Categories Math

Math Lessons: Math Block

Are you looking for ideas for math lessons and how to set up your math block? This blog post gives you details on what our math block looks like. We have a 60-minute math block that includes calendar time, mental math/math review, whole groups, small groups, and centers! We are required to use a math curriculum, which we do, but we supplement heavily with our Math It Up! resources to make the lessons more hands-on and to provide more practice.

Here’s a breakdown of our math block:

Songs (3-6 minutes)
Calendar (8-10 minutes)
Mental Math/Math Review ( 2-4 minutes)
Mini Lesson (10-20 minutes)
Centers/Small Groups (20-30 minutes)

Math Lessons: Starting Your Math Block With Calendar Time

Our math block kicks off with 2 math songs to help us transition to math time. Then we do calendar time. The calendar time is led by our Boss Of The day. Our calendar is interactive and engages all students. The Boss Of The Day fills in the calendar on our smart board while the rest of the class provides the information. We include the date, digital date, and days of the week. Then we do a number of the day, including a ten frame, even and odd, how many, tally marks, greater than/less than, counting on, and counting back. Place value is included by using place value blocks or base ten blocks to count the days in school. This routine covers several standards and lasts 10 minutes or less.

Here is a video of our calendar routine:

Our calendar creations are available here:

Math Lessons: Mental Math And Math Review

Next is mental math and math review. This is 2-5 minutes of reviewing and mentally working on math skills. Mental math uses fingers because research says our kids need to use their fingers! It gives them a necessary tactile experience and helps them make connections in the brain.

Some of our mental math activities are:

count on-start at a number and counting to a number

greater than/less than– give students a number, and they give me a number that is greater than and less than the number

counting-count to 5, 10, 20

add-add two numbers to 5 or 10

Subtract-hold up four fingers. Take away 2. How many are left?

ten frames and subitizing-show students a ten-frame card or dot card and they identify the number. We also have subitizing videos that the kids love! There are two versions of the videos: a slow version and a fast version!

For more subitizing videos and cards, just go to the search on this page and type in subitizing!

<div style=”text-align: center;”><a href=”https://www.youtube.com/user/gregsmedley/search?view_as=subscriber&query=subitizing”>Click here to see our subitizing videos on our YouTube channel!</a></div>

Subitizing In Action

If we are doing a review skill we might use a PowerPoint to review previously taught skills such as shapes, numbers or coins.

Math Lessons: Mini Lesson

After our math review, we move to our mini-lesson. This is usually done with whole group lessons and lasts 10-15 minutes, depending on the skill. The math block mini-lesson is where we introduce new skills and practice those skills. This is also when we build on previously taught skills. The math mini-lesson follows the I Do-We Do-You Do model because the science of math shows it to be the most effective math instruction. We also include much conversation and discussion as part of our math lessons because research tells us that when kids get explicit instruction in math, with lots of practice AND math dialogue, they learn more. They need the explicit instruction but they need to be talking about math too!

But you don’t have to do a whole group mini-lesson every day. If you’ve done some mini-lessons on the skill, it’s ok to pull students who need extra help and work with them while the students mastering the skill do independent work. Don’t do whole group lessons just to do them. Use that time as an opportunity to target and differentiate instruction.

For math lessons, we use our Math It Up! resources! CLICK HERE TO SEE THEM ALL!

Whole Group Math Lesson Examples

Number Bootcamp is also available in our new TKS BOOTCAMP KIT! This version includes new counting books along with updated clipart and all of the components of NUMBER BOOTCAMP in a manual. Plus, you get number cards for all of your math lessons and a number/letter tracing flipchart! Click the image to get your kit!

Shapes Sorting Activity:

Here’s a video of a whole group math lesson:

After the concept lesson, students can go to centers.

Small Group Math Lessons

During this small group time, we work on the same skill as the whole group but in a small group setting so we can provide more support and hands-on practice.

During small groups, we also work on the skills from the mini-lesson. For my students who need extra help, we might work on independent work together or do a new activity to practice the skill. It’s ok to use the same lesson/materials in small groups because you’re providing much more intensive support and practice!

Here’s a small group lesson:

Math Lessons: Math Centers

Math centers run the same way as our literacy centers. Students use the math wheel to determine their choices, and they work on those two choices during the entire center time.