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.
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:
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.
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Beth