Search

Search This Blog



WHAT IS IT?

Guided math is a teaching structure focused on tailored instruction for children at their instructional level to support them in areas of deficiency in their mathematical thinking or skills. This time allows you to attack pre-requisite skills that students may not have yet mastered. Similar to guided reading, every group should receive data driven small group instruction. 

WHAT IT ISN’T

Guided math is not, teaching a small group version of the whole group lesson. It is also not, homogeneously grouping students and differentiating the whole group lesson taught for the day. It is a lesson designed by the educator to explicitly attack skills the students have not yet mastered based on available math data. 


COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS

In reading there are many different tools to guide you in leveling students and determining what skills students are missing. Programs like DRA2, Fontis & Pennell and many other resources provide students with material on their independent and instructional levels. The instruction within the guided reading lesson is based on spelling patterns, visual, meaning and structure miscues. 

Math is a bit different, at this time there isn’t a tool that is used universally to level students or provides guidance on how to gradually increase student growth. However, what can be used to help standardize the way instruction is delivered to small groups across grade levels is your state standards assessments. Your state standards are a wonderful way to level your students. Using the placement assessment provided by your school or state is one way that you can identify the skills that students may be lacking and determine what common core state standard level those skills would fall under. Then, use that particular standard or domain to guide your instructions with the designated small group of students to bridge gaps in mathematical thinking. 


For example, if your second graders are working on subtraction, you may recognized that a student is having difficulty understanding quantities. This lack of number sense is impacting their ability to recognize when and why to regroup. The student may need to receive guided math instruction from either kindergarten or the first grade standards to bridge the gap between the second grade standard and their current level of understanding. This process can be overwhelming without data to outline what your students know and have yet to learn. Let's talk about data.


DATA DRIVEN INSTRUCTION

Although there are not many common state used math placement assessments there are also some online tools that you can use that are free to assist you in creating your guided math groups. MobyMax is one that is great placement and reinforcement tool that can not only inform your guided math groups, but also be used as a center.  Scootpad is another online resource with a diagnostic assessment, adaptive lessons, customizable learning paths and so much more. Scootpad houses a library of standards beyond Common Core State Standards. Simply scroll to find those used by your district, click and have aligned resources at your fingertips. 


Teachers can sign up their class(es) for free on both online platforms! Have your students complete the placement test then take a look at many different reports target areas of struggle in your guided math session. Similar to guided reading small group sessions are not just about remediation and supporting students who are struggling it is also about propelling those students forward who have demonstrated mastery of a skill.

REMEDIATION

Remediation requires building a firm foundation and increasing concrete understanding of math skills and concepts. Manipulatives, visual models, and graphic organizers are necessary tools to help students see math concepts during guided math instruction. Graphic organizers are a great support for not only your special education students and your English as a second language learners, but it also supports general education students. 


In preparation for your guided math lesson, review your state standards to determine your objective. You can refer to the online resource you used to place students, MobyMax or Scootpad for ideas on how and where to remediate. LearnZillion is another online resource that can be beneficial to you, the educator in understanding how to teach, model, and question students on a particular standard during guided math. 

ENRICHMENT

Your enrichment group will need access to paper, pencils, crayons and anchor charts to allow them to model their abstract thinking.  More often than not, this group of students has difficulty adequately explaining their strategy to solve a problem orally and in written form.  Your enrichment guided math group should spend their time writing to explain, analyzing student work, and participating in group discussions. 


You should expect these students to use the math vocabulary and use it as a second language in their explanations. Refer back to your online placement tool for guidance on the skills they have mastered and delve into a deeper understanding or application of these skills. Similar to book clubs and literature circles in guided reading small groups, your enrichment group does not require frequent guided math sessions.  

SCHEDULE

There are so many different ways to schedule your small groups. Some teachers like to meet with every group daily. While others may prefer to have an alternating schedule. Scheduling is based upon two factors: student needs and your comfort.  Typically, your remediation group will meet with you daily, your enrichment group twice weekly and your on grade level group is dispersed based upon their demonstrated needs. One thing you want to be mindful of is becoming a statue in your guided math group schedule. Your guided math and centers schedule should change from one school year to the next to reflect the needs of your current students. You may have a very mature group one year and the next year you may have one that is still maturing. 


Common time allotments for math instruction are 60minutes, 75minutes, and 90 minutes. When using the guided math instructional model the majority of the instructional time should be guided math. Whole group instruction should take no more than 20 minutes to teach the on grade level skill and discuss how students will practice during center seatwork time. Take the time to reflect on the amount of time that you have for your math block and grab a schedule that works best for you and your current students.


How are you grappling with guided math?




Let's organize those math manipulatives that are just thrown in that bin over there! You know, the one that you don't know where it ...
If you’re anything like me it has probably driven you nuts to feel like you are grasping at strings to get everything in order and complete ...
  Hey You Amazing Educators!     I wanted to share a few Wondering Wednesday Wisdom (WWW) tidbits with you. It is my hope that these WWW ...
It’s a new year, with new goals and obstacles. That excitement of starting something new is in the air and we want to pass that excitement ...
Whew! You made it the end of the year and man it was great, time for some much needed R & R! I know you are ready for the much needed b...
The warm weather has finally arrived and I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to get out and enjoy it. Usually, we would be getting ready ...