Large Math Class: Math Centers

This is the part 2 post of my new math block.  Due mostly to a large class- I have changed my math block up a bit.  If you want to read about the management of a large class for math centers:  read this.

My students are in need of a spiral review so they now have a Weekly Math Work paper:

The Daily Must-Do consists of their differentiated Math on My Own papers and also Number of the Day work.  Just Number of the Day covers 4 different skills that we need to review in first grade.

Students are expected during their Weekly Work/ Math Workshop rotation to finish the Math on My Own worksheet and Number of the day each day.  When they finish they are to get the Weekly Work items completed. 

Here is what their rotation charts look like:

 

Here is a preview of the two weekly centers:

THINK MATH-

I had my students color their class number.  They are REALLY proud of their "artwork" and cannot wait for others to check it out.  :)

 

This center is all about writing a word problem.  A different "answer" is chosen each week.  The students have to write the "problem" on a post-it note and stick it on their class number.  Not only are their practicing their writing skills, but also their problem solving skills. 

 

This sign was used when we first started.

 

THINK MATH is a very easy to start center!  If you want to save some time and print off items- click here to go to my TPT store.

 

Who Am I?

This weekly center practices math facts and graphing skills.  All of the students filled out a paper in advance.  I pick one weekly to be the "mystery person."  Students have to solve the math facts to find clues about the mystery person.  When they have their clues- they have to graph in their guess of who it is from one of the five students written on the graph.  On Fridays we ask graphing questions like, "How many more people..."

 

I am a HUGE HGTV fan.  Lately they have been playing marathons of Love it or List it.  If you have ever watched it- you know that they are SUPER dramatic at the end about if they are going to love their current house or list it.  I do the same thing on Friday.  "Will the mystery person please reveal themselves?"  It is hilarious to see their reactions when you feed a bit into first grade drama.  :)

 

If you want to snag a copy of this simple weekly center- you can click here to visit my TPT store.

 

Not bad- 2 posts in 2 days!  :)

 

Enjoy your day!  :)





 

Guided Math Management for larger classes

It REALLY is embarrassing to see the date of my last post!  I guess it is tough to carve out 2-3 hours to write a blog post!  However with another snow day today- I thought that I would take the time to share some things that are going on in our classroom.

SHAMELESS PLUG- If you are on Twitter- please follow me!  I actually tweet on average 2 times a week about things we are doing in the classroom.  It takes literally 30 seconds to upload a photo and caption versus 3 hours for a blog post.  I LOVE reading blogs and blogging however it is tough to find the time!    This is me -----> @lasotadanielle

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Now down to business....

WHY?
I have LOVED how I manage guided math in my room the past few years.  However this year I have needed to switch things around mid year because:
-my class is HUGE at 27 students
(Sorry for whining for those of you that have somehow managed 30 plus students every year!)
-I have some SUPER intelligent students that need more.

How is it new?
You can download my "old" guided math charts and management for FREE here on TPT.  I still love it- it just doesn't work with this LARGE class as well.

Here are our NEW rotation charts:

You might notice that the yellow group does not have a "math with teacher."  Part of having a larger class means even LARGER small groups!  Also less time to one-on-one conference with students therefore more learning gaps.  :(  During second rotation I pull skill groups.  The other two rotations I teach the green (above) group enrichment of the current week's lesson.  The red group (below) receives a simplified version of this week's whole group lesson.  Technically the whole group lesson should meet the needs of the "yellow group."  Students are allowed to choose each day which group to join during rotations.  We have a very kind and encouraging classroom climate so students are VERY honest in choosing their groups.  I  99 percent agree with their group choices daily.

We are fortunate enough to have an intervention specialist and a math tutor for 40 minutes to support all 3 first grade classrooms during the first and second rotations.  Since first and second grade have large class sizes this year they hired a tutor just to support our 6 classes- we have her for all 3 math rotations. 
*If you would be a low-low student- first rotation you have a group with our intervention specialist who reviews skills and touches on the whole group lesson of the week.  Second rotation you would be pulled by myself or the tutors for a skill remediation.  (We have a great google doc to communicate and keep track of students.)  Third rotation you would be having a small group with me.
*If you are a low student- you would be on chrome books first rotation.  Second rotation you would most likely be pulled out for a skill remediation.  Third rotation you would have small group with me.
*If you are an average student- you would work on your workshop work first rotation.  Second rotation you would be on chrome books or a skill remediation.  Third rotation you could work with a partner to finish any of your work. 
*If you are an above average student- you would have a group with me for first rotation.  You would complete math work second rotation.  During third rotation you would be on chrome books.  Some REALLY above average students work with the tutor on more enrichment items.

How are the rotation signs organized?
(This is the only picture I have of the new signs here at home and it is SUPER messy!  SORRY!)

SO MESSY!!  I took this picture to remind myself to change the fabric and clean this area up! 

One of my students moves the recycling bin there for some unknown reason everyday.  lol.  You need to pick your battles. 

 

The rotation signs are hanging on the board with the "Math on My Own" papers hanging under the appropriate sign.

How I make sure students know what to do:
I use a playlist all day to make sure that we stay on schedule.  Here are screen shots of some of the math slides that play:

 
When it is time to transition for groups this pops up along with the "I Like to Move it-Move it song.)

This plays for the remaining 19 minutes with instrumental versions of popular music.  This way if a student enters from using the restroom or late from another teacher- they can easily tell what rotation we are on.  They also have a reminder of what they should be doing with the picture clues.

 

Math Genius':We also have extra support because of our Genius area with math experts to assist students as needed.

 

 

 

The genius completes their work in the office area.  However they are available to answer questions if needed. 

How do I manage student data?:
-For remediation skill groups: We have a shared google doc between all 3 support staff and the first grade teachers.  We have a table with the skills we have taught down the left.  The next column is blank until a teacher writes their name and date in the slot claiming that "group".  The third column has color coded student names from all 3 classrooms.  Once the teacher feels that a student in her group has mastered that skill- we strike through their name.  We move on and choose new groups without having to meet with each other.  It is really easy to just communicate on the shared google form.  We add student names to this form each week after we grade their weekly exit slip.
-In small groups I use a Guided math format paper for easy recording of how students did in their group with me.

-We keep all differentiated worksheets and materials needed in a HUGE binder.  As we developed lessons last year- we made sure to take the time to keep and organize them.  It makes it easy for parent volunteers to copy for all 3 classrooms.  This seriously saves HOURS each week.

I just tried to briefly touch on these items.  Please let me know if you have any questions and I would LOVE to go more into detail on any of the items mentioned.  :)

I hope to try my best to write a post about our new workshop paper, what we do on chrome books, our new whole group common core friendly lessons, our new weekly activities, our math projects and more WITHIN the next 30 days! Perhaps I should give myself longer... maybe 3 months?  ;)

Enjoy your day off OHIO!  :)

I love whole brain teaching!

Whole brain teaching completely changed how I was as a teacher 8 years ago.  I have started slow and have been gradually been adding more and more techniques to my bag of tricks.

If you read my posts-  you probably can tell that I am NOT a program teacher.  I use data and many different resources depending on what my kiddos need.

I however use whole brain teaching probably 95% of it just like it was written. It has worked with so many different classes.  It truely is amazing!  

We had a professional development day today where staff members were presenting on different topics.  My principal asked me to present and I chose WBT.  I tried to make it a "drop in" session and made QR codes with video links but what do you know- the wifi wasn't working well where I was!  So I quickly finished a presentation and thought that I'd share it with you!  (Since I am sending it to my staff.)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xf8uwbwn7nipr8f/WholeBrainTeachingpresentation.pdf?dl=0

*sorry for the phone screen shots!*

I also have made new WBT posters including items needed for the Super Improver Board and posted them on TPT.    You can get a copy here:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Whole-Brain-Teaching-Posters-and-Materials-1430026. 

If you haven't looked into WBT-  I highly recommend taking the time to check it out.  :-). It is like a life changing "movement" just like Teach Like a Pirate!

Have a great week!  :-)

Teacher tip

I have thought about doing this for years and never have followed through with it.  It has always been just a thought... until this year!

When you have multiple copies of forms or papers that the students use-  to put a master copy in a page protector at the bottom of the drawer.  When there are no more sheets left-  the next student hands me the page protector sheet.  This way I know the tub is out and that I need to make copies.  

This has already made my year go so much more smoothly!  I just copy a large stack of them and don't have to check how many are left each week.  :-)

Just thought I'd stop and write quickly about this time saving tip!  

I hope all of you are enjoying your new classes as much as I am enjoying mine! 

Have a great week! 

Energized for the new year! TLAP!

My lesson plans are finished.  I have met my new kiddos and their families.  Morning work is on their table and sight word table names are up.  We are ready to go... Kinda.

I know that I talk about Dave Burgess and Teach Like a Pirate CONSTANTLY but I just cannot help it-  he is a fantastic motivator.  On my beginning of the year staff goal sheet-  I honestly wrote- "Implement more engaging strategies like Dave Burgess."  

One section of his book is titled- "The First 3 Days of School."  It is a short read but it describes some of the amazing techniques that he does.  He is a high school history teacher  so some of these activities scare me since my kiddos don't even know how to ask to use the restroom yet!  However they are important in developing rapport and classroom environment during the first few days.  I need to not only teach rules/ routines but also capture and peak their interest so that cannot wait to come back to school the next day.  

I have been participating in the Monday evening #tlap twitter chats.  If you are on twitter-  I highly recommend it-  even if you are not brave enough to participate-  you can still read tweets.  :-). I have learned a lot!  

On there I was pumped up to leave my normal "boring" first week routines to rest and "jazz" it up a bit. I wish my firsties could read more day 1 so I could have "shocking" messages...  Oh well!  I'm still proud of them-  just have to make it more visual!   Here are some ideas:

-  Day 1 teach kiddos to shake hands.  Tell them it is just the first part of a "secret" handshake.  They have to come back the next day to learn the next part.  

- Since we take a lot of assessments-  each time we will listen to "eye of the tiger" and do dramatic stretches or

do koo-koo kangaroo etc. before the assessment time.  I will tell them that we are "working out/ stretching their brain."

-When teaching bathroom and hallway rules-  we will of course motivate them by a friendly competition.  Boys vs girls

Or by color of hair etc.  Winners are

going to get some ridiculous yarn necklace with a toilet or Solo cup toilet

trophy etc.  For the hallway-  These trophies will be a mouse or something for "quiet as a mouse."  These trophies 

will travel back and forth all day.  "Who will it be this time?"  

- During independent time (Ha!  August first graders and the word "independent" never go in the same sentence!) I plan to have subject appropriate music playing.  

-I love Whole Brain Teaching!  I plan to even jazz this up a bit.  Instead of "class", "yes!"  I plan on using a different and more catchy phrase.  Perhaps "macaroni and cheese."  "Everybody freeze!"  Or you can't go wrong with- "STOP!"  "Collaborate and listen."

-Also when I teach the "scoreboard" the smiley faces will be replaced with something else- I'm just not sure what it will be yet!  

-I also love the idea of giving groups of tables a mini tube of toothpaste.  Have them squeeze it out- then tell them to put it back in.  This leads to a discussion that once you say a hurtful thing that it is tough to take it back.  

Hopefully some of you are ready to "dive in" and add more real life and engagement like me this year!  I hope to "see" you on the #tlap twitter charts on Monday evenings!  

I better go and attempt to get some

shut eye... No more mid- afternoon naps

until June again!  

First Week of First Grade Plans

I ALWAYS forget what I do the first week of school!  It is the one time of year that I actually need fairly detailed plans.  If you are someone that forgets over the 6-8 weeks just like I do- feel free to download my plans (specific to me) for free to get some ideas.  I am quite sure that I have forgot some really important items.  :)
 
I also have included a 1st and 2nd week "checklist" of things that you need to remember to do.  Knowing me- after starting school on Wednesday- I will be adding to that list each day.  That way I WILL remember next year!  :)
 
Meet and Greet is tomorrow so I am sure I will go back to having radio silence for a couple of weeks.  You know how the beginning of the school year is.. 1.  You lose your voice  2.  You go to get at 6 PM!  (That is early for me when I typically go to bed between 2-3 AM.)
 
Enjoy getting to know your new classes.  I know that I cannot wait!  :)
 
Click here to download my first week plans.

Almost ready for Monday!

It is only 2 days away until I finally get to meet my new school "family."  I have the first week lessons typed up, papers are in their correct day of the week tub, and I have a stack of independent fillers ready for them.  Yet-  I still never feel 100% ready!

I still want to organize or change this- or change that...  Yet-  I know it is time!

Here is a peak at our room:

Ready for Meet and Greet! :-)

Right inside the door is our new word

work center.  This is not finished yet!  Yikes!  I just keep reminding myself that they will not be ready to even use it for a few weeks.  I always teach them how to use the paper practice items first.  

This houses our math board.  Under the easel houses materials for guided math groups.  Along the bottom of the board are comprehension strategy charts.  These are going to be moved and replaced with the 7 Habits of Happy Kids posters.  First grade is trying out the program this year and I am REALLY excited about it! The bathroom

wait list and passes as well as the clip chart are also here.  Hopefully I will be surprised on Monday with a Smartboard hanging there as well!  Last week a box arrived with one inside!  :-)

Here are our Book Browsing Boxes along the window.  I purchased new neon blue boxes this year.  Lol unfortunately I only ordered 24 and as of Friday have 27 students.  Therefore had to use some of my 9 year old dark blue tubs.  You also see our "just right" book library, comprehension goal tubs, iPad station and mailboxes.  

This is the teacher area.  The green basket is where students turn in lunch money.  The yellow basket is where students turn in notes.  Before I used this system- I was trying to juggle talking to students, collecting money, finding where 8 students placed their notes etc. Currently the reading table contains labeled tubs for Meet and Greet supplies. I somehow forgot to take a picture with it. 

This is my favorite wall!  I plan to draw names weekly and have students choose to display something on the left bulletin board.  The right board is our new word wall.  In the middle is our writing center.  The walls contain inspirational paintings.  On the student desks you will find a folder with an "All about my child" form (you can find it on my TPT), a remind101 sign up, a welcome letter for parents (you can find a copy on my online classroom www.grefirstgrade.weebly.com), mystery reader sign up, volunteer sign up, and finally any district beginning of school forms.  The red bags contain a pencil, starburst with the tag- "I'm BURSTING with excitement that you are in my class!"  and the back to school magic confetti poem with a tiny bag of confetti.

Right now-  my math tubs, fiction and nonfiction library are covered with a massive box containing our new Smartboard!  Even though I couldn't take a picture-  I am delighted! :-)

I am going to write my next post from my computer so I can add images of our first week of school plans.  :-) I am anxious each year and would love to know what other people do!  Hopefully you will be inspired or feel more at ease after reading my plans.  :-)

Have a wonderful day!