Monday, June 11, 2012

Guided Math Book Study


Guided Math Book Study

I am very excited about the book study because I have been transitioning this past year from Whole Group Math Instruction to Math Stations.  I have to be honest; my math stations need a bit of refining.  I felt like there was not focus during my Math Stations and most of the time I personally felt overwhelmed because my students seemed so needy during the stations. My biggest problems is that some students seem to quickly finish a station so quickly and then are ready to move on before other students.  I feel like I am directing students on what to do constantly and checking their work instead of working with students and helping and guiding those who really need assistance.

So I am thrilled to read this book and read more blogs and discover ideas to develop and improve my Math Stations.

 Here Are My Notes from Chapter One

Key Components In This Model:
1.      A Classroom Environment of Numeracy
Just like your classroom is a print rich environment, your classroom should be rich with mathematics: charts, graphs, add number words and concepts to word wall. I like this idea a lot.  I am going to add creating math vocabulary words to my of things to do for the summer.
2.    Morning Math Warm ups and Calendar Board Activities
This is one area I thought I improved this past school year.  i will share my math journals soon. 
3.    Whole-Class Instruction
This should be more like a mini lesson. 
“Math Huddle” is the term presented in the book.  I love football analogies it always appeals to the Packer fans in the classroom.  
4.    Guided Math Instruction with Small Groups of Students
·      This would be the perfect time to teach new concepts to children.  I think I will do something similar to what I do for reading centers just to be consistent. 
5.    Math Workshops/Math Stations
This is an area I struggled with last year finding and creating activities for the littles ones.  The ones I purchased on line were too hard or too easy.  I struggled with finding enough time to create/make all of my own.
Important Guidelines to Remember during Math Workshop:
Materials should be easy for students to access.
·      Rules for working with manipulatives.
·      Learn what to do if you finish your task early.
·      What should you do if you have questions?
6.   Individual Conferences
I did a little bit of this, mainly when i corrected the students' work, however I could definitely improve in this area.
7.    An Ongoing System of Assessments
·      Create a space for recording observations on student check list.  I will share my student check list another time with you as well.  

Join the Book Study


11 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing this....following the book study.
    Susan

    Kindergarten is the Best

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  2. You know, I had previously not given it much thought...but my room really isn't that "math rich". I have some things up...but not nearly as much as I do for literacy. (Doesn't it seem like numeracy just gets overlooked sometimes?). I'm going to work on that. I'm interested to read what Sammons has to say in that chapter.
    Thanks for linking up!

    Primary Inspired

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  3. I struggled with math stations too! My problem is not being able to fit it all in. I am looking forward to reading more! :)

    Lisa
    Learning Is Something to Treasure

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  4. My book still has not arrived! I hope I don't fall too far behind!

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  5. According to me mathematics is all about practice.If students have fear of mathematics ,it is just because of they don't practice it.If someone try to teach them in a good way,they can also score very good in this subject.The parents and education boards should promote this thing that mathematics is one of the most important subject of their syllabus and appoint good teachers for it or they can provide sample papers to them .
    simple interest calculator

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  6. Have you read Deb Diller's book on math work stations? I read it last summer and it really helped me when I started math stations this year. One suggestion is to have a couple of math books at each station for the kids to "read" when they have finished. My biggest challenge with the stations this year noise level and off-task behaviors. I'm hoping it was just because I had one of "those" classes this year!
    Carol
    Still Teaching After All These Years

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Carol for your suggestion of the books. I did read Deb Diller's book but I got the book toward the end of summer and I rushed through it. I may reread it after I finish GM.

      Sue

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  7. I like your thoughts about the "print-rich" environment. This is an area I want to work on this year, too. Also, I understand your thoughts about the Math Work Station activities, although my biggest problem was the time it takes to put them all together:) Definitely an area I need to improve! Thanks for your thoughts!

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    1. I like that many of us are referencing Diller's Math Work Stations. To help with the time issue, I think I'm going to make myself a master copy/extra copies of the appendix (all of the record sheets/printables necessary for the work stations). I taught 3rd grade last year, but found that many of my students were lacking basic math skills, so Diller's book was a godsend. I can't wait to try the guided math framework out.

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  8. I teach 5th grade and trying to figure out Math stations has been a challenge too. I started with using 24 Game (www.24game.com/) for one station to practice basic math facts, Mountain Math (www.mtmath.com/)to review all skills already taught, Daily Math Puzzlers from Laura Candler (http://lauracandler.com/) for problem solving, but it's the 4th station that I want to relate to the specific unit being taught. That's the one that I agree with you, too easy, too difficult and no time to create my own. :-)

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  9. Great synopsis of the chapter!

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