Guided Math 2.0

My first year of teaching I was thrown into Guided Math. When I say thrown in, I mean I was sent to a workshop and told I didn't have a choice but to implement this the next day. Thankfully, I was in a district that was super supportive and was given an immense amount of resources. Looking back, I am very grateful to have not been given a choice. It forced me to figure it out. Every year the rotations stayed pretty consistent, and my level of comfort and confidence remained steady.

Then came this school year. Our schedule made a 180 degree turn, which really threw me (and my math cohorts) for a loop. Our schedule went from a 90 minute math block to a 70 minute block. We were also given another subject (social studies). Needless to say, August came and my head was spinning. Guided Math was my comfort zone. I felt it was the most effective way of teaching, for myself. We began rotations the fourth week of school. They lasted a whole day....yes, that's right, ONE DAY! It wasn't that I hadn't set expectations, or that I wasn't properly prepared. My kiddos just weren't ready yet. They weren't ready to take responsibility for their own learning. This was very disheartening for me. Then I realized that Guided Math is supposed to be what is best for the students, not Mrs. Ritter. So, I swallowed my pride and continued whole group instructions, with multiple brain breaks and instructional learning strategies being implemented. 

Last week began a new six weeks, an amended schedule, and a new approach to Guided Math. I began by creating anchor charts of expectations and posting them around the room. We went through each one and cleared up any misconceptions. Each station was explained in great detail, and instructions were clearly posted for each station. The rotation schedule is the thing that changed the most, and as it turns out...for the best. I used to start my class off with a mini-lesson and then would break into small groups. My mini-lesson is now my teacher station. This allows me to better chunk my time and see EVERY GROUP EVERY DAY. Groups can change weekly, as they are content and data driven. So, the kiddos rotate through 4 stations in a, now, almost 90 minute block of time. They have a teacher station, (this is where they get their daily math lesson), a partner station (where they are exposed to anchor stations of previously taught TEKS), an independent station (sometimes this is a daily grade activity, or a technology assignment on DreamBox or TenMarks), and a Social Studies station. You may be wondering why they have a Social Studies station during math rotations, but it really makes perfect sense. At the start of the new six weeks, we were told we have an hour for both social studies and science and that we can use that time in a way that best benefits our kids. I felt it would be helpful to take about 20 minutes of that time and add it to math. This allowed me to add another station to the rotation, therefore adding another group to the rotation...making my group sizes smaller. So far, it is working beautifully. Everything takes time. I feel with time, these kiddos will become very proficient at rotating through their stations. Establishing consistency in rotations and continuing with our growth mindset can only lead to successful mathematicians.