Math Workshop- On your mark, get set, go...

Tonight I am celebrating because my Math Workshop is off and running like a well oiled machine.

Let me break it down for you...

 I have 80 uninterrupted minutes to teach math and it is first thing in the morning when the kids are bright eyed and bushy tailed.  My 19 students fall into 4 leveled groups. I really thought 3 groups would be best (time wise) but it's not realistic for me to have 6 or more students in a group.

We start our morning with a Math Journal entry.  This is where the kids practice writing about math and "explaining" their answers.  It takes about ten minutes.  I found that it really cuts back on time to have the students glue the question right into their math journal so they don't waste any time copying from the board. Some days (the ones I am less organized) I just post it and they respond with the answer only.

Next the students gather on the rug where I teach my 15 minute whole group lesson.  We practice daily review skills as a class and partner share with our fellow "mathematicians." 

Next, Math Workshop begins!!! This is truly my favorite part of teaching math. The kids love it because they are moving around, and I feel like this is where I can truly assess their math skills.  

I have this posted on my anchor chart wall where it will probably stay for a good part of the year.  

Here is our map of who goes where.  You can find these Center Cards for Math or Reading Workshop in my TpT store. I use the same chart for Literacy Centers (I just switch out the group cards on the left from Math Groups to Guided Reading Groups.)  

Keep it simple...

The numbers just tell the kids where to go and everything they need for their math station is in the numbered bin. (In another area of the room I have their Reading Workshop bins labeled)

I meet with each group for 10 minutes.  We focus in on the skill of that day on the level they can be challenged at.   

This was our at Math Station 1 this week.  We are working on Numbers and Base Ten.  This is a freebie that you can get from "Teaching First." 

 

Math Station 2 is Base Ten Block Memory. It is one of my freebies that you can download from my TpT Store.

Math Station 3 is iPads.  So far, I have introduced the kids to "Splash Math" and "Operation Math."  Those are two really great Apps for focusing on second grade math skills.  Operation Math is perfect for the fact drills and Splash Math really covers it all. I'm always looking for more apps, so if you have any must haves please share them with me. 

We close up Math Workshop with a 5 minute Leveled Problem Solving which the students solve quickly on white boards at their desk.  This is a quick wrap up or Exit Ticket to tie all the wonderful math we learned into a bow.