Last year, our guided math space also doubled -or is it tripled?- as my guided reading and writing small group conferencing table. I made it work, but it definitely took mental (and physical) energy to keep organized.
Where are the materials? I keep a white basket with the materials needed for our wrap ups, warm ups or general lesson materials (right now, its housing playdough and the teddy bear party game).
Materials and manipulatives that will be needed all year (number lines, dice, ten frames, warm up mats, 2D and 3D shapes) are housed in the three-drawer unit.
I love Melissa's counting mats. These stay close for daily grabbing in the three-drawer unit. They are laminated and bound are sturdy enough for daily practice! We use her counting forwards and backwards pages. We use these for a large part of the year as we are learning to count to 60, then to 100. You can use them in a variety of ways and the picture clues are perfect when working with kinders.
Bound with these we also keep a set of shape and number identification pages pulled from Mrs. Wills fluency pages and we've added in a ten frame, teen frame and addition workmat to boot! Tools that last the entire year all bound together. It makes a great little package.
The four purple baskets pictured above hold materials specific for each group and individual kinder sets of materials. The baskets have the group label and students' names on them. What are examples of things inside kept in these baskets? Right now, my kinders have two sets of flashcards that they are using as a potential wrap-up activity. They have cards I made that feature numbers 11-20 as well as those numbers displayed as ten frames and they have a set of "ways to make five" flashcards that they made in one of our lessons.
The four purple baskets pictured above hold materials specific for each group and individual kinder sets of materials. The baskets have the group label and students' names on them. What are examples of things inside kept in these baskets? Right now, my kinders have two sets of flashcards that they are using as a potential wrap-up activity. They have cards I made that feature numbers 11-20 as well as those numbers displayed as ten frames and they have a set of "ways to make five" flashcards that they made in one of our lessons.
My favorite teacher down the hall uses red, yellow and green craft foam rectangles (you know, the ones I mentioned for making ten frame manipulatives) as checking pads for kinders to practice with a partner. They love placing the flashcards on the green pile if their partner knew it fast, yellow if they knew it but took a little while or red if they didn't get it correct (or at all). Both partners are engaged and it allows me a few moments to jot down those anecdotal notes from today's lesson in my math binder.
I just keep these foam sets in a baggie in our white basket, since they are used by all groups. And here they were... left over from the manipulatives I made, so I consider them free! We don't use flashcards every lesson as a wrap up, but I thought I'd share that as something valuable passed along to me.
So with a table, group materials basket, four group baskets, and a year long set of materials housed in a three-drawer unit... you add in tools that I want to keep for use at just this table (seen in the pencil caddies)... we're all set to go.
More Guided Math
Guided Math Before and AfterSetting Up a Guided Math Binder
Planning for Guided Math
More on Guided Math Zones
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Technology Zone
Recording Zone
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- Leslie
