How you choose to organize the manipulatives is up to you, however, it is important that your students have access to them quickly and easily.
It is important at the beginning of the year to establish routines and expectations with students. This helps save time later in the year.
It is important to train students to use the ThinkCentral website. They should be given their log‑in information and taught how to use the tools that are available to them. This takes quite a bit of time, but will pay off by providing independent learning activities.
Math lessons should not be interrupted so that students can focus and understand the concept being taught. Many teachers establish a rule at the beginning of the year so that students understand this. They provide and practice a procedure for asking questions. There are many ways that this can be accomplished:
In order for other students to be productive during this time, there are lots of options.
Ideally, this time would be spent on independent math workshop tasks so that it is truly a math time for everyone. Some of these tasks might be:
Students will also need a procedure for asking questions when it is really necessary. Some student will get “stuck” and not accomplish anything because they are not good at self directing.
When you begin planning your math the number one thing that you need to look at is the NAD Mathematics Standards. Pay close attention to the last column of the chart which directs you to math lessons in Go Math! and Big Ideas Math that address the standard.
In Go Math! ePlanner is an excellent tool to help you quickly access and utilize all the materials related to a specific lesson. It will make planning much easier.
Make sure that you understand the math concepts involved. This may take a little review on the part of the teacher since some of the concepts go much deeper and operations are explained in new ways.
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