Welcome back for our Guided Math in Action book study!
Let's jump right in, shall we?
Warning! This chapter is all about centers--which don't exactly get me excited.
I will say that Dr. Nicki gives lots of ideas on how to set-up meaningful centers that don't require alot of extra work for the teacher. She also talks about using share time and reflection sheets to make students accountable for their center work (teacher time and accountability are two of my biggest complaints about centers).
As she says, "The real challenge is to make sure everyone is meaningfully engaged so that the teacher can teach the guided math group (pg. 99)."
I have more confidence that this can happen after using Daily 5 the last couple of years. Remember my Will Daily 5 Work for Me? post? I was a bit of a skeptic!
Dr. Nicki discusses seven "must-have" centers.
1. Basic Fact Center
2. Hot Topics Review Center
3. Geometry Center
4. Word Problem Center
5. Math Poem Center
I admit I don't really "get" this one, so I'm anxious to see what others think about it.
6. Math Journal Center
7. Math Vocabulary Center
I've already been doing some thinking about how guided math will look in my room. Some of the "centers" I plan to incorporate are Ipads, math interactive journals, games (especially these from Amanda Madden), and Mountain Math (love Mountain Math and Language - it is kind of a hot topics review all year long).
1
I can honestly say that even without the guided math structure in place, I gave my students opportunities to practice individually, in pairs, and in groups. I'm a big believer in varying my learning opportunities...not all kids like to work in groups (my son is a perfect example) so I've always tried to mix it up. My students also have shoulder buddies so I can easily let them work in pairs and they are part of a "color team" so I can let them work in groups.
2
Most of the time my students have to complete something that shows they have been working. I get a little antsy when there is no accountability. For example, using flash cards with a buddy. I really like the idea of having students share some of their work and/or reflect on what they did during guided math workstations!
That's it for chapter eight! Come back next Thursday for the final chapter!
If you missed the previous chapters, you can see them by clicking below.
Centers certainly have the potential of getting fancy and time consuming. I like that the author gives ideas of centers that take up little teacher time. That's one of the reasons why I love Daily 5. :)
ReplyDelete❀ Tammy
Forever in First
Yes, Tammy! That is a good way of putting it. And I'm right there with you. No real center prep is exactly why I love Daily 5!
DeleteCrystal