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Math Teachers Chatboard

Need Help

by Mer

Apr 15, 2017

I teach 7th graders at an urban district. The problem is that my students come to me with a wide range of needs. I usually have students that range from 3rd grade level to 7th grade level. I am thinking of trying to separate my class into 2 groups and teach them separately. I am having trouble figuring out how to do this with the behavior problems that also occur at my school. Does anyone have any ideas?

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Mamaseca Hi! I just joined this group and saw your post, thought I might be able to offer some advice...

If you're thinking about splitting your class, you might want to look into Guided Math and self-paced learning. I use it in my class. It has taken me a few years to work out kinks and get it really tailored to my teaching & my student's need...See MoreHi! I just joined this group and saw your post, thought I might be able to offer some advice...

If you're thinking about splitting your class, you might want to look into Guided Math and self-paced learning. I use it in my class. It has taken me a few years to work out kinks and get it really tailored to my teaching & my student's needs but it has really solved A LOT of my management problems.

For starters, you have to be very clear, from day 1, about procedures. If they don't follow procedures or instructions, they'll be hopelessly lost! But, what is amazing is that, once you knock out those procedures, your students really appreciate the "freedom" that comes with the Guided Math principle. My student loved that they could work at their own pace! My advanced kids didn't feel like they were being held back because the rest of the class was struggling and my struggling kids didn't feel overwhelmed and pressured to keep up with the "smarter" kids!

I started seeing a LOT LESS zeroes/missing assignments in my gradebook, too! Partly because the self-paced model all but eliminates late work because, well, it all but eliminates due dates. Students turn in the work when they are finished with it. You would think this would backfire and, in some ways, it does put a lot more on you, as the teacher, to make sure they are actually working. But, it also frees up a lot of your time. With the Guided Math model, you spend most of your time either wandering the classroom and working one-on-one with your students or with a small group doing some small-group instruction/interventions (or wandering to keep your proximity for optimal classroom management!). Meanwhile, the rest of your students are working at their stations on whatever assignment they're on.

I do set a few "deadlines" with my students. Most of them are "soft" deadlines, meaning they are flexible. These are the dates by which they SHOULD be finished with an assignment. But, if they're not, it is not late. There are, however, a few "hard" deadlines, which are non-negotiable. I usually have one "hard" deadline a month but it really depends on the pacing guide, for me. The "hard" deadlines are set based on when I would consider a student falling behind. So, lets say that the pacing guide says we should be finishing up Unit 1 on Friday. I would set a hard deadline for the following Friday (of course this would have been set weeks ago, so students knew ahead of time). This gives the struggling students an extra week to make sure they've finished Unit 1.

Now, there's a lot more to the principle than what I've described here and, like I mentioned before, I've tweaked my own system over the last few years to get it where it is today. If this is something you think might work for you, or you are at least interested in learning more, I might recommend searching for a few blogs/webinars that could help you get started.

Here are a few I've used (most of them are elementary but I've still applied them to my 8th grade math classroom):

http://simplyskilledinsecond.com/2016/05/get-your-groove-on-with-guided-math/ http://brownbagteacher.com/guided-math-in-1st-grade/ https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=simply%20skilled%20in%20second http://beyondtheworksheet.com/?s=stations http://www.tinasteachingtreasures.com/guided-math/guided-math-set-and-organization/ https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/How-To-Launch-Guided-Math-2534676

Jun 25, 2017

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