Using Guided Math with the Whole Class

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Using Guided Math with the Whole Class.

 

  I have to make a confession: previous to being exposed to this book, I assumed that there was no place for whole group in Guided Math (well—other than mini-lessons). SO….when I was ‘dabbling’ in Guided Math in my classroom last year, I was trying to do ALL small group instruction. I found that that wasn’t really appropriate for my students every day, though, & on the days I ‘resorted’ to whole group, I felt like I was doing it wrong. Guess what…..I wasn’t!! One of the biggest revelations for me when it comes to Guided Math, is the IS a place for whole group within the framework. 

Activating Strategies – this is really an area that I have neglected in my classroom, which is a shame because, just like in other content areas, I do use them. I use them in those areas to “stimulate interest and to get insight about my students’ prior knowledge and to discover a misconceptions they might have about a topic. It seems that it would be just as important to learn these things when it comes to math topics. I don’t know why I‘ve never thought about using activating activities during math. This coming year, my big goal for this year is to use activating strategies on a regular basis.

•  KWL charts

• Anticipation guides – this one is new to me, so I’m taking Sammons’ direction on creating anticipation guides: choose the most important concepts from the unit & create T/F statements. Make some of the statements contrary to what students might believe. As your students complete the survey, either in small groups, or independently, they’ll become aware of gaps & uncertainties.  I created a freebie for you! Just click on the image of the anticipation guide and you can download from my TpT store. It's in Word, and completely customizable for you! I’m thinking these would make great additions to math journals. At the end of the unit, students flip back to the anticipation guide. & complete the after section. At this point, you can see who still has some misconceptions & address them with those kiddos.

•  Word Splash—This sounds like a fun way to introduce vocabulary. Take a look at the standards you’re covering, & choose relevant and “catchy” vocabulary, & write the words on a chart or doc to display in a “splash” – all at once. The class then brainstorms together to figure out how the words are related.  Sammons also suggests students create word splashes at the end of a unit as a way of summarizing.

I feel like this post should have been titled ”Things I want to add to my math block this year”. In addition to using activating activities, I also want to:

·         Incorporate math-related literature. I actually have quite a few titles I could be using more frequently. My district uses Everyday Math, which lists related literature at the beginning of each unit. I’m hoping to go through my teacher manuals this summer & start compiling a list & getting the books in order. Another addition on my ever-growing to-do list!