3 Essential Ways to Reinforce Math Content in Your Elementary Classroom
Elementary classrooms are dynamic places. Between balancing schedule demands, special education services, late arrivals and early pick-ups, and having to pause a lesson to put out that recess drama fire, oh and to get that one student a bandaid that was promised over an hour ago, it can be challenging to ensure we are hitting all of our day’s learning objectives.
Our classrooms, too, are filled with a diverse group of learners. In my inclusion classroom, I have students on IEPs, students at various ELD levels, students who are ready for work at the next grade level, and those tier 2 students that need some extra support.
In my first years of teaching, I especially struggled with creating effective routines for our math block. Third grade is the infamous year of multiplication and division. Some students soar and memorize their facts quickly and with ease. Others are still playing catch up with early elementary number sense, working to master skip-counting and repeated addition.
So how on earth do we meet the needs of all these kiddos?!
Here are the top 3 math routines I have found best support my wide variety of learners!
Dry-erase ready reference sheets
This may seem like a simple, “well-duhhh!” but it was this very easy strategy that has built the largest amount of independence amongst my most struggling mathematicians. Head over to Amazon and buy a few packs of sheet protectors (I promise you will use them!!) and put your most useful reference sheets inside a sheet protector for repeated use! I always provide a sheet protected:
—100s chart
—An analog clock for telling-time support
—Fraction strips (this one from ednet.ns.ca is a great tool that kids can color, too)
—Keywords for solving story problems
Once you have modeled their uses and provided some guided practice with using them, these reference sheets become an access point for students and give them confidence to try a problem independently!Math Groups
In my inclusive classroom, I need to build in ways to meet with students in smaller groups, whether that be to work on IEP goals, to do a check-for-understanding, or to challenge specific kids. During my first year, I attempted to implement daily math centers- the students spent about 15 minutes visiting 4 centers each day- and what ensued (at least, for me!) was chaos. I found it really difficult to monitor each center while also trying to provide specialized instruction to students at my teacher center. The students at my teacher center ultimately suffered from my split attention, kids were not getting enough time to practice a skill at any given station, AND I found myself having to plan and explain new centers way too often. Perhaps it was a lack of behavior management and poor planning on my part, but over time I fine-tuned my “centers” into more manageable “math groups”, and here is the routine that I find works the best:
-Plan 4-5 math group rotations PER WEEK, depending on what your schedule allows for. I typically plan all of them on Monday or the Friday prior so it’s done for the week ahead.
-Each group of students will visit ONE group activity per DAY.
-All groups work independently and one group per day meets with the teacher. If you have a paraprofessional or student teacher, USE THEM at an independent station!
-Independent stations should be review skills so that students can complete activities confidently and on their own. The current week’s content, I have found, works best at the teacher center so students have my support, and I never put it into the “independent” rotation until at least the following week.
-Independent station ideas: Computer station (if you are able to) where students complete Splashlearn, Freckle, or Education.com practice (Splashlearn and Freckle are FREE. Education.com requires a yearly subscription), multiplication/division fluency practice with a game (more on multiplication games in another blog..stay tuned!), paper-based math activity (such as a color by number, or story problems), and if needed for another independent group, an addition/ subtraction activity (we know this skill needs to be reinforced constantly!)
-Students spend 30-40 minutes (again, depending on your schedule) at their one group activity for the day’s Math Group block. This allows them enough time to finish the activity and worry less about rushing to finish or transitioning to a new group. It also allow ME to get the quality time I need with a small group!
-You can group your students however is best for your needs. I typically think about behavior more than anything when grouping students for math groups because of the independent nature of this block of time. I also like to pair a variety of learners together so that they can support each other.
I introduce all of the group activities on Monday- which may mean we have a little less time to spend in our groups that day- and ensure that at the end of group time, I have a representative from each group share a glow and a grow for what their group did well, and what they need to work on. I also take a moment to highlight things that I noticed so the students know what I am looking for.Daily Do Nows
This is perhaps the best part of math class- our Do Now time! A Do Now refers to a quick, 5-10 minute check for understanding. Typically completed independently and at the very beginning of math class, a Do Now provides students an opportunity to practice recently taught or current standards. I pass out a week’s worth of Do Nows on Monday, and students keep them in their math folders. At the beginning of math class, they know to take out the Do Now packet and start working on that day’s problems. I encourage them to use this 5-10 minutes as a way to check-in with themselves to see what they understand on their own, and what they are still learning. If they don’t know how to do problem 1, I tell them to use a strategy or to skip it and find something on the Do Now that they CAN do by themselves. I see our Daily Do Nows as an opportunity to not only establish a routine and clear beginning to our class, but also as a way to promote independent thinking. As students are working, I walk around to provide feedback- a “check” for a correct answer or a guiding question to redirect thinking. This helps me, too, to collect data on what students are getting and what still needs attention. Do Nows are also a great time to remind students to use strategies- such as pulling out their reference sheets!
When our 5-10 minutes are up, I provide answers and review problems that I noticed gave students the most trouble.
Check out my full year’s worth of Do Nows (200 days!) here- be sure to look in the product description for each individual topic (10 total!) if you are looking for Do Nows to meet a specific standard.
Subscribe below for a Math Do Now 10 Day Freebie!!!So, there you have it- my top 3 math routines that have transformed my elementary math classroom. They have saved me planning time, promoted student independence, and have given my students a clear, predictable math time!