Let’s learn how to teach math effectively with smart lessons and using small groups in kindergarten. Find out how to plan your space, set up math centers, and create lessons. Also, find out how to create kinders with strong number sense skills.
Not sure how to teach math in small groups? Then you’ll want to start with: How to Start Guided Math in Kindergarten
Create a space to teach math in small groups that is organized, efficient and easy to use all year long. Here’s what a teacher center is and how I recommend setting up your teaching area if you teach using a guided math format. What is a teacher center? The teacher center is a place to…
Set up a math games and activities center in your classroom that is easy to maintain all year long. I think that math games are the perfect fit in a kindergarten classroom. They can help your students practice math skills and learn without you physically being there. Students can work independently which frees the teacher…
Guided math lessons in kindergarten can be easier if you set up a lesson plan format to follow. Let’s learn how to set up an easy-to-use format so you can create guided math lessons successfully. In kindergarten, guided math means that I’m teaching math lessons to small groups of students while the rest of the…
Learn how to create a year-long math journal center in kindergarten. Math journals are an excellent way to work on math standards without using worksheets, allow students to show their thinking and learn how to organize written math work. Here’s why and how I created a math journal center that lasted all year long in…
Here is an example of a guided math lesson that works on composing and decomposing numbers 11-19. I’m also going to lay out the flow of what the entire lesson looks like when I am meeting with my kinders in “the teacher zone”… which is what I call where I meet with students as a center…
How to teach math in small groups looks different for each teacher due to personality, teaching style, grade level and a group of kiddos. Here is how I create a guided math binder to help me stay on top of lesson planning for my four kindergarten math groups. For some, teaching guided math in kindergarten seems…
Teaching math strategies in kindergarten may be easier than you think. Here are the top math strategies for kindergarten that you can use in your lessons and the questions you should be asking. I’ve got everything I’m sharing with you today wrapped up in my Guided Math Pack for kindergarten. That way you can use…
People often wonder how to explain 3D shapes to kindergarten (especially when they have to be able to tell the difference between 2D and 3D shapes). Let me share my favorite way of doing this. If you’re looking for how to explain 2D shapes to kindergarten then you should check out these awesome ideas below because the…
Here’s a great kindergarten math question that I posed to the awesome kindergarten teachers on facebook. “Is 11 a teen number?” Here is your answer straight from the source – what real kindergarten teachers have to say about 11 being a teen number. Plus, I’ll weigh in on the subject too with a pictured explanation. Teachers were…
Have you wondered what is the smartest way to differentiate your math instruction? In my opinion, it’s guided math. I’m excited to share the best features of the guided math pack for kindergarten with you today. You can get the instant download and start planning your way to teaching math successfully. And if you first…
How can someone start teaching guided math in kindergarten? Here are my top questions you should ask yourself to help you think through the process. If you’re willing to meet groups of students where they are and give them math practice that helps them progress – you’re gonna love teaching with a guided math format….
Teaching shapes to kindergarten is part of many standards-based curriculums. When you teach 2D shapes, you’re covering some basic geometry skills your kinders will build from for years to come. Let’s look at how to teach 2D shapes and dig into some 2d shape activities and games to help you cover this topic. How to…
Teaching the basics in kindergarten can go a long way. I find it key to teach the little stuff right up front in order to make the benefits lasts all year. I think that teaching kindergartners how to draw 2D shapes would fit in the list of the basics. Not only do they have to…
Number sense and learning to write and use numbers 0-10 is a pretty big deal the first nine weeks of kindergarten. Here is a set of materials that helps me teach kindergarteners how to form the numerals and teach them how to count one-to-one all the way to ten. Because, let’s be honest. Lots of kinders…
Teach how to draw a ten frame so that it can be used as a tool throughout the year to show groups of ten – perfect for composing and decomposing numbers. This is a hugely important skill! I am laying the foundation for all of that now by teaching them how to draw it… I…
Describing 3D shapes in kindergarten is now an expectation as it is a key geometry standard. This standard focuses on four main 3D shapes: cylinder sphere cube cone Students should be able to describe the faces, vertices, and edges of each shape. So, what are some 3D shapes activities for kindergarten and resources for practicing…
Work on addition and subtraction in kindergarten by playing games. Here is a collection of 11 free bump gameboards that kindergarteners can use to build their math skills. Bump-style games are perfect for kindergarten because they can be played by a single player or they can be a partner game. These games I’ve made practice these…
We discovered why decomposing and composing numbers really is crazy important and dug into our daily schedule to find out how to easily teach composing numbers regularly. This is part 3 of this series – it’s all about taking this standard to a new level! Let’s review real quick: Working on decomposing and composing numbers into their groups of…
What we just explored why decomposing and composing numbers really is crazy important in kindergarten. This is part 2 of this series – it’s all about making practicing this skill regularly a cinch in the kindergarten classroom. As a recap, I know that we often call this common core standard “place value,” but really it is…
Decomposing numbers means to break down numbers into their sub-parts. Common Core standards has kindergarten students decomposing numbers in two ways. The first is to decompose numbers into their tens and ones (focus on numbers 11-19) and the second is to show how any number 1-10 can be created using a variety of addends. I…
To teach kindergarten math, I use a guided math format. Let’s break down what is guided math, how to get started, and how to set up a system that works for you and ideas on how to think outside of your current curriculum. Teaching math in small groups like this has become my go-to way…
Working on subtraction has been a goal of mine in teaching math to kindergartners. This free kindergarten subtraction game “What’s the Difference?” is one example of how I’m working to teach subtraction in various ways to better meet the needs of my students. Let me share why I’m venturing into teaching math in deeper ways…
I love using math games to encourage practicing standards independently in kindergarten. Here is a collection of resources and organizational printables that I made to help keep my fourth quarter guided math games organized. These materials are used in the practice zone by my students and are organized using ziploc baggies and housed in a cupboard….
Organize your math materials when they’re not being used so it’s easy to get what you need when you need it. Any organization system should make it easy to get stuff from and put stuff away – making it easy to maintain all year long. Here’s how you can easily create a system of containers…