Do your students ask, “Why are we learning this?” or “When will I ever use this?” Real-life math projects answer these questions by allowing students to work with meaningful, relevant situations that they might encounter in real life. The projects are high-interest and use math to complete a variety of relevant tasks and problem solve. Many projects will have open-ended questions resulting in answers that vary based on the student and the situation. Getting a “right answer” or solving a problem a certain way isn’t as important as working together, explaining your thinking, and using math concepts to tackle a larger problem.

“My students really loved this project. They could easily see the real-world application and I liked that I could get so much assessment information from it. It really made the material applicable to my students’ experiences in the real world which kept them engaged and interested in learning. Thanks for a great resource.” -Katie L.

How do I Choose a Real-Life Math Project?

So you’ve decided to give real-life math projects a try. Where do you start? How do you choose the right project? First, think about your students. What are their interests? For example, maybe your students are really into graphic novels or superheroes. Maybe your students have recently written animal reports and have taken a field trip to a zoo.

Also consider the math skills that need to be reinforced. Do you want them to work on basic multiplication facts, geometry concepts, or understanding fractions? Knowing your students’ interests and the math skills required will help guide you to the ideal project. Math projects also give you the opportunity to differentiate to students based on interests and needs. While one student may be working on multi-digit operations in Create a Dinosaur Park, another may be working on basic multiplication in Design a Playground.

Related: Get inspired with a variety of ready-to-go projects for a variety of grade levels .

How Do I Implement a Real-Life Math Project?

Although some teachers use math projects to facilitate classroom transformations, that is not required to engage your students!  But remember – the more excited you are, the more eager your students will be! Here are some practical tips to get started:

Brainstorm – After choosing a project, give students a general overview and let them think of ideas and then share with a partner or the class. If your students are working on the Design a Playground project, let them draw or share all their ideas about what it should look like and what types of playground equipment should be included.

Set Clear Expectations – Let students know who they will be working with and what makes their work time on this project successful. For example, you may choose to focus on listening to group members, explaining mathematical thinking, and staying on task.

Quit While They’re Having Fun – Most math projects include between nine and thirteen tasks. Don’t assign too much at one time. Instead, have them do one or two tasks at a time. They’ll be having fun and beg you to keep going! This is how you maximize excitement and engagement!

“This unit was a real hit with my grade 4 class. Students were totally engaged, even those who don’t typically like math all that much. What a great way of putting real-world perspectives into math in a relatable way for students. They loved it! Thank you!” – Andreana G.

Embrace the Struggle – If students are working in small groups, step back and allow them to try things out on their own within their groups. Support students with practicing positive group behaviors, but give students space to struggle with the math concepts. Ask questions like, “Can you explain your thinking?” or “Can you show your group how you came up with that answer?” to help students reflect on the strategies they are using.

Check-In – At the end of each session, have students check in with themselves and their groups to reflect on what went well and what they can improve on next time. Point out groups who made progress or worked hard.

Presentations – Make sure to celebrate successes at the end of projects by providing students the opportunity to share what they designed, learned, or accomplished during their project.

Assessments – Many teachers like to use math projects as an opportunity for assessment. This can be assessment during learning (formative) in order to drive instruction, or assessment after learning (summative) to wrap up a unit. Guided math groups are a great opportunity to work with specific tasks from projects in order to assess specific skills in a non-intimidating way.

“My students worked in pairs to complete this and with each page, their excitement grew! They loved putting their multiplication understanding to the test and enjoyed the challenge that his activity offered them. I cannot wait to use it with my students this year!” – Cortney S.

Extending the Learning with Mini Classroom Transformations

Math projects make fantastic mini classroom transformations – and you don’t have to spend hours and hours to put them together for your students! Here are some ideas I’ve heard from other teachers:

• Bring stuffed animals into the room and set up stations to work on the Run a Pet Shelter Project.
• Invite a local animal shelter to do a presentation. (Also used for Run a Pet Shelter.)
• For the Run a Pizza Place project, put checkered table cloths at math centers around the room. Have a pizza box at each station with the activity they’ll work on at that station. Have a real pizza party when students are finished the project!
• Have a coffee taste-test for the Run a Coffee Shop project (or let kids drink hot chocolate out of coffee cups as they work).
• Set up tents in the classroom for the Camping Trip math project. Or turn off the lights and have lanterns and flashlights available! Make s’mores as a wrap-up activity!
• Use the Run a Candy Store project to inspire a real-life candy store inside the classroom!

 

Where Can I Find Ready-to-Go Real-Life Math Projects For My Students?

If you are looking for ready-made, no-prep math projects for your classroom, there are over 40 projects available for a variety of grade levels. Grade level bundles are also available. Use the links below to find out more!

See all Math Projects here

Or see bundles here:

Grade 2-3 Math Project and Escape Room Bundle

Grade 3-4 Math Project and Escape Room Bundle

Grade 4-5 Math Project and Escape Room Bundle

The post “Why Do We Have to Learn This?” Boosting Engagement with Real-Life Math appeared first on Shelley Gray.

“Four or less, let it rest. Five or more, add one more.” Right? Wrong!! Do you find that rounding is confusing for your students? Do you find that many students don’t really seem to “get” what it means? It’s time to stop teaching the cute rounding rhymes and tricks and teach in a way that promotes real understanding.

If you are teaching rounding, this article is going to include everything you need to teach it in a way that promotes conceptual understanding. Let’s go deep with this concept so students are building number sense that will transfer to other concepts rather than simply memorizing a rhyme.

First, let’s take at how NOT to introduce rounding to your students. The whiteboard below shows a common way of teaching rounding. We look at the numbers, say a rhyme in our heads, and get a correct answer.

But let’s think about this approach.

• Is this meaningful to students? Do they actually understand what rounding is?
• Does this approach help them build deep understanding of the concept of rounding?
• Is the focus on understanding? Or is the focus on getting a correct answer?
• Does this rhyme transfer to other areas of mathematics and help students build their overall number sense?

Now let’s contrast this with a different approach. This time, let’s use a number line and let’s ask ourselves the same questions:

• Is this meaningful to students? Do they actually understand what rounding is?
• Does this approach help them build deep understanding of the concept of rounding?
• Is the focus on understanding? Or is the focus on getting a correct answer?
• Does this concept transfer to other areas of mathematics and help students build their overall number sense?

When we think about it in this way, it’s clear that we must stop teaching the cute rounding rhymes, and start teaching actual math. In the words of Nicki Newton, “Don’t teach tricks. Teach math. It’s easier!”

So how do we accomplish this? Where do we begin?

HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES

If you use the CRA Model in your math classroom (highly encouraged), you know how important it is to begin teaching any concept in a concrete way that students can visualize. In this concrete phase, students are using physical objects that they can manipulate. This stage is where students are rapidly building their understanding of a concept.

So often when we teach rounding, we begin with using the actual digits of a number, and introducing them to a rhyme or rule. But this does not help them understand what rounding really means. This does not enable them to build the connections that are so important for true understanding and number sense development.

When I am brainstorming concrete activities, I am asking myself a couple of questions.

• How can this concept be visualized without any digits involved?
• How can we eventually bridge this concrete representation to a more abstract representation?

Using Base Ten Blocks for Rounding Numbers

Base ten blocks are an excellent visual for rounding numbers because most students are already familiar with them. Here we are looking at the number 27. First, we can ask which tens 27 comes between. In this case, it comes between 20 and 30. Now we need to figure out which ten it is closer to: 20 or 30. When we can see what 27 looks like, it’s easy to see that 27 is closer to 30 than it is to 20.

Notice that we have not even used the term “rounding” yet – we are simply focusing on which ten each number is closest to.

Here’s another example with the number 32. We know that 32 comes between 30 and 40. When we can see it built with base ten blocks, it’s easy to see that 32 is closer to 30 than it is to 40.

Using A Rekenrek (Number Rack) for Rounding Numbers

Another common manipulative that we can use to visualize closeness to a number is a rekenrek. Again, we are focusing simply on building numbers and figuring out which ten they are closest to. In this example we have built 47. We know that 47 is between 40 and 50. This visual helps us see that 47 is closer to 50 than it is to 40.

In this example we can see that 63 is closer to 60 than it is to 70.

Using A Beaded Number Line (Bead String) for Rounding Numbers

A beaded number line is a fantastic tool to add to your manipulative collection. In this example we see the number 33, and can visualize it as being between 30 and 40. It’s easy to see that 33 is closer to 30 than it is to 40. I love beaded number lines because they are a wonderful transition to a drawing of a number line, which we will take a look at in the next section.

Incorporating Representational Models

The number line is a powerful representational model for rounding numbers. It helps students visualize which ten (or hundred or thousand) a number is closest to. In this example, we are making connections between the concrete representation of 27 and the representation of 27 on the number line.

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How to Use a Number Line To Teach Rounding

Number lines are powerful for so many concepts, and rounding numbers is no exception. The number line is a MUST-USE tool for teaching students how to round.

The first step in using a number line to round is to identify the benchmark numbers. But what are benchmark numbers? A benchmark number is a reference point. It is a “friendly” number that is easy to work with. Numbers like 10, 20, 25, 30, 50, 75 or 100 can be benchmark numbers. When we use benchmark numbers for rounding to the nearest ten, our benchmarks are the ten that is less than the number we are working with, and the ten that is greater than the number we are working with.

Once we know the benchmark numbers, we can find the midpoint. This is the halfway point between the two benchmark numbers. For example, 25 is the midpoint between 20 and 30. Or 95 is the midpoint between 90 and 100. (See the resource pictured here.)

Now that we have the benchmark numbers and midpoint, we can place the number on the number line. Let’s suppose we are rounding 84 to the nearest ten. Our benchmarks are 80 and 90. Our midpoint is 85. When we place 84 on the number line, we can easily see that it is closer to 80 than to 90. (See the resource pictured here.)

Number lines provide students with a visual. They make rounding easy to see, and not so abstract. When we round, instead of circling the digit, looking at the digit to the right, and then thinking of a rhyme like, “Four or less, let it rest. Five or more, add one more,” we can think about rounding in a conceptual way – a way that builds deep understanding and helps students understand what is actually happening when we round. (See the resource pictured here.)

Going Abstract

Once your students have built the conceptual understanding that is necessary, they will be able to move on to rounding in a more abstract way – without the tools and visuals. But this doesn’t mean that you stop using them! It’s a good idea to always come back to multiple representations of a concept. Even when students are comfortable with rounding, getting them to show their thinking on a number line can be valuable! The more connections we can make between concrete, representational, and abstract – the better!

Summary

To summarize, here are a few tips as you decide how to teach rounding in your classroom:

• Ditch the tricks! Teach math instead.
• Begin with concrete materials, and then help students make connections to more abstract models.
• Use number lines. These are a powerful tool for so many concepts – rounding included.
• Remember that number lines and concrete materials aren’t reserved for students who need intervention! These are powerful tools that all your students should be comfortable with.

Need Additional Support?

If you’d like additional support with teaching and reinforcing rounding to the nearest ten, try these engaging rounding activities:

• Rounding on a Number Line (nearest ten, within 100)
• Digital Rounding Practice (for rounding to the nearest ten)
• Rounding to the Nearest Ten Task Cards (for math stations or an “around the room” gallery walk activity)
• Rounding to the Nearest Ten Mystery Pictures

Here’s some additional support for rounding within 1,000:

• Rounding on a Number Line Within 1,000 (Nearest 100 and 10)
• Rounding Within 1,000: Digital Mystery Pictures

The post Not Sure How To Teach Rounding Numbers? Make it hands-on! (Try This!) appeared first on Shelley Gray.

Hi there! I know this school year is a different one, and preparation might feel overwhelming.

If you are starting the school year with an emphasis on digital learning, I’d love to help you get started.

I put together 12 activities (created with Google Slides) from some of my best-selling digital resources, and am offering them to you for free so that you can get an idea of how my digital resources work, and what types of activities are included.

This package includes activities for division, area, money, place value, and fractions.

Sign up here and I’ll send them right over!

Have a great day,

Shelley

P.S. Love these and want more? Find more digital resources HERE.

PIN FOR LATER

The post Free Digital Activities for Use With Google Slides™ | Best Suited for Grades 3-5 appeared first on Shelley Gray.

Ready to take your digital slides to a new level? With an emphasis on digital learning this year, you may find yourself working in Google Slides more often than usual! I don’t know about you, but I love my slides to look beautiful. Although the educational content is the most important part of your slides, an aesthetically appealing design helps! When I started looking for digital notebook designs to use for my own resources, I searched high and low for the “perfect” design. But I just couldn’t find something that would function exactly as I wanted it to. So I worked with a professional artist and graphic designer on these digital notebook designs. I am SO happy with how they turned out!

You may use these designs for personal use for your own classroom, or for commercial use to create your own digital resources. Please ensure that you have the proper license.

The resources that you can create with these digital notebook templates are endless! Here are a few examples that I whipped up just to get your wheels turning.

THEMES

The following themes are ready to use!

SUCCULENT THEME

Find the personal use Digital Notebook Templates (Succulent Theme) HERE.

Find the commercial use Digital Notebook Templates (Succulent Theme) HERE.

TIE DYE THEME

Find the personal use Digital Notebook Templates (Tie Dye Theme) HERE.

Find the commercial use Digital Notebook Templates (Tie Dye Theme) HERE.

BLACK, WHITE & GOLD THEME

Find the personal use Digital Notebook Templates (Black, White & Gold Theme) HERE.

Find the commercial use Digital Notebook Templates (Black, White & Gold Theme) HERE.

BRIGHT AND BOLD THEME

Find the personal use Digital Notebook Templates (Bright and Bold Theme) HERE.

Find the commercial use Digital Notebook Templates (Bright and Bold Theme) HERE.

MODERN FARMHOUSE THEME

Find the personal use Digital Notebook Templates (Modern Farmhouse Theme) HERE.

Find the commercial use Digital Notebook Templates (Modern Farmhouse Theme) HERE.

FULL PAGE SLIDES WITH BRIGHT TABS

Find the personal use Digital Notebook Templates (Full Page Bright Tabs) HERE.

Find the commercial use Digital Notebook Templates (Full Page Bright Tabs) HERE.

GEARS AND GUITARS THEME

Find the personal use Digital Notebook Templates (Gears and Guitars) HERE.

Find the commercial use Digital Notebook Templates (Gears and Guitars) HERE.

Purchase all themes for personal/classroom use in the Growing Bundle HERE.

DESIGN SUPPORT

If you’re new-ish to Google Slides, this video will help support you through the design process. Enjoy!

Have a great day! Happy creating!

Shelley

PIN FOR LATER

The post Digital Notebook Templates for Use With Google Slides™: Personal and Commercial Use appeared first on Shelley Gray.

Thank you for taking the time to watch this support and setup video for The Multiplication Station. I know that as you browse through the Multiplication Station file, it looks overwhelming, but I promise that you are going to be amazed at how well this program runs in your classroom.

Some helpful links as you get started with your Multiplication Station:

• The Multiplication Station (TpT)
• A Suggested Order for Teaching the Multiplication Facts (with free downloadable guide)
• Effective Strategies for the Basic Multiplication Facts

The post The Multiplication Station – Setup and Support Video appeared first on Shelley Gray.

If you’d rather watch the video version, I’ve included it after the written instructions.

Object: to get the most points

Materials: a deck of cards (it’s okay if some cards are missing)

Point Values: all number cards equal that number of points; J, Q, K equal 10,  and Aces can be 1 or 11

Instructions:

Set up a pyramid. There should be 7 rows and 28 cards in all.

Player 1 chooses two of the “uncovered” cards and adds them to make a sum. Since the object of the game is to get the most points, Player 1 should choose two cards that make the highest sum. For example, Player 1 could have chosen anything from the bottom row because those cards are uncovered. He chooses the 10 and 8 because that makes the highest sum. He says, “10+8=18, takes the cards away, and writes his answer on his paper.

Player 2 chooses two of the uncovered cards to make the highest sum possible. She writes the sum on her paper. In this example, she chooses the 5 and 5 to make 10.

Next, Player 1 chooses the 8 and the Jack (10) to make 18.

Players keep adding two uncovered cards and writing down the sums until there are no cards left.

Once all cards have been used, players add up all of their sums. The player with the most points wins.

NOTES

In some cases near the end of the game, as shown here, there will only be one uncovered card available. In this case, the player must take the Queen, and will add 0 to it since there is no other card to take. So in this case, the player says “10+0=10” and scores 10 points.

MULTIPLICATION PYRAMID

To play the multiplication version of this game, players will multiply the cards to make a product rather than adding them to make a sum. Once all cards have been used, players add up all of their products. The player with the most points wins.

Here’s the video version:

PRINTABLE GAME INSTRUCTIONS – DOWNLOAD HERE.

The post Addition or Multiplication Pyramid: A Card Game to Practice Fact Fluency appeared first on Shelley Gray.

TRAPPED IN THE SCHOOL FOR SUMMER: END OF THE YEAR ESCAPE ROOM

best-suited to Grades 2-5

If you’ve never done an escape room in your classroom before, this is a great one to start with! It’s incredibly easy to prepare (I know that time is scarce right now!) and your students are going to love it! Here’s the lowdown:

Back Story: 

It’s the last day of school and you just have one thing left to do – return your library books. You head to the library, but while you are there, you get sidetracked reading your favorite superhero comic book. “I’ll just read a bit longer,” you say to yourself. Finally you decide to head back to your classroom. But when you open the door, you can’t see a thing. Everything is pitch black and the school is empty. Will you be trapped inside the school all summer long?

Benefits:

• less skill-focused than some of my other escape rooms; more focused on puzzle-solving fun
• includes a modified version (addition/subtraction rather than multiplication) for two of the activities so that younger students can complete it.
• quick to prep
• quick and easy to implement (will take about 30 minutes for students to finish)

FIND IT:

• Trapped in the School Escape Room on TpT
• End of the Year Bundle on TpT (includes this resource and two others)

END OF THE YEAR MEMORY BOOK/LAPBOOK

best-suited to Grades 2-4

Students will reflect on the past year, and write about some of their most unforgettable memories. This lapbook serves as a great keepsake for years to come! Students can infuse their own individual creativity in order to make their own lapbook unique.

Each student will require one letter size file folder and a copy of the printables from this package. There is a balance between foldables and simple cut and paste reflections so that students will remain engaged. The prompts are designed to be open-ended to allow students to individualize their answers.

Benefits:

• makes a fantastic keepsake of the year
• allows for individuality
• simple for students to put together

FIND IT:

• End of the Year Memory Book
• End of the Year Bundle on TpT (includes this resource and two others)

END OF THE YEAR AWARDS

best-suited to Grades 2-4

Benefits:

• space for a handwritten note – this adds a personal touch and is so much more important and memorable than a generic message
• focuses on character traits and growth mindset
• will be a treasured keepsake from the year in your classroom
• simple design – well-suited to many different grade levels
• over 70 different awards available – something for everyone

FIND IT:

• End of the Year Awards
• End of the Year Bundle on TpT (includes this resource and two others)

Thank you for giving everything you have to your students this year. The end of the year is chaotic, but it’s also a reason to celebrate the year’s achievements! Have a fantastic end of the year and a restful summer.

The post End of the Year Classroom Activities appeared first on Shelley Gray.

Christmas is coming and you have a lot to do! Besides hosting Christmas dinner, you’re hosting the annual Family and Friends Sleigh Ride, cutting down a Christmas tree, buying gifts for your cousins, choosing Christmas sweaters for your friends, and more! It’s time to get to work!

Happy holidays! Are you looking for the perfect math resource to engage your students during the month of December? You’ve found it! The Christmas Project is a real-life math project where students will complete NINE different Christmas-related tasks. The tasks will keep your students engaged during those sometimes chaotic days before Christmas, while ensuring that curriculum-related topics are being continually reinforced!

You might choose to print specific tasks to use during Math centers, or you might make a booklet out of all nine tasks and let your students choose which one to do when. The choice is yours.

SEE THE CHRISTMAS PROJECT HERE.

Take a look at what you’ll find inside The Christmas Project:

TASK #1 :OUTDOOR DECORATING

Plan everything that you need to decorate the outside of your house – lights, a wreath, front lawn ornaments, and more! BUT you’ll have to stay within your budget!

Math Skills: area, perimeter, converting measurements, money

TASK #2: CHRISTMAS BAKING

Decide which recipes you’ll use and plan your shopping list!

Math Skills: fractions, doubling fractions, adding fractions

TASK #3: THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS TREE

It’s all about the Christmas tree! First, locate some different options for Christmas trees. Then take an inventory of your decorations.

Math Skills: coordinate planes, directions, graphing and data interpretation

TASK #4: FESTIVE CHRISTMAS SWEATERS

Who doesn’t love a good Christmas sweater?! Decide which sweater is best for each of your friends!

Math Skills: graphing, money

TASK #5: CHRISTMAS DINNER

Christmas dinner is coming and you’re the host! First plan a table arrangement. Then plan the shopping list!

Math Skills: area, perimeter, multiplication, measurement, converting measurements, money

TASK #6: CHRISTMAS GIFTS

You’re in charge of buying gifts for your 5 cousins! Use the Holiday Gift Guide to choose the perfect combination of gifts for each person.

Math Skills: money, addition, subtraction, multiplication

TASK #7: SLEIGH RIDE

You’re planning a Family and Friends Sleigh Ride! But first you’ll have to map out your route!

Math Skills: coordinate planes, mapping

TASK #8: CHRISTMAS MOVIE MARATHON

It’s Christmas movie season and you’re planning on spending an ENTIRE day watching Christmas movies! Plan your schedule so that you can be sure that you have time to watch them all!

Math Skills: converting minutes to hours, elapsed time

TASK #9: BUILD A GINGERBREAD HOUSE

Use the supplies in the Deluxe Gingerbread House Kit to plan the PERFECT gingerbread house!

Math Skills: subtraction, division

MODIFICATIONS

This package also includes modified pages for any of the activities that work with money. This means that even your struggling students can be successful using even dollar amounts rather than working with decimals.

GET THE CHRISTMAS PROJECT HERE.

The post The Christmas Project: A Real-Life Math Project for December appeared first on Shelley Gray.

Exit slips are useful for several reasons. First, they allow students to reflect on new learning or understanding. Second, they are a useful formative assessment tool for teachers. By taking a few minutes to check students’ exit slips, teachers can gain valuable insight into whether a students understands the concept or is able to complete the task.

Useful Tips for Using Exit Slips

• Give students a choice with the prompt that you want them to use. For example, you might have students decide between, “Something I am still wondering about,” “Something that I found interesting,” or “Something that surprised me.” This way students have a sense of power and control, which will help motivation.
• Model the responses that you are looking for. For example, you might show students a few examples of exit slips and ask them which one they think is better. Model the use of describing words and specific detail.
• Use exit slips as an assessment tool that will drive your future instruction. For example, if you notice that several students were confused with the same concept, this is a sign that you need to re-teach.

Easy Exit Slips

Sticky notes are one of the easiest, most inexpensive ways to use exit slips. Ask students to write their reflection on the sticky note and stick it to the board when finished.

Looking for something a bit more structured? I’ve posted a FREE package of very simple exit slips on TeachersPayTeachers. Find those HERE.

The post Using Exit Slips in the Classroom appeared first on Shelley Gray.

To make this activity more challenging, encourage students to use descriptive words and detail in their writing. Show some examples before beginning to illustrate this. For example, which sounds better:

“Camping is my favorite.”

OR

“Camping is an activity that I love to do with my family.”

Also, encourage students experiment with sentence structure. Here are two ways to say, “I like baseball.” Which sounds better? Why?

“Baseball is fun.”

OR

“Baseball is a sport that I love to play.”

Lastly, students can work with manipulating their sentences to fit the letters that are left. For example, suppose that a student wants to say, “I live in Manitoba,” but the “I” is already taken. How about rearranging that sentence to say, “Manitoba is where I live,” to use for the letter M?

Download this activity for free from Teachers Pay Teachers HERE or directly from my website HERE. Enjoy!

The post A-Z Autobiography: Free Activity and Instructions appeared first on Shelley Gray.

Have you seen my self-paced math stations around Facebook, Pinterest, or TpT and wondered how they could fit into your classroom? I hear from a lot of teachers who have wanted to use them for years, but are unsure of how they will work and if they will fit their needs.

This post is intended to help you understand EXACTLY what is entailed for implementing the math stations in your classroom. Because they are all formatted very similarly to ensure consistency, this post is applicable to all of the first to fourth grade stations for addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and fractions.

SEE ALL MATH STATIONS HERE.

Ok let’s get started!

GOALS

Although it seems that the goal of these math stations would be to master the math facts, there are actually other goals that are just as important. These are:

• success for all students
• motivation
• confidence

I believe that when students feel successful, smart, and confident, it enables them to learn. How can we expect our students to enjoy math, be confident, and take risks if they are never successful?

THE LEVELS

Each math station consists of a sequence of levels. Each level focuses on one skill, strategy, or set of facts.

For example, in The Multiplication Station, students master one set of facts in each level. For each set of facts, they learn a strategy to make that easier. So in the 4’s level they learn the strategy of “doubling the double.” Or in the 12’s level they learn the strategy of breaking up the 12 into a 10 and a 2, then multiplying the parts.

As another example, suppose we are looking at the First Grade Addition Station. In this station students will move through levels such as Counting On, Doubles, Doubles Plus One, Making Ten, etc. In each level they will master that particular strategy before moving to the next one.

BUT ISN’T IT CONFUSING LEARNING SO MANY STRATEGIES?

NO! These stations incorporate the concepts of isolation and integration. So when a new strategy is learned, it is first ISOLATED from all of the rest. This means that students are only focusing on that one strategy. Later, when it is mastered, they INTEGRATE it with the other strategies that they have learned. The strategies slowly build on each other in a way that makes practical sense.

STRATEGIES AS “TOOLS IN A TOOLBOX”

I like to refer to math strategies as “tools in a toolbox.” We want each of our students to possess the tools that she needs to solve an equation. This does not mean a memorized series of steps that, if forgotten, results in a wrong answer and no other strategy to fall back on.

This means that we want our students to UNDERSTAND what they are doing. Through conceptual understanding, students will be able to solve a problem AND have alternate strategies to fall back on.

HOW ARE THE STATIONS SELF-PACED AND INDEPENDENT?

The independent, self-paced nature of these stations is a huge part of what makes them so successful. All of your students will start at the very first level. The first few levels of every station are meant to be confidence boosters. This means that they are typically fairly simple. You’ll notice your students’ motivation soaring during these levels.

Students will work through the level on their own. They will complete an activity, self-check using the prepared answer keys, complete their “passport,” and then move onto the next activity. The personal tracker that they will each have tells them exactly what they have done, and what they will do next.

Once students are finished all of the activities in a level, they will self-assess. “Do I know the strategy?” “Am I comfortable with this set of facts?” When they feel ready, students will approach you for a very quick, oral assessment. Once the assessment has been successfully completed, students will move to the next level.

After a few days of working with the stations, you’ll notice that your higher-end students start to speed along, and may be a few levels ahead of everyone else. Some other students might be taking a bit longer on the levels, and you may be working with them in small groups to help them understand the concepts.

This is ideal, and exactly what you want.

This means that every student in your classroom is being appropriately challenged. Every student is working to his full potential.

HOW ARE STUDENTS ASSESSED?

Assessment throughout the Math Station is mostly done by students. You already have enough marking to do! When you prepare the Math Station, you will also be laminating answer keys. These answer keys will be stored in the folder for each level. When students have completed an activity, they will get the answer key and self-check.

I’ve heard from some teachers who didn’t think that their students could handle the self-checking, but were later shocked at how easy it was for the students.

The assessment that you WILL be doing as the teacher is the short oral quiz at the end of each level. In most of the stations, I’ve included assessment quick reference cards. These will help you assess your students quickly and effectively. You will take about 1-2 minutes asking the student to solve a series of equations from the level that she finished. This will easily and quickly tell you if she has mastered the skill or strategy or not.

I hear from teachers all the time who tell me that the oral assessment is their favorite part of these stations. You can gain SO much information from talking to your students face-to-face rather than simply reviewing a written test. You can see where your student stumbles, where he is quick to know the answer, and what parts he is still struggling with.

MEETING ALL OF THE NEEDS

These math stations make it easy to meet the needs of all students in your classroom. You will be allowing your high-flyers to work ahead, while allowing your students who need to work more slowly do so.

This also allows you to do mini-lessons or small group instruction with the ones who need it. You might see that three students are struggling with the same level, so you’ll be able to take them aside for some extra practice.

HANDS ON ACTIVITIES

Hands on activities are incorporated throughout the station. In some stations, students will do a hands-on activity after every second or third level. In other stations, such as the Fraction Station, a hands-on activity is completed after every level.

SUMMARY

I hope that I’ve succeeded in helping you understand how these math stations work. In summary, the routine is very simple:

• Student completes an activity.
• Student self-checks and repeats those steps until the level is finished.
• Teacher gives student an oral assessment, and then student moves to the next level.

A NOTE FROM SHELLEY

I first started creating these math stations in 2012. This was an approach that I had used with my own students, and now has been widely used by tens of thousands of teachers.

I know how hard it can be to teach math strategies. Even though you have the best of intentions, there are so many things in your curriculum that it feels like you can’t focus on math strategies all year long.

This is your solution.

If you are committed to once and for all implementing a highly strategic plan for math fact fluency, I believe that you will experience great success with these stations.

Here is the link to all Math Stations. Please be sure to read the hundreds of testimonials from other teachers in the feedback sections to see if this might be something that would work for you.

EXTRA, BUT USEFUL INFORMATION

• These Math Strategy Task Cards can be used as extra reinforcement for students who need it. Most of the task cards align with the levels of the coordinating Math Station. These are also useful to use during guided math groups, mini lessons, or math interventions.

• Make your stations into booklets rather than using the bin/tub approach. You can find free cover pages for your student booklets HERE.

The post Self-Paced Math Stations for Fact Fluency and Mastery appeared first on Shelley Gray.