We are finally in the swing of things with Math class, so I thought you’d like to take a peek at what a normal day is like.  All third graders took the pretest for our first math unit.  Students were grouped to work with different teachers for this unit based on their learning needs.  Some students go to Mrs. Blankley’s and Mrs. Miller’s classrooms during this time.  Other students come and join me for their daily math instruction.

Each day we begin with a whole group warm up.  During this time I introduce any games or activities that students will be playing at stations that day. I also introduce the concept we are focusing on that day.  As part of our “Kick-Off Unit” we are reviewing addition and subtraction. Today we focused on 2-digit addition.  We sang this song a few times to help remember the steps for adding and when to regroup. I like to incorporate songs and rhymes to help students remember new concepts. These songs can be found on the Math tab of my blog as well.

Next, students rotate through 4 stations. We spend about 15 minutes at each station.  At Direct Station I work directly with students on the concept of the day.

At Independent Station, students work on their computers on various math sites. Today they worked on ST Math.

At Collaborative Station students play math games and complete projects that support the concepts we are learning. Today they played an Addition Spin game. Partners spun two numbers and then added them and compared their sums.

Fact Fluency station is where students work on memorizing math facts. During the first few weeks we are trying hard to remember the addition and subtraction facts we learned in second grade. Eventually we’ll begin memorizing multiplication and division. Students begin with flashcard practice, do a timed math racer (addition and subtraction) and then spend the remaining time playing a game to practice math facts. Any students who are unable to complete 20 addition and subtraction problems in 1 minute will be bringing home a homework racer to complete for practice.

Well, that’s a typical day in math class. Ask your student what station he/she liked best today.