A Really Overdue Blog Post

We Have a TPT Store

We have dragged our feet on starting a TPT store since this blog's conception for many reasons but primarily because we never set out to gain fame or fortune through this blog.  Just like none of us chose teaching for the money, right?! :)  However, we never realized how many people would be interested in obtaining copies of our resources.  After trying to respond in a timely fashion to numerous requests for various documents, we have finally decided to make the resources available for download to save everyone some time.  We chose certain documents to make available on the store based on those that are most often requested on our blog.  Please feel free to email us if you would like a document that is not in our store but is referenced in our blog posts, and we will add it to our TPT store.

We imagine that many of you will relate with us when we say that we have poured countless hours into creating the resources for our math workshop.  After much deliberation we agreed that charging a small amount for these resources that we spent so much time on seems reasonable.

It seems only appropriate to plug our store :), so check us out!

Laptop Update

The last time we wrote about the laptops at the fact station Tabitha was not sure how often the computers would be used and how they would be managed.  While she saw the benefits of using the laptops at a math station, she also learned a few things:

1.  Sharing a laptop cart with the rest of the school (24 classes) is difficult because so many teachers want to use the cart.
2.  Setting up the laptops, each mouse, and each set of headphones takes about 20 minutes of prep time.
3.  If the laptops are not charged when they come to your class, then instructional time is lost trying to find a computer with a charge.
4.  Forcing students to play a certain game gave Tabitha control over the skill that was being practiced but lessened student engagement.  However, presenting students with options to practice a certain skill seemed to increase engagement.  Choice is always good.

Math Workshop in the Midst of a District-Wide Curriculum Adoption?

This fall Tabitha's district will implement MyMath as the first curriculum adopted for the purpose of being aligned with a workshop approach.  Tabitha is very excited about the new adoption and knows quite a bit about it as she is on the third grade curriculum guide writing committee for the adoption.  This curriculum focuses on real-world application by taking skills, applying them, and problem solving.  At the same time, this real-world application is complemented with instruction on computational skills, which we have found to be lacking in previous curriculum adoptions.  The curriculum seems to provide numerous avenues for differentiating instruction.  So, where does this leave our Math Workshop Adventures?  Well, we don't know.  As Tabitha implements the curriculum, her math workshop will look different in that instead of focusing on one skill per week, she will spend as much time as she needs on each skill, as MyMath encourages.  However, the structure of math workshop (i.e., small groups/stations) will stay the same or very similar.  More on this to come...

Blogging?  What's a Blog?

So, obviously we're not very good at this blogging thing (last post was 11/13).  Our intention when starting this blog was to share our experiences going through the process of beginning a math workshop.  We also eventually hoped to be able to share useful resources with others interested in math workshop.  After two years of implementing math workshop, we really didn't have any updates because we didn't make any major changes.  

Please feel free to check back as Tabitha implements math workshop with the newly adopted MyMath curriculum.  

T&C

Assessment

Assessment drives the instruction in our math workshop. 

Types of assessments

1. At the beginning of the year, students take a district assessment on the computer.  They will then take this at the middle and end of the year to track growth. 
2. Third graders in our building also take a GLE (Missouri's Grade Level Expectations) assessment; which they will also take at the end of every quarter.
3. We give weekly pre- and post- assessments at the beginning and end of each week on the week's skill.
4. On Fridays, we hold one-on-one conferences with students to remediate previously taught skills and/or the current week's skill(s).
5. Throughout the week, we use exit slips, slate practice, cooperative learning, the interactive whiteboard, and self-checks.
6. Students also complete self-assessments throughout math workshop.  These are in the forms of consensograms (voting with stickers or dots), affinity diagrams, and paper-pencil self-assessments.



We give weekly pre- and post- assessments at the beginning and end of each week on the week's skill.  We graph the results on a class graph.  The stars denote weeks that 100% of students met proficiency. 



Student ownership


To provide students with timely and effective feedback, students are given graded assessments to record on individual proficiency graphs.  They track their progress with weekly skills, so that they can look back at the graph to identify which skills need to be revisited.  The graph provides a visual reminder of the goal of proficiency. 


This is the individual quarterly GLE graph.  Students graph the results from their quarterly GLE assessment.  The star represents proficiency on 3rd grade skills (80% or above).



This is the individual weekly graph.  Students record the date at the bottom with the week's skill.  They graph the results from their weekly post-test.  The star represents proficiency for that skill.  4/5 or 5/5 is proficient (80% or above).

Once students graph their results from weekly post-assessments, they reflect on what strategies worked to attain the skill and brainstorm ideas for improvement.  These ideas are shared as a class and recorded weekly on a class bulletin board.

Anchor Charts!!!

What teacher doesn't love anchor chart ideas?! Okay, maybe not as much as we do, but thanks to http://pinterest.com/, we have acquired many useful ideas for anchor charts.  We normally create these as a class on Monday during whole-class instruction.  We usually watch a Brainpop video to help us fill out the chart.

So our gift to you in this post is....drum roll please...a ton of anchor charts!!

Enjoy!

Getting Started

The back story to our blog...


After seeing success in book clubs in small grouping, we decided, "Why not try it in math?!" So we implemented a math workshop that focuses on one math skill a week.


So far we've seen...


Mastery of basic skills
Increased student engagement
Student excitement about learning math
More confidence in math competencies
Students taking ownership of the learning


... and of course---a whole lot of fun for us and the students!


Getting started...


When we first began brainstorming ideas for how to organize a math workshop, we knew that we had no idea what we were doing. :) Just like good writers look at mentor texts before writing, we researched what was working for other teachers.  We came across several great blogs and resources that we will mention throughout this blog.  We also found a few resources within our district for support.  We synthesized the materials to fit our teaching styles to support our philosophy of teaching and learning.  As with anything, it took a lot of trial and error, and--it still does!

Organizing our students...

After reading a wonderfully helpful blog by Beth Newingham, we decided to follow her suggestion for dividing our students into three groups: low, medium, and high.  To group our students, we give our students a weekly pre-test over the week's skill.  We then group the students according to their skill level. 

We also followed her rotation suggestion. 

Low Group:  Our low group starts out at the teacher station because they will need teacher instruction in order to be successful at the other stations.  They then move onto the independent station to apply the skill that they just learned and/or reviewed.  Lastly, they go to the game station for further practice on that specific skill or to review a previous skill.

Medium Group: Our medium group starts out at the game station.  Then they move to the teacher station and finish at the independent station.

High Group:  Our high group is often able to do the independent task before coming to the teachers station, so that is where they begin.  Then they rotate to the game station and end up at the teacher station. 

Differentiated Instruction in Math Workshop

Not only do we want to meet students at their level through small-group instruction, but we also tier the game and/or independent stations to best support their level of proficiency.  We try to keep the quality and the quantity of the activity/task the same.  However, the high group might solve more complex problems or take the learning more in depth.  Whereas, the low group will probably need more scaffolding by using manipulatives,

Organizing the Materials

Since groups are often completing different tasks for the game/independent station(s), we have to organize the materials so that each group receives the correct supplies without needing our assistance during transition.  We have designated specific areas of the room for each station's activities and materials.  For example, the game station materials will always be on the side table, and the independent practice materials are on the back counter.  At each place in the room, the materials are organized by group.  So far we have used folders with group names on them to organize the materials that groups will need during that station.

Math Workshop Schedule

Depending on the skill, we typically use this schedule for our math workshop instruction.  On Monday we give a pre-test over the week's skill.  We then teach a whole-class lesson.  We have found that most of the students need the background knowledge or a review of it to be successful at math workhop stations.  Tuesday through Friday lessons consist of a min-lesson, when we normally discuss the stations and the expected norms for each.  Then we spend 12-15 minutes at each rotation.  Finally, we wrap up our lesson with a closure. 

Transitioning between stations

When we first started workshop this year, the first few weeks were spent creating norms for each station.  One of the norms includes transitioning efficiently between stations.  To do this, we display a timer, either on the Smart Board or using Kagan's Jumbo Timer so that students know how much time is left in each station.  When the timer gets to 1:30 left in that station, students pick up their materials and quietly move to the next station.  We may earn a class marble for arriving at the next station, ready to learn by the timer gets to 0:00.  It's amazing to see the ownership the students take in watching the timer and moving on to the next station. 

The content at each station

Teacher station is spent at the Smart Board. 

To ensure equal participation and student engagement, students bring their slates and markers to the Smart Board.  All students work out problems on their slates.  Once all students give a thumbs up, signaling completion, the teacher may have students take turns writing an answer on the Smart Board.  This serves as ongoing assessment and promotes discussion.

Smart Exchange provides numerous resources for the Smart Board.  We start there when creating lessons for the teacher station.  Then we tweak our findings to best meet the needs of our students.

The teacher station looks similar for each group but also provides an opportunity for the teacher to modify instruction based on students' needs at the present time.  For example, the low group may need more practice with basic skills.  While, the high group may be able to solve more complex word problems.  When creating the Smart Board lessons, we try to include slides containing varying opportunities for practice.

The game station may sometimes include an exploration, where students work with a partner to problem solve.

During this game station, students work in partnerships to write down the perimeter of each shape.  To allow for smoother transitions, students were told which shape to start with.  Each pair started at a different shape.

Independent station normally consists of a tiered writing activity that reinforces the week's skill.  Once a week, the independent station also provides students with the opportunity to review learned skills through a review sheet or Math Box, as used in our Everyday Math curriculum.  On Fridays, we often have our students use writing to explain how they solved their problems.  We have found that by having students explain their work in writing, they demonstrate their understanding of the skill. 

Please share your comments and experiences with math workshop. We are continually seeking out ways to improve. 

Check back soon for posts with specific content ideas for math workshop.

--Chloe & Tabitha