Math Instruction

My typical math instruction includes a whole group lesson, differentiated small group instruction, engaging math activities, and summarizing check in. 

Whole Group Lesson

1. Math Warm-Up

My favorite way to start a math lesson is with a short math message or review. This is a great opportunity to reinforce previous skills and also serves as a formative assessment opportunity. Following a quick review, I ask a question involving the new skill for the day. I allow students time to consider how they can solve the problem and then ask students to share their responses with peers. I use this information to guide the rest of the lesson.

2. Establish Lesson Goal 

Setting a goal for the lesson allows students to understand what they should be able to accomplish by the end of the lesson. I believe students should be encouraged to take ownership of their learning and by setting goals they have that opportunity. 

3. Explicitly Model

We discuss the math question of the day and I explicitly model how to solve the problem. During this part of the lesson, I model the skill of the day and explain step by step how to solve the problem. 

4. Scaffolded Practice

In the whole group setting, I provide students an opportunity to practice the new skill or strategy. I scaffold the problems by doing some steps together with the class, asking students to work with a partner, and by inviting students to the board to share their work. During the whole group practice, I am checking in with students and assessing who understands, who needs more support, and how needs more challenging problems. We review the problems together and then prepare for math centers. 

Meaningful Math Centers

During this time, students typically rotate through four meaningful math centers. 

• M - Meet with the teacher (differentiated instruction)
• A - At your seat (students work on independent stamina)
• T - Technology or small group activity (depending on the skill and resources available)
• H - Hands-on activity (students might be playing a math game or completing activities around the room)

Math Check In

Prior to the math block ending, we meet whole group to check in. Students might complete ticket out the door, share a challenge/success, or answer a closing question in small groups. I encourage students to reflect on their strengths and weaknesses for the lesson and ask them to consider if they were successful in reaching today's goal. 

Balanced Literacy Approach

"What does a reading block look like?"

My typical reading block includes a whole group lesson, differentiated small group lessons, and meaningful independent/partner centers. I also include literature circles, book studies, and mini lessons in our routine throughout the year in upper elementary classes. 

Whole Group Lesson

1. Warm Up - Activate student interest by asking questions or reviewing previous skills 
2. Set a Goal - Define our goals for the lesson (Common Core Standards and Curriculum Objectives
3. Model the Skill - Introduce the skill or strategy of the lesson. Explicitly model how to use the strategy to become better readers. 
4. Scaffold Instruction - Provide students an opportunity to practice the skill in the whole group setting with immediate feedback (formative assessment opportunity)

Differentiated Small Group Lesson 

I meet with a small group of students and provide instruction at their level and designed to best support their individual needs. 

Meaningful Reading Centers 

While working with differentiated small groups, the rest of the class will participate in reading centers to practice the strategies and skills learned in the whole group lesson. The reading centers will differ for each grade level. Below are a few reading center options. 

• Independent Reading - students build reading stamina, complete stop and jots, reading logs, or reading reflections 
• Work work 
• Examples for Primary grades- rainbow writing, word stamping, magnetic letters, word wall writing, and word sorting
• Examples for Upper Elementary - vocabulary, synonyms, antonyms, Latin root words, prefixes, and suffixes 
• Work on Writing
• Listening to Reading/Reading to Someone - primary 
• Comprehension and Grammar Activities - upper elementary