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5 Great Reasons Why to Use Guided Math - Mandy Neal

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Math can be tricky for many students, but it doesn't have to be that way. As teachers, it's our job to help students learn and enjoy math. Guided math is the

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If you are used to teaching math in a whole class setting, the thought of implementing guided math groups can be intimidating. I have been there!! I have tried many times to use guided math groups, but gave up. This year, I decided that I was going to use small groups and won't cave in if it becomes challenging. There have been many days that I want to throw my hands up and say forget it, but I'm sticking to it.

Here is why... I just finished with Parent/Teacher conferences, and I have to admit that this is the first year that I have felt 100% confident in where my students are and where I KNOW my students are. My ability to confidently conference with parents about their child's math ability is a result of using guided math groups in my classroom. After 14 years of teaching, I am confident that using guided math groups is the reason!

Here are the top five reasons you should be using guided math groups in the upper elementary classroom.

"When a teacher tries to teach something to the entire class at the same time, chances are, one third of the kids already know it, one third will get it, and the remaining third won't get it. So two thirds of the children are wasting their time." ~Lillian Katz

This is so true and explains a lot! The thought of two-thirds of my class wasting their time is a huge eye opener! Why not use the time that we have to engage our students in meaningful math activities that provide opportunities for them to grow as mathematicians? Using guided math groups provides these opportunities.

While teaching students in a whole group math setting, it's merely impossible to provide immediate feedback to every single student. If using guided math groups, it's you with a small number of students. Providing immediate feedback is 100% doable. One teacher with six students is a lot more manageable than one teacher with 25 students.

Reason number three for using guided math groups ties in closely with reason number one, engagement. If we have students that already know a concept, why do they have to continue practicing it? Let them move on, provide them with enrichment. What about the students that will get it quickly? Let them move on also, provide them with enrichment to meet their needs. What about the students that don't get it? We can't move on just because two-thirds of the class gets it. We need to teach it in a way that they will get it. That's where small guided math groups come in.

In a class of 25, providing students with opportunities to talk about math is limited. So, let's talk math. In a class of 25, if you are using a cooperative learning strategy where students turn and talk with a partner, engagement is 50%. So, 50% of your students had the opportunity to talk about math. In small guided math groups, students are with you for 15-20 minutes every single day. This provides an ample about of time for those students to turn and talk, ask questions, explain their thinking, etc. You have just increased talking about math to 100%. Can't get much better than that!

Implementing small guided math groups will allow you to know exactly where each and every one of your students are. Honestly, in a class of 25 it is hard to know where every single one of your students are at all times. You may have an idea, and their individual work to prove it, but knowing each and every one of them as a whole mathematician isn't always accurate. Using small guided math groups will help you know exactly where they are at all times.

So, you may be asking where you should start. I feel that my guided math groups are always a work in progress, but I have found out that the most important piece for success is consistency. Be consistent, create a routine, and stick to it. Stick....To...It!

You can find out specifically how I am implementing guided math HERE, or if you are a third grade teacher you can find Guided Math Made Easy resources HERE.

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5 Reasons To Use Guided Math in the Classroom

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If you are used to teaching math in a whole class setting, the thought of implementing guided math groups can be intimidating. I have been there!! I have tried many times to use guided math groups, but gave up. This year, I decided that I was going to use small groups and won't cave in if it becomes challenging.

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FREEBIE "1st Day Feels" Pennant Banner Worksheet

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Banners and Pennants are an easy, trendy way to decorate the 21st Century Classroom! This file contains a banner that can be printed and used for classroom or hallway displays at any elementary grade level. Simply print on cardstock, cut, laminate, string together

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Teaching to Inspire with Jennifer Findley

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Guided math instruction (whole group instruction + small group instruction + math centers) is a super powerful way of reaching all of your students. But, things can go south quickly.

Just like any other aspect of school, students need to be taught procedures and expectations for guided math. In this post, we will take a detailed look at the must teach procedures to have your guided math centers/stations running smoothly and efficiently.

I am going to dive deep into very specific procedures and you may decide you don't need to teach all of these, but just the act of thinking through them yourself will have you prepared and ready to launch guided math centers.

Quantity and Quality of Work

Explicitly tell the students how much work is required from them at each center you introduce. For consistent centers (like task cards), this will be a standard number. Other times, you may have to give the quantity of problems required as you introduce the centers for the week.

Also, teach the students your expectations as far as quality of work (neatly organized, complete sentences for answers, showing all work, etc).

What do the students do if they get stuck, are confused, or just don't know what to do?

My students follow these steps when they are stuck or confused:

1.) Use their interactive student notebook to assist them.

2.) Ask everyone in their group.

3.) Ask me. I rarely have anyone ask me for help because the first two steps usually provide what the student needs.

The only major issue I have seen is technology glitches and failures. I highly recommend having 1-2 students be your go-to for technology problems and questions. It will save your sanity if you have a technology math center.

What materials will students bring to centers?

My students always take their interactive math notebooks and pencils with them to every center. Everything else is provided at the center or is easily accessible by the students.

What do the students do if they need materials?

An easy way to solve this is to have a central location to store all the materials the students could need for their math centers. You will also want to consider the procedure for a broken or missing pencil. You will be surprised (or maybe you won't be 😉 ) that students can lose a pencil from one center to the next.

How will students know what centers to work at?

I keep my center rotation extremely low maintenance. I do not have a rotation board or choice board. I assign groups to their starting points, and then they rotate clockwise through the other centers at my signal. If you choose to have a rotation board or student choice, make sure you clearly teach your procedures and expectations for this.

How will the students know how to complete each center?

Communicate to the students if will you tell them the directions at the start of your math block or if they will be required to read the directions to determine what to do. Want an easy solution to this? Have consistent centers in your room where only the content changes. Read more about having consistent math centers by clicking here.

Where will the centers be located?

Most upper elementary classrooms are pretty limited in size, but the good news is that your centers do not have to be a dedicated table or section of the room. I use student desks/tables for many of my stations.

Tip: For the center that you are most concerned about students misbehaving and not doing the work (game center, for me), keep it close to your table where you can see them. Just the proximity will usually keep them in line. 😉

Will the students be working in pairs, in triads, as a small group, or independently, and does this vary from center to center?

In my classroom, this varies from center to center with some student choice as to how they want to work with one another. I do have one partner center that is definitely partners and the paper-and-pencil center has the expectation that the students work independently, but get help as needed from their group. With each "type of center" (task cards, partner games, paper and pencil, technology, etc), I explicitly teach my students the expectations of working independently or with partners.

What will students do when they are finished with their math center work early?

I keep this very simple, consistent, and extremely low prep. I have math choice boards for every standard I teach. When my students finish a center early, they know to pull out their math choice board folder and choose a task.

Picture Credit: The Primary Girl. Find the choice boards by clicking here.
You can read more about my choice boards and grab several free ones to try out by clicking here.
How can the students use answer keys effectively?

Answer keys can be a powerful instructional tool in math, if used appropriately. I teach my students these steps to using answer keys:

1.) Complete a problem or a few problems if the problems are quicker.

2.) Check the answer key.

3.) If the answers are correct, move on to the next question. If they are not correct, take a few minutes to find the error in computation or thinking.

What are the expectations for cleaning up a center?

You can have student jobs that rotate weekly and have only one student in charge of cleanup each week. Or you can just set the expectation that the center must be cleaned AND show them how to clean and properly replace the items. You usually only have to show them once and I know they are more than capable of figuring it out on their own, but explicitly showing them sets that expectation of what you expect.

How will the students transition from center to center?

I keep this pretty simple. I give my students a five-minute warning when their center time is almost up (I simply call it out). At my signal for centers to end (I use a bell), students quickly and quietly clean up the center (another procedure to teach) and stand facing me. When all the groups are ready, they simply rotate clockwise to the next center.

Are students expected to stay at their center or can they move around the room as needed?

I set the expectation that my students must stay at their center the entire time, allowing for small instances such as needing a tissue or replacing a broken pencil. This may sound harsh to some, but many students will take advantage if you allow them to move freely around the room and those 20 minute centers (my usual time frame for centers) can go by so quickly.

What are the students' expectations for noise level?

This varies from teacher to teacher and their tolerance levels. Since I have a mix of different centers (some partner, some independent) spaced around the room strategically (partner games far away from partner games) I rarely even have an issue of noise level.

How will the students handle center work? Will they turn it in daily/weekly?

Explicitly teach your students if they will turn in their work daily and where they will turn it in and when (after centers, at your signal, to a team captain, etc).

If they are keeping their work for the week, show them the best place(s) to store their work so they can easily find it. Also, teach them your expectation if they lose their work mid-week. My students have to create a new recording sheet on a piece of paper, skip partner games if they haven't been to it in order to make up the work they lost.

How long will students have at each center?

Students like to know how long they will have to work and also how much longer they have. As mentioned above, I give my students a five-minute warning before that specific center ends. Another option is to set a timer and display it via a smartboard.

How many centers will they be completing each day?

This doesn't really make your instruction go more smoothly, but my students always like to know how many centers they will be completing. And this is an easy one because it typically doesn't change from week to week.

Specific Center or Game Procedures and Expectations

When you introduce a new center or game, quickly go over the procedures and expectations for that game. To keep yourself from doing this weekly, I recommend implementing consistent math centers where the directions, procedures and expectations are the same from week to week and only the content changes.

Expectations for Working with Others at Centers

I use and love these expectations from Teaching with a Mountain View. Click here to go to her blog post and download a printable version.

General Guidelines for Teaching Guided Math Procedures

Here are some general guidelines that will help making teaching these guided math procedures smoother and more effective:

1.) Introduce one center at a time, practice the center, reflect as a whole group, teacher assesses work and provides feedback.

2.) Centers build on one another so they are used to practicing multiple centers, transitioning, and handling more than one set of directions in a day.

3.) Post anchor charts of important procedures. I define important procedures as procedures the students may be struggling with (because they are completely new to the students) or procedures that are very important to the success of your guided math block.

4.) Teach the procedures in small chunks and authentically as you introduce and have your students practice the centers.

5.) Make it fun when appropriate and use role playing to ensure the students know exactly what to do and what not do in centers.

More Helpful Posts about Guided Math:

These posts are super helpful if you are just starting out and would like more detailed information. Just click on the title to be taken to the blog post:
Getting Started with Math Centers Guided Math Centers in Upper Elementary: A Peek at My Centers Scheduling Your Math Block for Guided Math Centers Organizing Math Centers Managing Math Centers My Top Tip for Making Math Centers Work for Me 7 Ways to Support Students with Math Centers Higher Level Math Centers for Upper Elementary Teaching Math with Small Groups
Click on the image below to download a checklist of the procedures to teach.

Do you teach any guided math procedures that are not on my list? Let me know in the comments!

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Guided Math Procedures - Teaching to Inspire with Jennifer Findley

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Guided math instruction (whole group instruction + small group instruction + math centers) is a super powerful way of reaching all of your students. But, things can go south quickly. Just like any other aspect of school, students need to be taught procedures and expectations for guided math.

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Have you been thinking about starting guided math in your classroom? Use this step by step guide to help you feel confident with a plan in place for implementation! This FREE guide includes: Overview Management Grouping Organization Step by Step Daily Lesson Plans Resources Explanations with Pictures and More!!

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Browse over 750 educational resources created by Jennifer Findley in the official Teachers Pay Teachers store.

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Online tools by age and objective

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45 Cool Math Games for Kids By Age and Learning Objective

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Project Based Learning

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During the holidays it can be easy for you and your students to get burnt out on math. After a few years of almost drowning during the holiday season, I started incorporating real-life math related to the holidays and had a lot of success with it!

Here are 5 [of many] ways to incorporate real-life math into your classroom in November & December!

My students go nuts for catalogs and ads. It's a little scary how into shopping they are! Give your students a shopping budget and they can subtract decimals for hours! Have them calculate percentages using their devices to look up the regular price (if it's not listed) to determine exactly how much they'll pay and how much they'll save.

You can use catalogs to compare prices as well. Students can use critical thinking skills to determine which stores are more expensive overall and write justification paragraphs explaining how they figured it out.

Have you ever cooked something in your classroom? If you have a good relationship with your school's kitchen, you may be able to get the cafeteria staff involved in making holiday cookies. This is also a good way to reach outside your classroom to build community!

Cooking involves measurement and fractions, two skills students struggle with. Real-life practice of these skills is essential in helping students understand them! Have students bring in measuring cups, teaspoons, and tablespoons so that you can have them prepare their recipe in small groups.

Don't want to bake anything? Search Pinterest for "no bake" cookie recipes. There are a lot of recipes that you don't need an oven for!

How well do your students divide decimals? Dividing decimals is one of those skills that is hard to master because it's hard to visualize. Grab a stack of circulars for some great real-world decimal division and more! Look for items that are two for a price (i.e. 2/$3.00). Pull out your play money and have students model the cost of each item.

Crafting involves following directions and can also include math! Have you ever made salt-dough ornaments? All you need is a few cheap ingredients and students can practice measurement during their holiday crafting!

Salt Dough Ornaments (Makes 8-10)

parchment paper & paper plates

cookie cutters and rolling pins

Mix in a large bowl. Have students knead and roll out with a rolling pin onto parchment paper. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes and straws to cut the hole for the ornament.

Bake multiple ornaments on the parchment paper on a cookie sheet at 200 degrees for 2-3 hours (depending on size of ornament). Pain with acrylic paint the next day (on plates).

There are also a lot of paper crafts involving using a ruler to measure pieces. You can find quite a few of these on Pinterest!

A lot of math goes into planning a party! Have students work in groups using a specific budget and guidelines on what they need to plan. You can bring in grocery circulars and party store ads to practice the decimal and percent skills even more!

Choose a few of their ideas to actually implement, then invite families to your class party! Students always look forward to class parties and being such a big part of planning it will make them so excited to do math!

The best thing about the holidays is that you can have FUN with your students! Enjoy them and the season!

For all seasonal project-based learning activities in my store, click here.

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5 Ways to Incorporate Real-World Math into the Holidays

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During the holidays it can be easy for you and your students to get burnt out on math. After a few years of almost drowning during the holiday season, I started incorporating real-life math related to the holidays and had a lot of success with it!