Daily 5 Math

After doing a TON of research over the past week (my husband can attest to this), I have decided that implementing Daily 5 Math is the best decision for my students. Their levels of ability are so drastically different that working in small groups and tailoring their activities and lessons for their needs is absolutely essential. And I feel as though I'm a better teacher for having made this decision for them.

Some of the Daily 5 Math stations are not suitable for my class and so I have come up with the following 5 rotations for them. I have 19 students and have divided them into 5 groups. Four of the groups have 4 students and one group has 3. The rotations are:

Guided Math
Math Work
Math Journal
Math with Technology
Math Games

Guided Math: Students will meet with me for their lesson. Right now, we are just starting Number Sense and Numeration - addition and subtraction. I will conduct the lesson in small groups. One of my groups is still working on number recognition so that will be my focus with them.

Math Work: The rotation will work so that students will move to this centre immediately following Guided Math. This will be their opportunity to put what they learned in our lesson into fruition. This will be an opportunity for them to peer help with their group while completing the assigned activity and/or worksheet independently.

Math Journal: With improved reading skills at this point in the year, Math Journals will consist of word problems. They may require students to use manipulatives or other strategies to solve the problems. This will be completed in their groups.

Math with Technology: Students will play interactive games on the Smart Board.

Math Games: Students will choose a Math centre game INDIVIDUALLY. The dyamics of my students are such that I need to find a balance between group and individual work. Each game can be played by the group or by individuals. For the purpose of the Daily 5 Math, they will pick a station game independently and work on it on their own.

I am currently working on my printables and rotation cards that I will post here for anyone else to use. Again, if you have any comments or suggestions for Daily 5 math, PLEASE post them!