Diggin' Into Summer Linky: Math Workshop

Happy Monday!  Once again, I get to talk about one of my favorite things...MATH, and more specifically Math Workshop.

 ...do math workshop!  This past winter I led a professional development session on Guided Math/Math Workshop (They are not interchangeable, but I'll refer to this structure as Guided Math from here on out) for my district.  I'm going to share some of the things I shared with them.  First, a resource I use a lot to reference for tips and structures is Laney Sammons, Guided Math book.

Sammons' describes Guided Math:
Guided Math is a flexible instructional framework that enables teachers to promote the deep mathematical understanding and computational fluency of their students by determining their unique needs and prescriptively addressing those needs through a combination of whole group instruction, small group instruction, math workshop, and conferences within a classroom environment that promotes numeracy.

Okay, so I highlighted the two phrases that make Guided Math so remarkable.  First of all,  I think teachers focus a lot on the structure of their math block to make it more engaging for their students.  However, I think the biggest part comes down to students' "unique needs and prescriptively addressing those needs".  After all, the whole point in creating a rotation-type structure is to allow yourself to have small groups to teach.   So....you HAVE to differentiated and meet the specific needs of your students in each of your small groups.  If you teach the same lesson 3 or 4 times in a row to small groups, then you might as well teach it whole group and save yourself from being a broken record.  Get my drift?  The purpose is for differentiation!  So....here is the schedule I use in order to maximize the time with my small groups.  And...we're really fortunate to have 75 minutes for math built into each grade level's schedule.

I think the closing and reflection is HUGE!!  Students need an opportunity to reflect on what they have just learned and how it is applicable to a larger concept or the real world.  At the beginning of the year, this time might be spent reviewing and reflecting on procedures.  As the procedures become more routine, this time becomes more academic.  We really encourage our teachers to circle back to their learning targets or essential questions.  By setting this time aside, it allows for some meaningful time in discussion, reflection, or journaling.

Since I am no longer in the classroom, the changes I might put in place would revolve around the independent work students are doing.  This needs to be meaningful and relevant, NOT busy work. 

I have LOTS and LOTS of math related products, so I won't bore you with all of them, but here are a few of the highlights and most loved products for you to check out.

Alrighty, well I gotta run.  I can't wait to read about math from all of these great bloggers below!  Join in on the fun - and the learning with this great linky!

Monday Made-It and Giveaway Winner!

This was certainly a busy week, but a fun one! I also got to cross a lot of things off my list, so I'm joining 4th Grade Frolics for Monday Made It (x3)!  

 

The first thing I'm going to share I'm in love with, but I forgot to take a true "before" photo!  Ultimate fail!  Anyway, our patio furniture was a hand-me-down from my in-laws when we moved into our house 5 years ago.  At that time, I thought, man they need some new seat cushions but it was not really on our priority list upon first buying a house.  Soooo...five years later I bought 5 cans of spray paint to paint the furniture black and got new seat cushions!

In the middle picture you can see the table frame in its original color which was a light gray color.  Our porch is white, so it just kind of blended in.  Now the table and chairs pop a bit against the white.  It was a very easy facelift...although, I didn't think I'd need 5 cans of spray paint (and my finger got really sore from spraying).  :) 

I don't know if any of you have been in the market for outdoor cushions, but they are expensive!  The original cushions were green and white floral, and were waaaaay faded (sorry no pictures!).  5+ years at my in-laws and 5 years at our house - they were ready for retirement!  I had pinned some new cushions I really liked but they were $40/piece!  Then...I found Kohl's!  Oh, Kohl's, how I love thee!  These cushions and pillows were originally $35 and I got them for $9.80!  Woohoo!  I have a 2 black lanterns from IKEA that are at my parents that I'm trying to decide whether I'll hang them or put them on the table, but it was quick and easy!

The second thing I worked on this week was a set of student-friendly posters for the Standards for Mathematical Practice that go along with the math CCSS.  My staff studied these during some PD this year, and we realized that the document is really wordy and quite frankly, hard to understand.  If our students were to know these, WE needed to know them!  We spent some time breaking them, finding web resources, reading texts, etc. and tried to make meaning of them.  

Then, our next step was for our students to know them and understand them.  But, how!?  So, I decided to make a primary and intermediate version of these posters for our teachers.  However, as you will see, there are still some mathematical words included because I think it's important that, although some words are challenging to understand, our students need exposure and use in order to become fluent with them.  I have included words such as precise, equations, expressions, etc. so that we can begin to use this language with our students.  

Click on the image for the TpT link.  They are only $2.00 for now and you get the primary and intermediate versions and two designs for each!   

 I also have two different sets for the design factor.  One is the pastel with lined background and one set is vibrant colors with the bubble border.  They should work in most classrooms!

The final thing I've been working on is invitations for my brother-in-laws wedding shower.  What started as an idea for a small couples get together, ended up being quite a large invite list!  I volunteered to do invitations since they'd be done ahead of time and before I go back to school (I think I've mentioned I only have 2 weeks of summer left!).  

I made 27 invitations and used yellow rick rack ribbon and a burlap flower.  Their colors are yellow and coral, and the wedding is going to be a in a barn.  I was trying to make them a bit informal, but still fun.  My future sis-in-law wanted people to bring recipes, so I included a blank recipe card for them to bring.  

One of my favorite parts, though, was using my personalized stamp on the envelope!  I just love that thing.  Glad they're in the mail and the mess is gone (well, kinda!)!

Have you made anything lately?  Hop on the Linky train and share what you've been making!

And....how could I forget my Giveaway Winner?!?!?!?

Thank you to everyone who joined me on Bloglovin' over the past week!  Change is hard, but sometimes good.  If you haven't followed me on Bloglovin' yet, please click this link, and join in on the fun!

The winner of 5 of my TPT products is....Lindsay R.!!!  

Congratulations!  Start looking and shopping!!

                                                       

Alrighty, gotta run!  Have a wonderful Monday!!

Ten Pin Linky: Math!

I think I've said this before, but I love math!  I love teaching math.  I love reading about math.  I love seeing the light bulbs go off during a math lesson.  I just love it.  Soooo, when Ashley from Just Reed chose the Ten Pin Linky this week to be math, you bet I was excited!

1.  I've always seen (and used) the beach ball with questions for responding to a book or to use at the start of the school year to get to know one another, but I haven't seen it with numbers.  You could use this for addition or multiplication.  I Like that the kids are up and moving while also working on their math facts.  I would probably want to add a recording sheet for them to write down their problems and answers.

Source: Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas

 2. With ENL as a part of my daily schedule, I really liked this anchor chart with math vocabulary.  A lot of times people think that math crosses over languages since it is number based, but there are a lot of content vocabulary words too.  I love the part on this chart that includes "We can draw it!" and then the students are drawing examples.  For my ENL kids, I might also have some pictures already cut out or posted to help them visualize.

Source: Joyful Learning in KC

3. Another great anchor chart!  I like that you could add these strategies throughout the year as you teach or introduce them.  Students can then reference it as they are solving problems.  Granted, my anchor chart would not look nearly this cute!  Darn you creative writers and drawers!

Source: Sandberg Smarty Arties

4. I loved this game when I came across it because it's so easy to move the post-it notes from day to day or week to week and the target number can change.  What a great way for students to determine different ways to find a target number. 

Source: Dandelions and Dragonflies

5. I really enjoy these I have...Who Has? games so I created one that features money.  This game is divided into two parts with the first half of the cards already organized greatest to least in coin value and the second half has mixed coins.  This way you can easily differentiate for some students.  These games are quick, a great review, and an easy way to formatively assess.

Source: Run Teacher Run!

6. What an easy way for students to feel progress in their math facts and only see one problem at a time.  I see this working really well for some of those attention kids who get overwhelmed with one sheet of 25 problems.  And...it's fun too!

Source: Classroom Collective

7. Easy, fun, simple, and convenient for differentiating!  Enough said!

Source: Teachers Helping Teachers

8. Again, thinking of my ENL kiddos, I like that this has all of these math phrases in one place.  It also lends itself to some critical questions where phrases are listed in two different places, such as in all.

9. This was my students favorite indoor recess game, so I loved that this teacher used it to put measurement conversion problems on each game piece.  You could use this for all kinds of concepts!

Source: Classroom Freebies

10.  My biggest struggle with Pinterest is that some of the items look cute and great, but don't always push students to a deeper understanding of concepts.  The Lesson Plan Diva has created some exemplars here where students really have to think through a problem, and write down their many steps.  Although these are hard, the more the students are exposed, the better they get!  I really liked the way she outlined the work area and didn't just leave a big empty space.

Source: Lesson Plan Diva

Alrighty, well I gotta run!  I can't wait to come back and see what everyone else has pinned for math!  So fun!

Mentor Text Monday (from Sunday)

Good morning!  I must say that this is officially my first week of summer, and I am loving it!  I might be loving it only because I've been productive. Remember, it's just the first day. The dogs and I went on a 3 mile walk (they are wiped out!-see below), the kitchen has been tidied, and now I'm blogging!

But for the real stuff that you all actually care about!  I'm linking up with Collaboration Cuties to share about a mentor text for math.  

 

I love integrating picture books and texts into math.  Not only does it add another read aloud into the day, but it gives students context for what they are learning.  It's not always easy to explain why concepts are important in the real world, and using books can certainly help.  With part of my job working with ELL students, books give students visuals alongside the content language.  So glad to be linking up and finding all of these great new resources! 

  

This book, by Bill Grossman, is a hilarious tale that will make your kids laugh and learn about counting.  The little sister eats one hare, and continues eating until she's eaten 10 peas.  In between though she eats snakes, bats, worms, lizards, etc.  It has a repetitive tone, and many students can relate to either their own little sister or a friend's little sister.  The book is fairly primary as far as the counting skills go, but the illustrations provide visuals too.  This book would be great to pair at a counting math center so that students could match the numbers with what they see in the book.  They could also continue the story by saying that she has eaten 11 of something, and then drawing a picture that corresponds with that number.  What a fun, and hilarious, class book to have!

My intro question based on the cover of the book, is why they think I would pick this book for a math lesson.  Some students mention the number one, but nearly all are quite puzzled.  It certainly draws them into the lesson, and keeps them on their toes.  We revisit the same question at the end of the book.

As a follow up to the book, I like to read it aloud and pay attention to the story structure.  It is a great mentor text for creating a similar story.  The students quickly catch onto the pattern, and I've never heard so many giggles during writer's workshop.  That whole line of, "wait until the end of writing time to talk with your neighbor about your story" doesn't quite work for this one!  

Shout Out to Miss V!
Miss V is celebrating her 1 Year Blogiversary and is having an amazing giveaway!!  Each day, for 6 days she is giving away 20, YES 20, items to one winner.  You can enter each day and do as many entries as you see fit.  I'm excited to be a part of her Day 1 Giveaway (which ends in 2 days!), and I'm giving away my Weather Unit to one lucky winner!  Click on the button below to enter!  For those of you joining me here from her giveaway, thanks for following me and joining in on the fun!

Alrighty, gotta run!  The pool (and my pale skin) is calling my name!

Organizing for Math Workshop and App Happy Linky

Math Workshop Organizing

Late last Spring, my principal had loaned me a couple of books to read about Math Workshop.  I was really excited to begin implementing a workshop-style approach to math, especially since our new curriculum wasn't very good was AWFUL!!  This would give me an opportunity to reach all of my students in authentic and meaningful ways in math.  Upon reading these two books, I realized that the first step was getting things organized so that I would know what resources I had for each concept, and have a place where my students would be able to get their materials.  

            

I love Debbie Diller, so I started reading the Math Work Stations first, and then I headed into the Guided Math book.  They were both helpful, and although they present it a bit differently, it gave me an idea for how I could make it work for my students in the best way possible.

I wouldn't say my classroom is every extremely neat and organized, but I knew where things were, the students could access things easily, and it appeared clean on the outside...until you opened a cabinet.  :) Okay, so maybe I thought I knew where things were.  I spent a day just cleaning out my math materials.  Although I came across  other things that needed some work, the books tell you to just focus on math, and get it done!  So I started by pulling EVERYTHING out that was math related.  I pulled my math picture books, manipulatives, tubs, etc.  Oh, and don't spend money buying new tubs, you'll be amazed how many you have already that aren't really being utilized effectively.  

The mess on the floor, table, cabinets before I started sorting. 

Wow!  My tall cabinet before I pulled everything out, and then after.  Notice the loose legos, indoor recess games just thrown in, scrap paper is everywhere, and it's a wreck.  When you see all the empty storage space, your mind will start to go crazy with ideas and excitement! :)

My next step was to sort by content, not by chapter or lesson, or personal supplies vs. school curriculum supplies.  I started with categories for geometry, fractions, place value, geometry, measurement, etc. and then found some subgroups of smaller concepts, or things I can use for multiple concepts.  I made sure to label these well.  I also created a bin for my picture books related to math, so that I could pull those into work stations and make it an option if they finish their task early.  

Then, I used the bins I already had, labeled them, and neatly put them away in my cabinets.  Can I tell you, it was like that feeling when all of the laundry is done!  A jump around, do a little dance, a silent squeal, and an "Oh my!  Look at how organized I am type of deal!"  Now, I know many of you have color coordinated bins, etc. but for me this was a step in the right direction, and I just really didn't want to spend money on something I already had.  Maybe some cute labels with coordinating paper would do the trick for me.  

 I wish I had a before picture of this...you would have said, "Oh my word!"

But now, it's all organized where everything has a place, and I can easily see what I have.  

As many of you know, I have changed roles, so I won't actually get to implement Math Workshop, but I couldn't help but share the initial steps in getting ready for them.   After putting some music on, getting a large Dr. Pepper, and closing my door, I really had fun doing this.  I hope you all can find some time for an "Oh my!" moment after it's all done!

Now onto App Happy with Hope King at 2nd Grade Shenanigans!  

So I have a couple of Apps that make me happy!  

The first one, seems obvious, but it's an App with the Common Core Standards listed.  The app is called: Common Core Standards.  Creative, huh?  I usually print these off, and put them in my teacher binder, but if I forget to bring it home or to a team meeting, I know I'll always have it on my phone.  It's so easy to use...and it's free!

 The second app is probably my most recent favorite, but it's called Apps Gone Free.  Each day, this posts apps that the publishers have made free for the day.  Sometimes there won't be any apps that you want, and other days you'll think you hit the jackpot.  Most apps that are listed are usually $0.99, but sometimes there will be one that was originally $4.99.  I have downloaded some great educational apps from here, and some other fun games for myself!  Happy Free Shopping!

Link up with Hope and her App Happy Linky Party to join in on the fun!