With a new school year come many new goals. One of my goals is to implement math workshop. I really do enjoy teaching with the workshop model and I have tried it in the past with math. While I enjoyed it, it just was difficult for me to remain consistent. I would try a different way every 2 weeks it seemed! I struggled with finding a system that worked best for me and my students. I want this year to be different. Fresh year, new beginnings!
Having a system that works for you is a priority for math workshop to be able to happen all year. It doesn’t have to be fancy. It doesn’t have to elaborate. It just needs to be effective for YOU!
I began by getting myself organized. I knew how much I loved my reading small groups binder. I was familiar with that system. It worked for me. It was important that I kept myself organized, on track, and I needed a way to track student progress, too.
Once I knew I had a system established, I worked to create our schedule. I tried to think about how much time I would have, how often I could meet with my groups, and also keep in mind that some days maybe our whole group lesson would not leave much small group time.
I created a 7 week implementation plan for getting started with math centers. Each weeks tells me what new things I am introducing to the students. It also has my plan to slowly start pulling small groups. At the beginning of every year, the first six weeks of school is focused not on small group instruction, but on setting up systems that will work all year. I want to be able to pull small groups for the rest of the year. Taking the time to slowly introduce centers helps establish this.
We begin by setting the expectations for our math workshop. This is our first lesson for math workshop. We displayed these expectations for everyone to see and reference.
Next, we talked about specifics. Where to go with our center tub, what the time should look like, how to treat the tools, and how to problem solve when we had issues such as missing materials, a bothersome friend, etc. We created an anchor chart and discussed wise choices and unwise choices with our math tools.
I also needed to teach the students how to read the station chart. This lets them know where to go. You may choose to use a pocket chart like I did, pictured below, or you may choose to use a digital center chart like this one HERE. Either way, create your system so students know where to go and can easily find their center.
And yes, we practiced this all together!
Next up is practicing the centers for math workshop. To do this, I created very simple math centers. I just wanted something basic that let them practice reading the chart, getting their center tub, finding a spot to work, working the whole time, and cleaning up. I put fun activities that were low stress for all of us in the tubs!
After we have had several weeks of practicing math centers, it’s time to start pulling small groups. This is where the magic happens! This is where I am able to watch what is happening during whole group lessons and then pull students together in groups to meet them where they are.
Do they need more help building a foundation? Do they just have a small misunderstanding with the concept we worked on that day? Building groups to meet students where they are is what helps them be confident in their math skills! Continuing the monitor data helps us make informed decisions!
No matter where you are in your math workshop and math small group journey, you can do it!! Maybe you need a little time to refresh your centers and refocus your students. Maybe you are like me and want to really stick to it this year! If you are looking for the best tools to get you started, then you are in luck! I put together ALL the materials I used into this resource for you!
I’m a K-1 teacher who is passionate about making lessons your studentsย loveย and that areย easy to implementย for teachers.ย ย Helping teachers like you navigate their way through their literacy block brings me great joy. I am a lifelong learner who loves staying on top of current literacy learning and practices. Here, youโll find the tools you need to move your K-2 students forward!
2 Responses
This looks great! I am also going to try a workshop approach when teaching math this year.
– Kelly ๐
I love using small groups in my combination class.