Guided Math: Chapter 3

YAY!  Chapter 3!!!  I tell ya, working on those Common Core vocabulary packets really put me behind this summer.  I did enjoy making wonderful things for teachers to use in their classrooms.  I know I will be using mine this year!!

Chapter 3
Activating my students' interest is always a weakness of mine.  With pacing guides and assessments, I am always eager to just jump right in!  Chapter 3 reminded me that activating student's interests and getting them involved is as important as the lesson itself.  Without engagement from the students, learning {and meaning} is not going to happen!  Here are my post-its for chapter 3.  If you are not sure what I'm talking about, go check out my chapter 2 post!

Chapter 3 starts off by discussing the importance of making learning fun and meaningful for the students.  This reminded me of the many times I've had students stop me in the hall and ask what we are doing in math class today.  It is soooooo rewarding to have students excited about learning.... especially about math.  Math is such a difficult subject for so many.  However, I have often spoken to parents who tell me that this was the best year their child has ever had in math.  That confirms that what I am doing is the right choice for boys and girls.  

I wanted to really focus on the section of arrival work.  I STRUGGLE WITH THIS!!  At my school, we change classes for each subject.  Our activity if first thing in the morning, and when my students come in from homeroom, I barely have enough time to take attendance and get them out the door.  There is NO time for seat work.  The easiest thing for me to do is have them read when they are ready for the day.  When students enter my classroom for math, most of them enter together, but at times, I do has some trickling in the first 5 minutes.  I've wanted something to do to encourage my students to hurry to class.  As I was reading I came up with an idea to have {very}brief seat work waiting on them as they enter the room.  I have given an example on the above green post-it note.  To encourage the students to get busy, I came up with the idea of a weekly grab box.  As students finish their seat work, they have until the end of the class period to place their slip of paper {problem, work, & name} in the grab box.  At the end of the week, I will draw one name from the box.  The work must be complete to claim a prize from the prize box.  The more slips of work you have in the box, the higher your chance of winning.  I think I'm going to try this!!

Figure 3.1 on page 77 had some great examples of types of discussions used in the classroom and level of guidance for each tier.  I have created this in PDF format so you can place it in your lesson planning binder if you have one.  I think it's a great tool when planning math instruction.  I think math discussions can make a HUGE impact on student learning.  Click on the picture to get your free copy.