Well, my guided math stations are going along pretty well...however, I was having trouble figuring out what to have the kids work on when they finished their workbooks. I didn't want them to just do busy work...I wanted the work to be meaningful.


So, I thought I would try out math journals...but I didn't know what to have them put in their journals. So, I started shopping around on Teachers Pay Teachers and found some cool free stuff. I found this awesome freebie by Ashleigh there and it got me thinking about what  I wanted to do. I started shopping on TpT...not for freebies, but real shopping. I ended up with these awesome word problem activities.

These are 3 sets of word problems that I got from Ashleigh. I mixed them together because they are similar...they just use different operations. I put everything in a see through backpack that I got from Lakeshore Learning.

This game is so cool...The kids choose a character, operation, and number. They then write a story problem that goes with the cards they drew.

This is one of the stories that was written with a mummy card.

This is the freebie from Ashleigh. Instead of a character card, it has a setting card.

This is a story problem that was set in a Mermaid Lagoon.

Setting up my games for guided math was quite a task. I wanted to make sure that my students didn't choose the same games over and over, and I also didn't want to have game pieces strung all over the room. So this is what I did.


I should also let you know that I decided to only do the math groups on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. This allows me time to introduce any new games for the week and teach a lesson on Monday. On Friday, we review the skills from the week, do our Super Star math problems, and play math games that reinforce the skills from the week.  So...On to how I got going with the guided math games...


First of all, I found all sorts of plastic containers that I just knew I was going to need someday...See honey...I did use them! I put all the pieces that would be needed to play a particular game in its own container.  Some games came in their own box and I just left those alone. 


I then put a colored dot on each shelf of a 3-shelf rolling cart. The games with a green dot on them go on the top shelf...Yellow dot on the middle shelf...Red dot on the bottom shelf. The children choose a different shelf each day...It doesn't matter which day, but they are responsible for all 3 shelves. This way, they are playing a variety of games. The bottom shelf is made up of individual games. The other 2 shelves are partner games.




















I gave the kids a schedule card so they can keep track of the shelf they are on...but I'm not too happy with the way it looks yet, or I would show it to you!  Well, I hope this helps you get organized for your guided math groups. I was really happy with the way things worked out this past week. Just remember...You have to make this work in your situation...there is more than one way to make this work.


Remember to check out this Guided Math blog for TONS of AWESOME ideas!  She's been doing this way longer than me!


Have a great Monday!


Don't forget to sign up for the Target gift card giveaway! You could be the next lucky winner!

Well, I did it! I got Guided Math Stations going in my math class...and it is going great....so far anyway!  I gathered my courage from this AWESOME website!  You definitely want to check this site out...it is very comprehensive and might just give you the push you need to get going on guided math! 


My stations look a little different than Mary's do, but I guess the most important thing about starting something like this in your classroom, is to make it work for you and your kids.


Because I spent the first 3 weeks of school practicing routines for Daily 5, the students were able to come up with excellent ideas for an anchor chart that describes what our math stations should look like. Many of their ideas were the same or similar to those of Daily 5. If you do not do the Daily 5...well, you need to...and check out Mary's site to get a complete description of how to teach your students the rules and routines of Guided Math Stations.


Don't get me wrong...Just because we know the Daily 5 routines, doesn't mean we didn't practice how to make the stations work in our classroom...but it just didn't take as long.


Here is the rotation chart that I am using in my class. I only have 3 rotations. There are a couple of reasons for only 3 groups. One reason is because of the amount of time that I have and the other is because I have a small math class...20 kids! (Hallelujah!) 


This is how my math class is now running.

• Kids come in and practice Rocket Math with a partner (2 minutes or so)
• Switch who is practicing Rocket Math (2 minutes or so)
• Take the Rocket Math 1 minute timed test, check answers, and turn in folders
• Introduce the lesson for the day and write assignments 
• Break into groups