Chapter 3 Questions

What should your math work stations, look like, sound like and feel like?
My students and I created an anchor chart for Reading Workshop at the beginning of the year.  Why did I not think about doing the same thing for Math Workshop until having read Debbie's book?  Such a fantastic idea.  In fact, our Looks Like, Sounds Like and Feels Like are very similiar for both Reading and Math Workshop.
Looks Like:
Students working with a partner
Students working in a private spot
Students sharing materials

Sounds Like:
Quiet voices
Talking about Math
Helping voices
Quiet materials

Feels Like:
Happy - students getting along and helping each other
We know a lot about Math

These are all of the students' ideas.  It is amazing how powerful this anchor chart is.  Whenever we have problems during Math Workshop, we can pull out the anchor chart, review it, and solve the problem!  It's like magic.


What does your management board look like?
I actually invested in Debbie Diller's Management Board from Really Good Stuff.  It is double sided.  One side is used for Reading Workshop and the other for Math.  I have 14 Math Stations.  Each slot on the pocket chart allows for two student names (cards included) and 2 workshop slots.  My station bins are numbered and correspond to the numbers on the pocket chart for each pair of students.  Because I have so many students, I repeat workshops as Debbie suggested in her book.  Working in partners and the pocket chart have been a life saver.  I tried uploading a picture, but the uploader isn't working right now.  Here's a link to the web site that will give you a good look at the pocket chart.  I LOVE it!

http://www.reallygoodstuff.com/category/teacher+management+tools/debbie+diller.do?nType=1



How do you support math vocabulary (math talk cards) in your stations?
This is one of my goals for next year.  I love the idea of Math Talk Cards.  Reflection time can be kind of tricky, so these cards are a lifesaver.  It can easily turn into nothing more than a Show and Tell, so the math talk cards help keep the reflection focussed on the math and the learning.  I have been playing around with them for the past few weeks and am enjoying them.  I will be using them on a regular basis next year.  The Math consultant at my school board (who is fantastic) has another list of questions to help out.  I don't think Jill will mind if I post them (I hope so anyway, Jill.)  They are really good and easy to use.  I find that the kids start naturally using the same language during workshops once they are accustomed to the questions. Here they are (All credit goes to Jill MacDonald):

Good Questions

·       What are the _________ you used?

·       How did you decide which ________ to use?

·       How many of each did you use?

·       How did you figure out what…?

·       How did you decide….?

·       How did you begin to solve the problem?

·       Describe your…

·       What could come next? How do you know?

·       How could you create a different ______ that fits this problem?

·       What do you have to do to check?

·       What did you find…?

·       How did you…?

·       What does it mean to…?

·       Is that information useful?  How?

·       How do you know?

·       How could you check your results?

·       How could you describe your…?

·       What is your pattern?

·       What makes it a pattern?

·       What would the ____^th one be?

·       What can you tell me about…?

·       Why do you think that was?

·       Can you be sure?

Week One Questions

This is going to be a very simple blog ... no bells ... no whistles.  Just my answers to the weekly questions.  Hopefully, I can keep this one up!  Here we go....

How do you (or will you) differentiate your math stations?
I try to keep in mind the needs of all of my learners when preparing my stations.  Sometimes this means preparing and providing different levels of activities or games.  I may give a choice of numbers to use, as in story problems, or I may simply provide a variety of materials to use.  I have recently started creating the I CAN posters with my students so that there is a choice of activities to do at a station.  For example, we have just started 3D geometry.  In our first lesson, the students and I created an I CAN poster with the following choices:  I CAN ... sort the solids ... describe the solids ... label the solids ... find examples of the solids in the book. 

How and where do you keep your math stations?
 The workshops bins are plastic shoe boxes, labeled 1 to 14.  I have 27 students in my room, so there is a bin for each set of partners.  I am easily able to fit the manipulatives inside the bins, but the recording sheets and books don't always fit so great.  To get around that, I sometimes just place these items on top of the bin.  This works for me, and it doesn't take up a lot of space. 

How do you keep your math materials organized?
This has been a struggle all year, but I think I have finally found the solution that works for me.  In the past, I have been the keeper of the materials.  They were stored behind closed doors or way up high on shelves.  I only brought down what was needed ... and even worse ... I handed them out, cleaned them up, and put them away.  YIKES!  But, I guess we have all been there!   This year, I have worked my way through numerous systems, but finally found one that works for me.  I keep all my manipulatives in labeled bins with colored pictures and word.  Although, these are manipulatives that we are not using at the moment, they are easily accessible if needed and convienent when putting new workshops together.  On top of the shelving unit that holds these bins, I keep the Math Toolkits.  The Math Toolkits have a variety of manipulatives that we use on a daily basis during our Classroom routines.  There are a variety of counting materials, wipe off boards (plastic plates) and markers, hundreds charts and  number lines.