Effective Small Group Math Instruction

K-5 Math Back to School Conference

August 1, 2014Gardendale High School

K-5 Math Survey

Depth of Knowledge

Small Group Instruction

Number Talks

Outcomes

• Participants will identify the elements of differentiated instruction necessary to implement small group instruction

• Participants will leave with an understanding of 2 of the components of math block (guided math instruction and math work stations or menus)

So, where are you with Math Workshop, Math Stations, Math

Centers or Math Menus? ?

Red:: What are stations anyway?Yellow: Not quite, but really interested. I have tried a few.Green: I have stations established in my room, but need new ideas.

Activity

• What is a math work station?– Work with a group to come up with a definition

of what your group believes is a math work station

– Indentify where your team is at with math workstations –red/yellow/green

– Be prepared to share with whole group

Math Stations Math centers, learning centers, math stations, work stations—are component(s) of effective mathematics instruction.  Textbook programs, including Investigations, Everyday Math, and Saxon, are all including math stations into their instructional models.  The model works in reading; it can work in math too.

Standards for Mathematical Practice

1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of

others4. Model with mathematics5. Using appropriate tools strategically6. Attend to precision7. Look for and make use of structure8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning

What is Guided Math?What is Guided Math?

• One component of a math workshop• Students learn in small flexible

groups based on their readiness level • Students practice with the teacher,

with each other and then by themselves during the guided math lesson

Guided Math

• http://www.sisd.net/cms/lib/TX01001452/Centricity/Domain/4444/SEP%2050534%20Guided%20Math.pdf

Why do guided math groups?

“When a teacher tries to teach something to the entire class at the same time, chances are, one third of the kids already know it, one third will get it, and the remaining third won’t get it. So two thirds of the children are wasting their time.”

~Lillian Katz

Turn and Talk

• Talk to your shoulder buddy about how math is taught in your building (think about the differences in classrooms & grade levels). Are these components part of the math instruction?

– ____ whole group instruction– ____ mini-lesson– ____ debrief– ____ small guided math group– ____ workstations – ____ number talks

GUIDED MATH VERSUS WHOLE GROUP MATH

Whole Class•Mini Lesson•Non-targeted•Large Group

Guided Math•Mini Lesson•Differentiated•Small group

Reader’s Workshop•Mini –Lesson•Word Work•Fluency Practice•Strategy Practice•Conferences•Share Time•Groups (Guided, Strategic, Discussion)

Math Workshop•Lessons•Vocabulary Practice •Fact Fluency Practice (Automaticity)•Strategy Practice•Conferences•Share Time•Small Guided Math Groups

Math Block•Balance procedural understanding and conceptual understanding

•Balance whole group and small group •Balance teacher directed and student-focused

Guided Math/Learning Tasks

Debrief

Number Talks

Mini-Lesson

Differences from Traditional Centers

Math Work Stations Traditional Math Centers

Materials are previously used in instruction…no new materials in stations!

New materials may have been in centers with limited instruction on how to use them.

Do not change weekly! Change according to levels of understanding and strategies being taught.

Were often changed weekly according to units or themes.

All students go to work stations daily. Not all students participated…often used as a reward or motivation to complete work.

Differentiated materials. All students did the same activity at the center.

Teacher observes or works with differentiated small math groups.

If teacher met with groups, each group often did the same task.

Math Energizers/ Number Talks

• The first 5 minutes…you want to grab their attention!

• Some Ideas– Introduce a new game (but tease )–Counting Games–Tell Me All You Can – Number of the Day–Number Talks–Mental Math Pop

Mini-Lesson

• What is the most important element of your lesson?

• What is it you want to “stick” with the students?• Look at your unit goals and the standards you are

addressing in the unit• Suggestions

– Prior learning needed to be successful– Sample problem that connects to goal– Introducing a game/task that ALL students will

complete

Small Group Small Group InstructionInstruction

• Always start with the concrete (base-ten blocks, cubes, counters, etc.), move to pictorial, and end with the abstract (number sentences or equations)

• Focus of small group instruction (all levels) is on clearing misconceptions. Start with what students know, then build from that knowledge.

• Questioning, exploration, and sharing should be occurring on a daily basis. Students should be sharing their strategies for solving math problems daily.

• Manipulatives should be used in small groups to allow students time to explore concepts they didn’t understand the first time.

Rotations– Developmental Grouping Model

• Three or four rotations depending on number of students• Rotation #1 – Teacher-led

– Where concept is taught.• Differentiate according to group’s needs

• Rotation #2 – Journal/Worksheet– Students work together and have to reach consensus on answers

• Rotation #3 – Game– Connected to that lesson or prior lesson– Can be differentiated to meet needs of learners

• Optional Rotation #4 – Computers/Game/Fact Fluency– Connected to that lesson or prior lesson– Can be differentiated to meet needs of learners

Rotations – Math Work Station Model

• Two rotations• Materials are used by teacher and students

during instruction first.• Materials change to reflect students’ levels of

math understanding, strategies being taught, and topics being studied.

• Students are working in pairs

Rotations – Guided Math Model

• Three groups with two rotations a day for three days with whole class starting and ending week.

• Groups are homogeneous and change based on formative data

• Activities for each group are based on needs of students

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5

Whole Class

A B C A B C A B C Whole ClassTeacher Activity Activity Activity Computer Teacher Activity Teacher Computer

Computer

Teacher Activity Teacher Activity Activity Activity/ Computer

Activity Teacher

Student Share/Reflection

• Students brought back together to share what they learned– What do you know now that you didn’t know?– What math did you do today? (if following guided

math model or work stations, opportunity for students to share since they are not all doing the same thing)

• Connect back to the mini-lesson

Where Do I Begin???

Let’s watch a video

What Now?What Now?

• Decide on rules and routines

• Set up groups• Create a schedule• Develop accountability form• Plan guided math lessons• Design workstations

3, 2, 1, Exit Ticket

• 3 Things you will do to prepare for an effective math block in your classroom

• 2 Things you discovered about an effective math block

• 1 Question you still have

Math Work Stations Resources

• www.wmisd.org/ge/mm - my website links out to most of these sites and the math stations activities

• http://www.k-5mathteachingresources.com/ • http://ccssmath.org/ • http://www.protopage.com/

lchambless#Professional/Kdg_Math - this is by grade level – you change the tabs at the top for your grade level

Math Work Stations Resources

• http://first-grade-garden.blogspot.com/2011/09/math-stations-set-1.html

• http://pinterest.com/sdivince/mathematics/• http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/

Browse/Type-of-Resource/Math-Centers/?&pr=1&vw=&od=Rating&page=1

• http://mrsshannonsclass.weebly.com/printables-by-subject.html

ReferencesBush, K. Holland Elementary kbess@spsmail.org

Deborah KrambPitner Elementary School

Norman, J –Cowden Elementary jnorman592@spsmail.orghttp://sps.k12.mo.us/cowden/jaustin/

November 2009

Spruiell, K. (2010). The Road to Guided Math-How to Get Your Engine Started and Take Off Down the Road. GCTM

• http://lrt.ednet.ns.ca/PD/BLM/table_of_contents.htm

• http://schools.nyc.gov/Academics/CommonCoreLibrary/TasksUnitsStudentWork/default.htm