Implementing Part 2 : Tips for Polishing the Launch

Today you're invited to learn from my mistakes as I share some tips on smoothly implementing the routines and practices of Kindergarten Math Workshop. Though I make it a point not to "sweat the small stuff" when it comes to hiccups in activities during the school day, there are a few things I've found to be worth repeating so your classroom can get engaged in and exposed to developmentally appropriate, CCSS aligned math.

We've got the time, space and schedule expectations down, but I still saw the need to fine tune a few things so my kiddos would be more than on-task but really engaged in the language and exposure to the math concepts we're learning....or supposed to be learning. Tip 1: Use your daily picture schedule. I think I repeated it about 399 times until it truly set in but when the schedule says Math, the rule is that is all we are doing or talking about. You don't need to make anything special, but it is that little concrete booster that can help keep them focused.

"The rule is we can only talk about math during math time."
Example schedule, from Alicia Eyer.

Tip 2: Whenever possible, incorporate one of the work station activities into your math talk. Not only does this connect your mini-lesson to the students' exploration but it maximizes their work station time. When I can't fit it into our Math Talk, I tack it on to the end of our Morning Meeting.

Tip 3: Find ways to allow student choice in at least 2 of your work stations. When you can't be at their side and conceptual exploration is up to the student, a sense of choice helps augment their buy-in to the activities. However simple, some choices I've included in the past are:

Math Practice on IXL.com
When assigned activities under N: Sorting, ordering and classifying,
students can choose the sequence in which they work through the activities

• Choosing between 2 math apps, or both at the App Center
• Choosing to work alone or with a partner; in a pair or a trio
• Choosing any order of IXL.com game practice
• Choosing a set of numbers to work on (ex: 6-10, 1-10, 11-15)
• Choosing to represent quantities with an App like ShowMe or ScreenChomp, with concrete manipulatives or a pencil-paper representation like a drawing or tally marks

Admittedly, the latter is the best example of authentic student choice in the classroom. It is something I strive to incorporate more (not yet one of my strong suits, but not something I neglect either). Do you have any good tips for more student choice during math??? Comment away!

Finally, Tip 4.  Secure your valuable time at the Work with the Teacher center by adapting the popular, yet silly strategy of a magical accessory. I've seen teachers wear tiaras, scarves, top hats, crazy glasses, feather boas and Hawaiian leis to help with classroom management during this time. The idea is that when you are wearing your special item, you can only hear and talk to the students in the group at your immediate table. Those students feel instantly connected to you, and other students can be taught strategies that they readily use in your "absence." I don't need to reinvent the wheel because when I am wearing my special item, my students know I am not available but they can:

"Ask 3 before you ask me"

Consult the timer

Tell a peer they are going to the bathroom if it's an emergency(!)

Make their best guess and ask me during our mid-workshop check in time

The thing I like best about students deferring from me to one another is the language that sometimes gets produced when one clarifies or explains something to another. It can be amazing but you have to set them up for it!

What special item to I wear, you're wondering?? A banana-leaf necklace that my best friend brought back from a year with World Teach in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. It is pretty....special.

What tips am I missing? What else do you need that I can share? Thanks for reading!