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Showing posts with label Math Stations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Math Stations. Show all posts

Fact Fluency in First Grade!

When you hear the term fact fluency, you often think of a timed test of addition or subtraction facts. This is what I used to think of too. I've dug more into that term and realized that students do not become fluent fact solvers unless they can successfully understand numbers and the strategies used to solve a variety of addition and subtraction equations.

A few years ago, I was noticing that I was teaching my first graders all of these fact solving strategies to help them become better mathematicians. As we were building upon concepts, I began noticing that some important concepts were being forgotten. We would have to take a few steps back, review and redo. I had math stations in place, but they were whatever I could muster together at the time because... *new baby!*



This is when the idea of a Fact Fluency packet arose. I chose particular strategies that my students needed at certain points in the year, created extremely easy prep activities and we set off practicing our fact fluency strategies each Friday.

Today, I want to show you the first Fact Fluency pack. It's my back to school unit and it's specifically geared for first grade. My recommendation with the first pack is to start the kids off very slowly. Each day during the first few weeks of the year my students and I have a mini-lesson practicing one of the skills inside the fact fluency product. Once we have a mini-lesson, I decide if they can do it on their own, need a partner or need whole class guidance. I pass it out, we do it and done! When I feel like they can tackle four of the concepts successfully, then we begin Fact Fluency Friday.



Fact Fluency Friday is where I set out four buckets. In each bucket, there is a different activity that allows students to practice a different math skill that they have already learned. Each student is also given a Checklist. They get to choose which tub they begin with. When they finish, they bring their paper to me. I check it, return it and place a smiley face or sticker on the number they completed. For example, if they took an activity from tub 1, they would get a completion sticker on #1 on their checklist.

Here is an example of the set up of Fact Fluency on a Friday.
You could easily have students do these for math stations as well. Each day, during math station time, they choose which activity to do. They can still earn stickers as they finish. Either way will get the same results!


Once all of the buckets are out, then you want to fill each one with a different activity. You get to choose which activity goes in each number. I did not pre-number them as there are more than four concepts included in most of my Fact Fluency Products.


After you choose which activity the students will complete, then you will want to set out the manipulatives or supplies that students will need to complete each activity. In the back to school file, I have included printable versions of the manipulatives that you will need to fit the back to school theme, but you can always use what you already have! The things included are number lines to 10 and counters.

Now that you know how the system works. Here are the actual concepts covered in the Back to School Fact Fluency Product. I have also pictured the materials you will need with each activity!

This first activity focuses on practicing the skill one 1 more and 1 less using numbers under 20. One of my favorite math tools that I have my students use all year is the build it mat that you see here. It allows students to manipulative their numbers in an organized manner. It also emphasizes the language and symbols of +1 and -1!



This next activity is all about making ten! This is such an important skill to master in first grade. Students work on using number lines or counters to solve addition equations. 


This next activity is all about writing those numbers and counting up to 52! Students get to practice two things at once here! They simply trace all of their numbers, cut them out and place them in the correct empty spaces so that they are in sequential order.


This is one that I LOVE! Students are working here to look at a series of four numbers. Their job is to identify if YES! Those four numbers are in order from least to greatest or NO! Those four numbers are not in order from least to greatest.



This last one allows students to practice drawing math pictures to solve addition equations. It also allows students to view a picture and create a matching addition equation. For example, if there is one black dot and three white dots then the addition equation would be 1+3=4.

As you can see, each concept includes four different activities! That gives students four weeks of practice on that skill before they move onto the next set of fact fluency strategy skills!

Next up, organizing these each month.

I simply, stick the cover of the product on the front of the folder.

Inside the folder I place my master copies and any manipulatives that I cut and print out for use.

I also like to include the contents of the product so I know which concepts are covered. I saves me time so I don't have to sift through all of the papers.




There you go, Fact Fluency! If you're interested in trying out the Back to School file, click here!




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First Week Math Lesson Plans

Are you doing your lesson plans and not really sure where to begin? That was me a few years ago before I realized what was the most important thing to teach week ONE of school! I used to think I need to begin my curriculum day one, but no...! Expectations, expectations... and some more expectations!


I am here to share my math lesson plans with YOU for my first week of school! I always start off with the fun stuff... manipulatives! If I can get the kids using manipulatives correctly and playing games with a partner correctly then setting up the rest of my math block is seriously a breeze! No JOKE!

These are my objectives for the first week of school:
I use these to help keep me focused because I do love to get distracted by other things! This keeps me in line with what is actually important!


As you see above, I am not focusing on the standards. Why? Well, because the standards are NOT going to get met if the kids don't know how to interact with materials and one another appropriately. Trust me! Do all this stuff NOW or you WILL be doing it allllll year long!

When setting these expectations, do not give the kids wiggle room to "misbehave" either. 
You need them to learn how to act correctly right away so you CAN get a move on it with your math curriculum.


Okay, now what you came for! Week ONE PLANS!! 
Please keep in mind, I will do my very best to stick to the plans below but if my kids aren't doing well with noise level for example, then we will be reconvening and practicing a LOT!

If you click on the image below, you can download my plans and click on the pictures to be taken to that math activity.


The great thing about week one is that after it's done, the students will already know FOUR math games! Next week, I will begin introducing the technology center and students will begin to rotate through three math stations. We use Ipads in our classroom and a math program called ST Math.

Throughout rotations I will continue to assess students basic understandings of math and look for any red flags so they can be tackled right away!

I hope you found this post helpful!
For more blog posts about my math workshop, click the links below!!





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Tracking Data to Drive Instruction


Welcome to a series of blog posts all about GUIDED MATH! It seems like a scary thing to jump into and I want to let you know it's not. The nine bloggers you see below and myself have joined together to bring you a series of posts to inform you of ALL THINGS guided math! Let's get started!
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I'll be tackling How to use DATA to drive INSTRUCTION!
 We love it, we hate it, we hate it some more, BUT we NEED it!
I have a system my school uses called DMA to help us out, but I like to use a little more than just that. 
I'll explain more below! 

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The first thing you need to know before being able to USE your data effectively to drive instruction is a way to do it.

You'll want to ask yourself these 3 key questions:

1. How is my math block structured so I can attend to the needs of my kids?
2. How will I record the data?
3. How I will I update my data?

Here are my answers to those questions:

1. The way I structure my math block is in a four station rotation (teacher table, on my own station, games station and technology station). My students rotate every 15 minutes. This structure allows me to meet with every group EVERY DAY!

2. I record my pre-assessment and post assessment data in my math binder. In between the assessments, I record math data using a math binder on  a daily basis. I jot down things I notice them doing or not yet doing. Doing this allows me to remember what they need when they return to me the next day AND to see if I'm noticing a pattern in the class.



3. I update my data as I teach. If I notice a student or the group of students have mastered a concept, I make note of it and make any instructional changes that I feel are needed. If the data is showing a student is struggling with understanding a concept, I update that students data and decide what to do next.

I use my planning sheet a lot to record observations that I see during math group time. I always start the week with a focus for each group. As I teach, the focus changes based on their needs. You can see that by looking at the top box of each groups plans below.




As I teach, I also fill in activities for small group for the week. I always start with ONE for sure activity that we'll begin with. Then, I will decide what to do next based on what the kids do. Honestly, I don't always do worksheets with them, I am not always printing stuff off. I've got math tools, my whiteboard, note cards and white computer paper. One time a week, we WILL play a prepped game for review of the skill overall.







 When I am talking about analyzing data purposefully here, I am really talking about more of the summative assessment type of data. Always, always use your formative assessments to guide your instruction every. single. day. During my math workshop I have a station called 'On My Own.' This is where students display their understanding of a certain math concept on their own, without help (unless I state otherwise).

Normally, 'On My Own' is review work of previous concepts. Sometimes, I will throw in an activity to really assess their understanding of what we are doing at that current moment. I take more time to analyze that data. I do this using a four box system and STICKERS!

This is what my little table looks like when I go to analyze my data. Again, everything is kept in my math binder so I don't have to waste time gathering my materials. I keep their papers in a folder, I have my data forms and stickers to mark levels of understanding.



Here are the papers sorted into piles and what the stickers mean.

Blue - Concept mastered and a little beyond.
Green - Concept mastered
Yellow - Gaining an understanding of concept
Red - Concept not understood yet


As I am analyzing data, I determine and organize student names based on four factors:

1These students have mastered the concept and beyond.
2. These students have shown mastery.
3. These students are beginning to understand the concept.
4. These students do not yet understand the concept.

I sort my papers into four piles, write names in four boxes and put stickers on the top of each pile to make the piles easier for me to find if I need to look at them again to gain more information. You can grab the printable I use here.

 I also look for patterns when I am analyzing data. Sometimes, the majority of the class is having a misconception and I record that information on the 'Data Breakdown' form. This is where I get my ideas for my mini-whole group math lessons before we start our math rotations.





Once you've analyzed all that data, it's time to GET TO WORK! Open up that math binder, meet with those groups and instruct them based on where they are! Take notes as you teach them of things your noticing! You will be absolutely STUNNED to find that you actually become a much better teacher by doing the front load work.


When your planning to meet with those groups, you also need a plan in place. No you don't need different activities for each group, or laminated cards or worksheets all the tie. Honestly, get those math tools you need and write down a 2-3 step plan. Use note cards to write math problems, grab a worksheet and provide a different level of support for each group, use a game and change the numbers. It's very easy to differentiate when you KNOW THE NEEDS of your kids!

This is what I use to write out a plan for my kids and what they need:


To read more about guided math, click the links below!




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My Math Block & Place Value

I absolutely love to teach math to first graders! There is so much 'newness' and so many light-bulb moments! I always share pictures of my math block on Instagram, and it only makes sense to now do a little blog post to give you the lowdown of how I run it.

Here is a little glimpse at how I run my math block each day!

We start our math time with calendar time. 
Afterwards, I do a direct teaching lesson.
This is where I model the concept we are learning for the day.
This past week we began to learn about place value. One day, my direct instruction lesson was a read aloud! I read this book to students and I used my magnetic base 10 blocks on my whiteboard to help deepen their understanding.



After, I model the concept we are learning for the day, students participate in an activity to help deepen their understanding. I like to make this time as hands on as possible. 

Here students are counting materials. Our goal was to find strategies to make counting easier.
Some students made connections with the read aloud and figured out that making groups of 10's really is easier!! Some students didn't quite grasp that concept, so I made sure to help guide their thinking during this time. Differentiation right here ya'll!! Easy peasy!


Much of the time I like for students to record their thinking in some way. Here I simply gave students a blank white piece of paper. I told them to draw a picture of what they did, tell me the total and some groups were ready to tell me how many groups of tens they made and how many loose ones they had left over. Helloooo place value understanding!!! :-)


After our active learning time, I sometimes give them an activity sheet to complete so I can assess their understanding. We always come back together as a class and discuss our learning for the day. Then, students are off to work with their assigned math station for 20 minutes.
I project the timer onto the board for students to see. It really helps keep us all on track.


Find the online timer here.

The math stations that students do are concepts that have already been taught.
Here is our rotation board and where the stations are stored.


The kids visit one math station a day. ST math is completed on the Ipad and allows students to progress through first grade math concepts at their own pace. 

The On My Own station is where students complete an interactive math journal activity.
You can find this odd and even math journal activity here.
Tubs 1, 2 and 3 contain hands on math station activities like the batty addition sort seen below.

If students finish their math tub activity early, then they can choose a math game to play until math station time is over.


While students work on their math stations, I pull a group of students who need additional support, review of old concepts or I pull my high groups for a 'challenge' activity.

Sometimes, I will pull kids who are doing one of the math tub activities and do it with them, if I know this is a concept they struggle with.


You can also read another math workshop post from me here!

Have a fabulous day!!










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Bundled Third Grade Math Stations!

Save big and get prepared for the entire year with these engaging and easy to prep third grade math stations!! If each station is purchased separately you would spend 90.00!! Save your hard earned money and grab it all at a great price!!

This bundle is normally priced at $75.00, but today and tomorrow I have discounted it even more for you at only $60.00! This is the lowest the price will EVER be!!

Math station time was my kids favorite time of the day last year. They were engaged and able to collaborate in a meaningful way with classmates about math concepts.

Here is a glance at some of the stations in action!

This was my math workshop board. Two students worked on a bucket at a time.
We worked with math stations about 4 times a week for 30 minutes each time.


Each bucket had a number, and the kids completed that activity. Sometimes I placed recording forms in dry erase pockets, and sometimes students had to turn in a recording form. It really just depended on the concept.



Here are some of the math stations that the kids completed throughout the year!



  These are from my October Math Stations.



We worked a LOT with multi-step word problems.









There are a lot more stations, but these were just a few! :)

The kids loved their math stations! It was a great way to review those concepts. At the end of the year my kids still remembered how to do things from the beginning of the year and I KNOW it is because they got constant review and collaboration with their classmates!

If you are interested in the bundle, then click the picture below!
If you're only interested in a few then click here.


Have a fabulous weekend!!
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