Books I Can't Plan Without: Debbie Diller Math Work Stations

I talked a little bit last week about books that I just cannot plan without. My 2 picks from last week were the Daily 5 and Café. Click here to go to that post. Today, I wanted to dive a little more into math. One of the books that I cannot plan or teach without is Math Work Stations by Debbie Diller.

I started with Debbie a couple years ago and loved her thoughts and philosophy on teaching math. This last year I tried something new and ended up going back to Debbie halfway through the year. Her math station ideas are so thoughtful.  I love that her math work stations give kiddos time to practice and review taught skills. Plus, the stations are easy for teachers to manage. I have enjoyed having the time to meet with groups and really hone on what kiddos need to be successful. If you haven't picked up this gem of a book, I highly recommend it. I unfortunately didn't take pictures of my centers (I will be taking them like crazy this year) but I can show you how I organized my groups with Work Stations.

How Do I Keep Track of Who Goes Where?

I made this Smart Notebook document that I would put on my screen when it was time to Math Stations. This saved wall space and was very easy to change and manipulate. Debbie recommends that you have no more than 3 kids at a stations at a time. Since I was blessed to only have 19 kiddos this last year, I had 9 stations. In the past, I have had up to 14 stations. Each day, I would start with the kiddos that have the star by their names, rotate them to the next station, and then move everyone one by one to the right. I added the star as well so I could remember when everyone had been though the stations once. My star kiddos originally started at the number one position.

 

How Do the Kids Go to Workstations?

Before my kiddos could start their workstations, they had to complete some type of seat work. My current curriculum is Everyday Math so before stations, my kids had to finish their math boxes. I always asked that they leave their workbooks open on the table so I could see them.  This gives me time to check work and offer one-on-one help. I also pull small groups and work on specific skills during this time.

 

How Did I Group Kids?

Our school is using Kagan to engage our students with cooperative learning structures. In Kagan, they talk about how to group and seat kids so that they are working with peers that help them grow and meet their intellectual needs. For example: putting the highest math student and the lowest math student will not help either child grow. It is better to put a high student with a mid to mid-low student and a low student with a mid to mid-high student. Obviously, you need to consider every subject as well because every kiddo has their forte and their area of growth.

 

What Do I Put in Stations?

I always start with manipulatives in stations. Kids are going to play the first couple times they are introduced to a new tool so let them! Then, later you can build in the math. I like to make a poster of how we used the mainpulatives and then talk about and star the ides that a mathematician would do. After I have introduced the mainpulatives, I start adding stations slowly that correlate with our whole group lessons. For example: After we did a 3-d shape sorting lesson(whole class) with cards and mainpulatives; I put those materials in a stations with some shape books and a labeling page. Easy! Don't over think it!

 

How Do I Plan for my Math Units?

Here are some tools that I use to help me plan out units and themes for the whole year. I especially use the blank calendar and the unit template to plan my math. You can click here to see the original post or you can click here to go to my Teachers Pay Teachers Page for a preview.

Thanks for stopping by and tell me about math books that you plan with or how you have used math work stations. There are so many resources out there.



Books I Can't Plan Without: Daily 5 and Cafe

I have read quite a few educational books in my day and even though I may love some advice or take snippets away. There are only a few books that have stayed on my bookshelves for most of my teaching career. These are the books that I can't plan without. These books help guide my instruction and today I'm going to talk about my top 2 favorites.

The Daily 5 and Café by The Sisters: Gail Boushey and Joan Moser

 

I love the 2 sisters and I love their outlook on kiddos reading and literacy needs. I have always looked at the Daily 5 as being what the kids are doing during literacy time and Café being what you, as the teacher, are doing during literacy time. These 2 books go hand in hand. I have heard people say that Café is too advanced for primary kiddos. I say, "Hogwash!" I've used it in first grade and I am going to use it kindergarten next year.

My favorite quote from these ladies has to be "Fair isn't everyone getting the same thing. Fair is everyone getting what they need in order to be successful." A lot of time, we have 4 rotations of reading groups and they are 15 minutes each. When every group has rotated through, we are done. Everyone is getting 15 minutes. The time is equal but is the education fair? One student might need 30 minutes to grasp a concept and another student need 10 minutes. Hmmm....that doesn't seem fair.

This is not to say that I do not do reading groups. I do and I love them. It is to say; however, that I keep a close watch on how our learning is going. If we are catching on to the concept/skill, we move on. If we need additional help, we keep working. If there is only one kiddo excelling or needing assistance, you can bet your bottom dollar that they are on my one-on-one list.

I found this picture on pinterest from Joe Bower from For the Love of Learning and I thought it brought the point home beautifully.

Here is a freebie poster from The Curious Apple. I might have to make something like this to hang by our rules.

 Along with these books, here are some tools that I created to help me with my own planning for the 2013-2014 school year. You can click here to see more info about this packet or here to visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by! I'd love to hear your thoughts on the Daily 5 and Café.
 

Get Your Plan On!

The 2013-2014 school year is slowly creeping in. I actually have to go back August 12th. That is earliest, I have ever gone back. I'm not quite ready but I am starting to get my plan on. I like to be planned ahead so I don't feel overwhelmed when sitting in the first couple days of professional development. Here is a unit of tools that I use to help me have a successful year.

Click here or any of the pictures to view my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

How do I use these Calendars?

 

I always start by going through each calendar page and writing all of the days we are out of school, early dismissal days, or any special days. This keeps them from creeping up on me during the year. Nothing is worse than having not enough time to get everything done.

 

Then I go through and add in key themes I teach throughout the school year. My next goal is to look at my standards and figure out what needs to mastered for this time of the year. This way the activities that I put with my themes are purposeful and help kiddos reach their goals.

 

I always write in pencil and I save my calendars from year to year. I change as a teacher every year to meet the needs of my students  but I also believe you shouldn't throw the baby out the with bathtub. If something works keep it. If it doesn't, it is time to toss it out.

 

I love these for an overview and for specific planning. I especially like the intervention planning template so that I have a hardcopy of what I have tried with my kiddos. We are in the age of document, document, document.

 

I love the copying instruction page for classroom volunteers. It is so nice to have all of my instructions in one place. I used to be the sticky note queen but I was so frustrated when I lost a note or it stuck to another page and I got double of something I didn't need.

I also need to prioritize my To Do list. I like to do whatever is the most creative and fun first. However, that is usually not the most important item on the list. Sigh!

I like having both of these items readily available. I never truly feel ready to get planning until I have made my classroom map. I also never like the feeling of a student birthday creeping up on me. I also add colleagues to this birthday list. I never want to forget them either. :)

Click here to visit my Teacher Pay Teachers page and Happy Planning!