Math

Multi-age math can be challenging to organize! What works for students one year, may not work for students the next year, depending on skills as well as group numbers and dynamics.

This year we are doing a rotation model. Each day, students rotate through 3 stations:

1. A small group math lesson station with me on the current concept.
2. An independent station at their seats working on math or another subject: reading, writing, word work, typing practice, online math games, Khan Academy or MAP Skills math work, etc...
3. A small group math station with Mr. K (our paraeducator) working on: computation goals, practice from the lesson, math games, problem of the week work, etc...

Regardless of the groupings, we focus on 3 main things:

1. Math fluency- These are the computation skills needed to help build conceptual knowledge. Things like basic math facts, multi-digit computation of all operations including decimals, etc...
   • Students take a computation skills check that I score. Then they work to fix errors alone, in partners, in student led small groups, and in teacher led small groups. This gives everyone an opportunity to work on what they need to and have a chance to solidify their own skills by teaching others.
   • Each week, students take a 2 minute mixed fact test (multiplication, division, addition, subtraction facts up to 12). I score these and they graph their progress over the trimester. They are making goals and working during the week to practice and get closer to their goals!
   • We also use a program called Khan Academy, which helps students with their skills. Each student works at their own pace and can work on ANY skills that they need to! They can watch videos, practice, and take quizzes to show mastery of different skills. They can also earn points to personalize their program with fun badges and avatars! Click here to check it out!
2. Math Concepts- These are the new concepts that students learn to be ready for middle school math. In 5th and 6th grade, students will study:
   • Fractions: including addition, subtraction, multiplication, and some division.
   • Multi-digit division (including "long division")
   • Multiplication and Division of Decimals
   • Volume and surface area
   • Graphing points on the coordinate plane
   • Classifying 2 dimensional shapes
   • Ratios
   • An introduction to integers and absolute value
   • An introduction to exponents
   • An introduction to solving problems with unknown quantities
   • Data collection, organization, and manipulation
3. Problem Solving Skills- All students need an opportunity to build their stamina with problem solving skills. Students need to be able to see patterns in math and connect visuals with numbers. They need to be able to think deeply about their problems and see that math is not simply about computation, but that it's everywhere! We work on problems that help students work with multi-step problems in order to find multiple ways of solving them.