Skills

If you have been following me for awhile now and reading my posts you already know all about my love for the three-part lesson and math huddles.

Love them!

This year as we are starting up our Math Workshop I decided to try something new and use the same Math Huddle framework to teach a concept that will be the cornerstone of our Math Workshop program....Math Talk!

Here is a picture of the finished Math Huddle board. It's such a nice clean way to organize the student work and create an interactive anchor chart.

This was my class' first experience with a Math Huddle and they did a bang up job (if I do say so myself!). We had been slowing moving through the parts of our Math Workshop and talking a lot about the expectations for each area. 

As the Minds On for this Math Huddle I simply displayed the poster for the Helping Others component of our Math Workshop and had the students turn and talk about what we would be doing during this time. 

Then I posted a simple problem that I thought the students could handle but would still need to take some time to really think about. I also wanted an open-routed problem so that my students would be able to use a variety of strategies to solve it.

BUT here is the most important part....it doesn't really matter what type of problem you use, or if you even talk about the problem, which I didn't. 

The focus of this Math Huddle was actually the math talk that would be happening during the problem solving stage. 

You can see here that I posted all my students' work up on the board but we never actually looked at it. Normally during a Math Huddle I would have students present their work, discuss their strategies and make anecdotal notes on the board to help other students stretch their thinking. 

This time, however, we focused on Math Talk. I posted this anchor chart in the Key Ideas and Highlights section. We had previously completed the section that has the question- "What is good math talk?" but had not yet done the chart at the bottom.

After the students complete their first Math Huddle we discussed their feelings and what they thought of the experience. 

Then we created this Looks Like/ Sounds Like/ Feels Like chart together.

My favourite part...Students loving math!

Sigh.

How do you promote good math talk in your class?

Guided Math Posters and Planning (FREEBIES)

“Graphics by The Hazel Owl @ http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Hazel-Owl”

One of my biggest goals for this coming school year is to have a solid Guided Math/ Math Workshop program in my class. Over the course of this year I have been doing a lot of reading, pinning and planning to get ready for this... and here we are, only three weeks away from the start of school!

I've posted a lot about my learning and my plans for my Math Workshop and you can find those posts starting here.

Below you can see the posters I have created for each of the 4 rotations/ centres/ stations (whatever you want to call them) that I will have in my class. I really liked the idea of using MATH as an acronym for my Math Workshop so I played around with it and this is what I came up with.

**On the Teacher Time page of the freebie it will say "Small group lessons that will be done with your teacher." instead of being customized like the one above for a teaching colleague of mine.**

Please click on any of the above images to be taken to my Teachers Pay Teachers store to grab this freebie for yourself. 

I am also in the process of planning out the first 20 days of my Math Workshop...and beyond. I have purchased Guided Math in Action by Dr. Nicki Newton as well as downloaded this AMAZING freebie from Mandy's Tips for Teachers. 

Another blog I recommend visiting is Tina's Teacher Treasures. Tina has some amazing products in her TPT store as well.   

I've also created a Workshop at a Glance template for both my Math and Literacy Workshops. I like to see where I'm going and where I've been as I plan my lessons and move forward through the year.

Click on the image below to grab your copy!

I hope you can make use of these freebies, either in your own classroom or in your planning. I am working on a weekly planning template for both my math and literacy workshop and plan to have those ready soon.

Chapter 9- Guided Math- Putting It Into Practice

We made it!

I am so happy about the learning and re-learning I've done over the course of this book study and want to thank all of you for joining me on this journey.

It's not over yet... of, course we all need to go back to school and like the chapter says "put it into practice". 

I'm looking forward to many posts to come, here on my blog and on yours to see how people adapt and modify the Guided Math framework to fit their teaching style and the learning styles of their students.

Some things that stood out for me during this chapter were:

* the list of "look fors" on page 246 that describe students who are learning mathematics. 

I'd like to make this into a lesson or anchor chart...or something!

* the questions on page 247 for teachers of mathematics to consider

This is a great place to start your planning for sure!

Well, isn't that a loaded question!

Since I technically started implementing the Guided Math framework in my class two years ago this isn't really the beginning for me, but it is a new start.

So what are my goals?

Background papers from:

 http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Malinda-Phillips 

So it looks like I've got some work to do!

And I'll be back to post my progress on these goals and to update you on my Math Workshop series.

Thanks for joining in on this great book study.

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Chapter 8- Assessment in Guided Math

Another chapter that I didn't post on the first time around! Fun!

I am amazed at how comfortable I have become with assessment in the last few years. I'm not sure if it has to do with the principal I was working for a few years ago or the fact that I now have about ten years of teaching under my belt but I know that I feel confident using anecdotals and observations for assessment where I didn't in the past. 

I love the analogy that Laney Sammons makes on page 227 to the inuksuit in the tundra...assessment as a guide post!

Amazing.

She states "without this guidance [of assessment], the effectiveness of instruction is lost."

Wow.

Some other quotes that stood out for me are:

"When this evidence of student learning [meaning the gathering of data done my teachers- formally or informally] is used to develop teaching practices and enhance learning, assessment is being performed." (page 228)

"Teachers plan, teach, assess learning, and then adjust their instruction. Eventually teachers may even be able to assess and adjust as they teach." (page 229)

This is where I feel I am... sometimes!

And when it happens isn't it a great feeling?

"Students improve their performances and increase their learning when they know precisely what they have done well and exactly what they need to do to improve, and then are given opportunities to do so." (page 229)

I have totally seen this in my own class as there as been such a big push for using success criteria is every subject over the past few years. Co-creating the success criteria, keeping it posted and having students self assess has changed the way students view their own grades.

Something I want to improve is my descriptive feedback and my use of checklists to inform parents of their child's progress on a more regular basis.

On page 234, Sammons writes about using checklists for assessment, something I have grown to really like. She states that "[a]fter the checklist has been completed for a piece of student work, the student is then given an opportunity to revise his or her work so that it meets the criteria."

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.

I LOVE the criteria for problem solving rubric that is shared on pages 236-237 and will definitely be using that in my class this year!

A goal for me this coming year is to involve my students as much as possible in the assessment process and have them self-assess and set goals. This isn't something I've been very good at in the past and I really want to improve in this area.

I try to use lots of different kinds of assessment in my class and in the past years I have found myself using formative assessment quite a lot (yeah me!) as well as anecdotal observations and conferences/interviews.

Here are some posts I've done in the past on assessment:

Talking Pictures- love this for formative/diagnostic assessment

Glow and Grow- a strategy I learned at a workshop and then was expanded on by the amazing Jen from Runde's Room!

My Original Post About Glow and Grow

I also did a short series on assessment

(it is actually only one post! LOL...looks like I need to finish that up! OOPS)

Well, it looks like we are almost done our time together for this book study...one more chapter to go.

But don't forget about the Guided Math Conferences Book Study that has started.

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Chapter 7- Conferring with Students

How awesome is it that this chapter of Guided Math happened to fall right after the start of the Guided Math Conferences Book Study?!

If you are loving Guided Math (and how could you not?) then you should click here to check out my post on Guided Math Conferences, another fabulous book by Laney Sammons.

Brenda from Primary Inspired is hosting a book study on this book and it just started! 

You totally have time to jump on board!

So I do have my original thoughts on this chapter and once again you can find them below in pink and italics. 

Chapter 7 is all about conferring with students about their math understanding. The teacher is able to learn about the students, their work, what they may be struggling with, and the next steps in learning. 

I loved when Sammon's wrote that "conferring is the heart and soul of teaching" (page 207). 

What an amazing statement, and so true. 

When we conference with our students, in any subject we sit alongside them, talk to them, listen to them and learn about them. 

How wonderful. 

Sammons also points out that conferring makes our instruction "more focused and powerful" (page 207).

Talking with my students about math is one of my absolute favourite parts of math workshop. 

I often talk with my students as I move through the classroom and they are working, which I guess is a math conference!

During a math huddle I encourage a lot of math talk which I find is a great way to learn more about their math thinking, however

many students are only familiar with being questioned about their thinking when they are wrong, not when they are right. 

I think it's important to ask students questions during both situations, when they are wrong to help clarify their thinking and guide them towards understanding the concept being studied and when they are right to help them expand their knowledge and their ability to communicate their thinking. 

In order to help students gain a comfort level with this it needs to be a stated expectation from the beginning of the year. 

I talk to my students about why I will be asking them questions

- no matter if they are right or wrong- 

because it helps me to understand more about their thinking, it will help them to communicate clearly to their peers, and it will help their classmates to hear math talk from someone who understands the concept we are studying. 

As the year progresses and students are questioned frequently they begin to expect it and look forward to answering in order to communicate their thinking.

Management Issues

- think and plan about how your students will be involved in independent work so you have time to confer with students (think- Math Workshop meets the Daily 5)

- you will not be able to consistently monitor the work of other students in the room during Math Workshop as you will be busy conducting conferences

- plan for what will happen 
when students need help and they can't ask you

*This is a goal for me...I really want to have a solid routine in place so students can help themselves and each other.*

- it is essential that students become independent and self-sufficient in order to avoid "learned helplessness" and build endurance for problem solving

*This is such an important piece...in all subjects!!*

- plan for students who 
1) have trouble starting a task, 
2) staying on task, 
3) always move around the room, 
4) finish quickly with no thought to the quality of their work

- take a moment to watch the room before you start your conferences, move across the room instead of student to student beside each other

- follow up on conferences frequently

The Structure of a Conference

- teachers ask questions in order to see what the students are thinking, understanding and wondering

- main structure of a conference includes:

1) research

2) decide

3) teach

4) link

 I love how Sammons writes that "the goal of a conference is to move a student from what he or she can almost independently to what he or she can do independently" (page 213). 
The research stage is crucial here so that we go into a conference prepared with the knowledge we need to help our students. 

It is important to remember that we can review our previous anecdotal observations as part of the research process as well as asking a student a general question that allows them to start explaining their thinking. 

* I am currently revamping my 
system for keeping anecdotal records. 
If anyone has a good system, I'd love to hear about it. *

Once we have done the necessary research it is time to decide what is needed to help our students. How can we support our students' growth? Sammons outlines that we, as teachers, have three responsibilities during this phase:

1) talk about what students are doing well

2) choose what we can teach to move students forward

3) focus on how to best use the time left in our conference

I really noticed how often it was mentioned that teachers should focus on talking about what students are doing right from the start in order to help them feel comfortable during the conference and to help give them the confidence needed to learn from the teach segment of the conference.

Teaching anything during a conference will be brief and teachers need to know their STUFF! 

Sammons writes that teachers usually use one of the folioing teaching strategies during this stage of a conference: guided practice, demonstration, explain and show an example.

Lastly, end the conference with a link to the future. Remind students about what they are doing well, what they have learned during the conference and to try to use their new knowledge next time they are solving a similar problem. 

As mentioned before, Sammons talks about keeping records for the conferences at the 
end of the chapter and the importance of this practice. 

So my question is....how do you keep records during your math conferences/workshop/lessons etc?

Check out some more great posts about this chapter.

An InLinkz Link-up

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Chapter 6- Guided Math

For some reason I didn't do a post on Chapter 6 during the original Guided Math book study 2 years ago....hmmm.

So for this post there will be just my current thoughts.

That's kinda fun too, right??

Since this post contains my thoughts about the book and how I will be implementing what I've learned in my Math Workshop I've decided to include it in my Math Workshop series.

You can check out the other posts here.

Math Workshop Series- Part 1

Math Workshop Series- Part 2

Math Workshop Series- Part 3

Math Workshop Series- Part 4a

Math Workshop Series- Part 4b

Math Workshop Series- Part 5

One of the problems I faced when I first started implementing guided math and math workshop is that I went too fast. I tried to set up everything at once, get it all rolling and then it was just too much to keep up with...and ultimately it got dropped from my program.

Sad, but true.

This year I have a plan (am working on a plan....) and will go much more slowly with implementing each of the components of my math workshop program. 

I originally posted about my plan for Math Workshop here but after re-reading through Guided Math I have made a few tweaks.

Instead of the acronym that you see in the post I am going to use 

M- Must Do

A- Activate Thinking

T- Teacher Time

H- Helping Others

So really just the A has changed but here's why... To me both the A and the H sounded the same.

 "All Together" and "Helping Others"- too similar. 

"Activate Thinking" covers a much broader range of topics/concepts/activities for math workshop.

In Chapter 6 Sammons provides an outline of the possible activities that can be done during Math Workshop (see chart on page 188-189) while the teacher is working with a small guided group. As I read through the activities I sorted them into the areas of my math workshop where I thought they would work the best.

Background papers from:

 http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Malinda-Phillips 

As you can see some components are in more than one area but will look a little different in each. For example, math facts- in Helping Others this may be a game or flash cards, in Activate Thinking it may be a worksheet or an assessment so I can evaluate where the student's own mastery lies.

Some other thoughts I want to think more about and get a handle on:

* Problem of the Week 

-where will this fit? how will I ensure students have time to work on it? will it be assessed? good place to use practice questions from EQAO (standardized test)?

* Materials

- how will things be organized in my class? what does my new school provide? what do I need to create/purchase?

* Investigations

- one per month? optional/mandatory? tied to math stretch "How My Family Used Math? inquiry based?

* Math Journals

- have a separate section for reflections and writing? rubric? checklist? letter writing to each other to offer support?

* Self- Management

- use the bulleted list on page 201 to create an anchor chart/ contract for our math workshop time?

So many questions still to think about!!

Do you have any suggestions or ideas for how these things work in your class?

Check out the other hosts for their thoughts on this chapter and don't forget to enter the giveaway.

An InLinkz Link-up

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Guided Math- Chapter 4

I can not believe how much I am re-learning by re-reading this book and my old posts!

It's been a very interesting journey so far and I am very thankful to Amanda from The Primary Gal for allowing me to take part in this book study. 

Once again you'll find my original thoughts in pink italics below with my new thoughts in black. 

This is a bit of a longer post but if you hang in there you'll find a freebie at the end!

So teaching the whole class, eh? Yep, that's kind of been my style. This is the first-ish year that I have taught math. I taught it for 4 months only last year before I went on mat leave so this was my first full year of being a math teacher. To my surprise, I really enjoyed it. I worked hard to use problem based learning as much as possible and to work with small groups when I could. I was learning as I went to I can honestly say that I didn't work with small groups as much as I should have and I probably used worksheets far too often. But that's the whole point of reading and participating in this book study right? To get better at teaching!

Working with small groups has definitely become the norm in my math class after reading this book for the first time 2 years ago. I can't say that I officially have a guided math/math workshop program in place but it's getting there. I found that switching grades and attempting to implement guided math was too much to do all at the same time.

This coming year will be my second year in Grade 3 and my 4th year teaching math so I think it's finally time to really focus on having a Math Workshop program.

To that end I started a series of posts back in the winter outlining my plans. If you are new to Thinking of Teaching (welcome!) you can follow the links below to check out my posts. The series isn;t finished yet, although it's been a wile since I posted, I do plan to go back and add more posts. 

Math Workshop Series 

Part 1- Getting Started

Part 2- What Will It Look Like?

Part 3- Organizing Your Math Workshop Materials (and a freebie!)

Part 4a- The Three-Part Lesson

Part 4b- Example Three-Part Lesson

Part 5- Written Communication

The Three-Part Lesson is by far my favourite way to teach a whole class, especially when it ends with a Math Huddle...or a Bansho as it's called in Japan. 

I have several example posts of Math Huddles I have done in my class-

Sorting by Two and Three Attributes

Math Problem Solving

Using a T-chart to Solve Patterns

Addition and Subtraction Strategies

Two years ago I wrote this...

On page 108, Sammons writes "Even experienced teachers using  whole-class instruction often find that the lesson goes over the heads of some students, leading to passivity and lack of attention, while failing to challenge others, leading to boredom." YEP.

The one thing I have learned is that no matter how great your lesson or your activity- there is always someone who has no idea what you just taught!

And that's where the guided portion of Math Workshop comes in.

Some standout moments-

* Mini-lessons: good for setting the tone and introducing concepts, can be used to summarize the learning that took place, no more than 10 minutes, identify the teaching point, demonstrates/models strategy, students try out strategy in a brief guided practice, teachers need to provide activities for those students who quickly finish so they are actively involved in further learning, end off by reminding students to remember the strategy and link to future work when possible

Love doing mini-lessons, especially when I notice a mis-conception that is common through the entire class as well as when I notice that my students are really getting something...then it's time to push them even further. 

* Word Splashes: I have often used this to start off a math topic and I think it is because of my literacy background, you always go to where you are most comfortable! I have always had my students create the word splash with me, however, I have not presented it to them all at once. That will be something new to try. 

I kind of forgot how much I love Word Splashes....gotta do more of these in the new school year. 

* Math Related Children's Literature:  This is a huge goal for me. I really want to focus on this next year and tie in math related literature as often as possible.

Still a goal...sigh.

Don't you wish you could just do everything?

* Math Huddle:  This has been a focus for my school in the past few years as we have worked towards a problem based teaching model. Our province has been promoting a teaching method known as bansho, which comes from Japan. I like the name Math Huddle much better! This is also a goal for me. I want to be more comfortable discussing my student's math understandings on the fly and in class as their problem solving takes place. I like the idea that students are "held accountable for expressing their ideas and listening thoughtfully to each other and justifying their mathematical thinking". 

As I stated above...LOVE. LOVE. LOVE.

And now for the freebie(s)!

In the winter I completed a course on teaching mathematics to primary/junior students and I was required to create three three-part lessons (say that three times fast!) for my final assignment. It's based on the Ontario Mathematics Curriculum for Grade 3 but if you know your own curriculum well enough I'm sure you'll be able to see if they are usable/adaptable for you. They might also just be good to look at for an example of how to plan a three-part lesson for your whole class. 

Click HERE to download the lessons. 

If you head over to my TPT store you'll also be able to download a free Three-Part Lesson Plan Template. 

Don't forget to check out all the other posts by my fellow book study hosts....

An InLinkz Link-up

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