When I first began teaching, my math block was a meager 45 minutes. I felt rushed, stressed, and exhausted trying to fit everything in day after day. On top of that, I didn’t really know my students academically or personally. I was convinced my students could never reach their full potential with the limited time we had.
Ten years later, I was finally given a 90-minute math block. I was ELATED! But I was also TERRIFIED. I had no idea what to do with that much time. I knew I wanted to meet with every student, every day. Therefore, I had to create a schedule that would allow me to do so. Here is how I’ve broken down my 90-minute math block.
Whole Group Lesson
I begin each lesson with a warm-up activity, such as a number talk, fluency drill, math riddle, quiz-quiz-trade activity, or spiral review before transitioning to the whole group lesson. This is where students explore, discover, and hopefully make connections with the skill I’m teaching. I try to cap this portion at 30 minutes. No matter how exciting or engaging a lesson is, kids have a hard time staying focused for more than 30 minutes. I get it, because I do too!
Assess Student Understanding
I realize not all of my students will be able to show mastery in just 30 minutes. Therefore, I have students show me a Fist to 5 self-assessment before beginning small group instruction. In doing so, I’m able to observe who needs more support as well as who feels confident they can take it to the next level.
There are many Fist to 5 variations, but I love this FREE version by Karen Jones and use it on a regular basis.
I tell my students I don’t expect perfection, but I do expect them to persevere through struggles, work hard, and keep a growth mindset.
First Do and Then Do activities
Next, we begin our 50-minute small group instruction time. When students are not working with me, they have a “first do” assignment to complete and “then do” activities to work on next. The first-do assignment is a formative assessment, typically an online assessment or workbook page.
I’ve learned not to reinvent the wheel, so I use the resources provided through my district’s math program and assign these. I also LOVE Boom Cards! They require no prep, are easy to assign to students, and provide valuable data. My students would prefer to do these every day, but I like to mix things up.
Differentiated Student Activities
The next part of the math block is choice time. Students have a choice board that includes all different types of activities (digital, printable, partner games, independent work, etc.) to choose from. I make this choice board only once per chapter. It’s been a huge timesaver to only prepare materials once per chapter instead of daily or weekly.
Each category is differentiated (increasing in difficulty) and embeds multiple intelligences.
CLICK HERE to grab an editable copy that you can customize with your favorite clipart, fonts, and activities!
If podcasts are your thing, then check out Episode 7 of Elementary Math Chat! I share everything there is to know about choice boards, including what type of activities to include, how to organize choice boards, and where to find activities for choice boards. I also share tips for grading and setting up choice boards in your classroom.
Holding Students Accountable
Students do have a minimum amount of points they must earn, depending on the length of the chapter. Most of the time 20 points are required, and there are 40 points possible. Once students complete the required 20 points, they keep going to earn extra credit. Each additional 4 points completed counts as 1 extra credit point.
Therefore, if students complete all 40 points, and only 20 were required, they earned a 5% bonus. I add this percentage to their chapter test. This holds them accountable and provides me with the information I need to reward them appropriately.
Small Group Activity
My 90-minute math block almost always includes a small group activity. For my teacher center, students move in and out pretty quickly. I call 5-6 students at a time, and once they complete the activity, they leave and are replaced by another student.
My intent is for this to be a quick check to see who needs more support and to see who has mastered the concept. Here is a differentiated activity I used with rounding.
During this center, students had to complete 5 rounding problems. I first had them choose a problem from the box that aligned with their Fist to 5 level. Their goal was to move out of that box and into a higher box.
If they already were level 5, they had to prove it to me! It was amazing to see students start at a level 0-2 and finish at a level 5. Anything is possible when they keep a growth mindset.
The best part was that this center took me no time to prep!
I also LOVE task cards! Here is a way I implement the Fist to 5 levels with task cards. On the back of each task card is a level 0-5 that aligns with the Fist to 5 assessment levels. This allows students to begin working on problems that are just right for them.
Also, they understand what problems they need to complete in order to reach their goal of moving up a level.
Students show excitement as they move up to a new level and feel accomplished when they leave!
Another easy teacher center is to create problems using place value dice. Mine are from Amazon (affiliate link) and work perfectly. Give students the option of how many dice they can use, and you’ve quickly differentiated your center. On top of that, students are applying knowledge of standard form for each problem they create. And again, this takes little to no time to prep.
Celebrating Accomplishments
I wrap up my math block by celebrating what they’ve accomplished in our 90 minutes together. I do this by pulling sticks with classroom numbers on them. When their stick is pulled they get to tell the class something they accomplished.
Sometimes it’s finishing a choice board activity or their entire choice board. Other times it’s getting a good score on a set of Boom Cards or feeling much more confident about a skill after practicing in small groups.
Whatever they share, we celebrate as a class.
So there you have it. 90 minutes of grit, grind, and repeat. I’m so thankful for the struggles I experienced early on because they led me to create the system I have now, which I love. I hope you find (or have found) a system you love.
Until next time,
Happy Teaching!
P.S. In case you missed it, grab your own copy of the EDITABLE CHOICE BOARD!
Thank you for posting this! I’ve been trying to figure out what will work best in my classroom for a 90 minute math block. I LOVE all your ideas! Can’t wait to try some this upcoming week!
You are welcome! Let me know how they go! 🙂
I love this! I love teaching small group math. At my school we use Engage NY and ate required to have 6 items of graded work per subject. What do you give grades for with this set up?
Thank you so much for sharing your ideas! I have been trying to implement a must do may do system with my 3rd graders and would love to have an editable version of your choice board! Such a good idea!
Just sent you the editable version. I hope you and your students enjoy this resource! I’d love to hear how it goes!
These are such great tips! I wish I had a longer math block when I taught 3rd grade…our was 45 minutes like yours used to be! I love that you have such a large chunk of time for small group instruction.
What a great idea! Thank you for sharing. Would you mind sharing with me your Can Do Activities? This sounds like something I would like to try with my 2nd Graders.
Just sent you the editable version. I hope you and your students enjoy this resource! I’d love to hear how it goes!
Love this!!!
I love that table. Is that something you created for students to write on with the colored circles? Also, could you send me the editable version please?
Hi Kris! I just sent you the editable version. Also, I purchased the vinyl circle mats from Etsy. The shop is TeachersFriend. They are awesome! I love having a designated work space for my students. You will love them too! Thank you for visiting my blog!
I’d love to see your choice board! I’ll be adapting it for first graders.
Thanks!
Hi Erica! Just sent you the editable choice board. I hope it works well for you and your students!
Thank you for sharing all this. I teach 4th. I don’t have quite 90 min, I have 60-70 depending on the day, but you’ve given me some great ideas. I’d love to see your choice board. Thank you for being willing to share. Also wondering about those circles you used. Are they removable?
This is wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing! I teach first grade and would LOVE to have an editable version so that I can use it based on my students’ needs!