Here is why I chose go give Guided Math a try midway through the year: I had a very kinesthetic group of students who struggled to stay focused during whole group lessons, my group was VERY academically diverse (in both math and reading abilities), I had a social group who were eager to help one another and my group was 'busy' and needed to have a more definitive break between activities.
I structured my guided math as follows:
- Math Meeting: Students enter the room and place their supplies at their table spot, then travel to the carpet area to review or discuss today's objective. This usually involved a game or quick student lead learning. Lasts 10 mins.
- Centers: I split kids into three groups (6-8 kids per group), they spent 12-15 minutes at each of their three jobs (depending on how much time it takes to clean up and show they are ready to switch). I did my best to meet with each group every day, as my group really needed the teacher touch time. Their three jobs were: game center, teacher time, and independent work. In the beginning, it really helps to have a parent volunteer there to help monitor students at the game center to get a partner, find supplies, get started, etc.
- Closing: Students clean up and head back to their table spots to make sure supplies are cleaned up. Then we may share a math story or play a bit more of a review game (my group really liked the guess my number game). I also gave students a sneak peek into what to expect tomorrow as time allowed, especially if there was going to be a change in routine (assembly, fire drill, assessment, etc). Lasts 5-10 mins.
With year one under my belt, here are things that really helped make Guided Math work in my classroom:
- Mixed Ability Groupings: Having a mix of abilities within one group allowed other students to be helpers at independent work and games as appropriate (this was taught ahead of time). Students were able to help one another learn the content.
- Golden Tickets: This was my visual for the three strikes, we're done. I placed three laminated post-it notes on my math bulletin board (which was near my teaching area). Students knew if they were off task or the volume was too loud, I would clap for attention remind them about what needed fixing and remove a post-it. Since my class LOVED centers, we knew if we lost all three, we would go back to a whole group lesson - which no one wanted. After the first few days of practice and explaining to students what was off task behavior and too loud, they very rarely lost a ticket. If they did lose a ticket, it was rare and usually only one. There was only one day they lost all three tickets, the day before Spring Break and we had a fun assembly after math.
- Central Location: Each center had a specific spot that I did my best to keep constant. If something was going to change, we talked about this at the beginning of Math Meeting. Our rotation also remained the same each day, students rotated through centers the same way each day.
- Secret Word: I used a timer to help me stay on track more than anything. Students knew that the timer beeping meant they should start cleaning up, then wait quietly at their center until I could do a visual check that each group was ready to switch. I picked a new word each day (which I told students during Math Meeting) to be our password. Students could not switch centers until they heard the secret word. This kept things fun and light. If I forgot to say the word, they were sure to remind me. :)
- Lesson Plan Spreadsheet: It takes a little extra time, but I fill out this lesson plan template weekly to keep myself organized. Head to TPT to download it for free!
I hope you find these tips helpful. Yeah Guided Math!
