Guided Math Made Simple

For years I struggled to find a Guided Math system that was simple, easy to implement, and most of all, easy to sustain.  I attempted a number of variations of math center rotations and always found that they were overwhelming to maintain and that they took far too much behavior support from me as the teacher. Some of the challenges were: keeping the timing of each activity the same, keeping track of which students had done which activities, the activities requiring adult help, and differentiating the activities the students were doing was difficult. I also spent far too much time prepping different activities each week in an attempt to maintain novelty. Because of that, I wasn't able to invest the time into developing and carrying out effective small group lessons, and the entire purpose of the guided math format fell apart.

Picture from Deposit Photos - Used with Permission

The result of that was that I ended up back in whole group format, and just had the students who were struggling with the day's work meet with me at the guided math table.  It wasn't working for me, and it most certainly wasn't meeting the students' needs.  

Does this sound at all familiar to you?  Have you experienced the same frustration with overly complicated math rotations and other guided math variations?  I knew there had to be a better way, and I have found the way that is simple, easy to set up, and so easy to sustain!  I hope it works for you too, and I hope that you are able to implement this simple system.  The great news is that you can start right away, likely with resources you already have in your classroom.  Then, you can build up your games and activities as you go.  There is no need to spend hours upon hours of time prepping mountains of supplies before you feel like you can get started!

Picture from Deposit Photos - Used with Permission

What is it?

The system that is working for me is a Must Do/May Do system.  Here's the quick run down on how it works.  After, I'll get into more details for how each of the components works. In my class of 22 students, students are divided into 6 groups.  They are assigned to one or more groups.  Some will be in only one group, some will be in two groups, some will be in three groups depending on the specific skill(s) they are working on/struggling with. The students who are not with me are working on a "must do" or "may do" activity.

I meet with 2 groups each day, on a 3 day rotation.  I do it this way so that I know that I don't have to do guided math every day in a week and I will still be able to adequately meet with the students as often as necessary.  I can do other activities/lessons on the other days.

I put the "must do/may do" headers up on my board and add the different "Must Do and May Do" activity squares as needed.  I have put magnetic strips behind the laminated activity squares so that they can be changed out easily.  I keep the ones I'm not using clamped together with a heavy duty magnet.

I have also learned to keep some laminated blank squares ready so that I can just write on them if I have a new activity to share and I don't have time to prepare a "pretty" card.

The "May Do" activities cards can stay up as long as you want them to.  I find that it's best to just change out one or two of them, and not completely scrap a set in order to have new ones up there. This way the students can build stamina with familiar games and they also will have confidence to play them so that they don't need to interrupt you. You can also choose how many cards you want to have up in each section depending on what your supplies and the needs of your students.

The students who are not meeting with me on a certain day need to accomplish a "Must Do" activity and they can also do "May Do" activities.  This solves the problem of regimenting center rotations, keeping track of which students have been at which activity, and ensuring that each activity will fill the exact same time span.  It also gives the students choice, and we have learned that choice leads to more buy-in and less off-task behavior.  If you are interested in using the forms that I use, you can get them here.

How do you group the students?

I group my students as a result of my observations and a monthly "Skill Check" (test) I give my students. You should use your own formative assessment and observations.  If your school or district has standardized testing you could use that if it meets your needs.

For my purposes, I create a test each month that addresses a variety of different math strands or learning targets, so I can easily see which students need more instruction in certain areas.  I have been creating these monthly skill checks for around 4 years.  I never reuse the exact same skill check page more than once.  I always update and ensure that I am checking the exact skills that I have been teaching.

 After I mark the tests, I categorize students into the different strands.  Sometimes I need to be strategic and combine certain learning targets into one "group" to make the group sizes work.  I don't sell these skill checks because I believe each teacher should create their own assessments based on what they've been teaching. I simply save each month's skill check and then the following year I open up the file, make adjustments as necessary, and print.

Do you only you meet with each student once per week?

No!  This is the beauty of the system!  If you have a student who needs help in most areas, they will likely meet with me 3/3 days or 3/4 days. I don't schedule the same student twice in one day.  This ensures that each day that we have guided math, they get to choose a "May Do." Here's an example of a class with 26 students and a 4 day schedule. 

You can see here in this example that the teacher would meet with Aaron, Beaux, and Carmyn 3/4 days. They meet with Deiondre, Evan, Fiona, Owen, Peter, and Quinn 2/4 days.  They meet with the rest of the class 1/4 days.  This is a class of 26 students.

For my class, I generally have 20-22 students, so I can do a 3 day schedule:

You can see in the previous example that I am able to meet with Aaron, Beaux, and Carmyn 3/3 days.  I can meet with Deiondre, Evan, Faith, Mikey, and Nadia 2/3 days.  I meet with the rest of the class 1/3 days.

While the Group Numbers stay the same in the chart, the names in each spot, as well as the learning focus changes as the needs of the students changes.  In general, my Groups 4 and 6 often have the students who are meeting or exceeding the learning targets.  I meet with them to extend their learning. You'll also notice from the charts that it is common to have 2 (or more) groups working on the same learning target.  You can divide your students between them based on behavior or learning style, or even friendships if that is helpful.  The groups are flexible and change at least once per month depending on student needs.

How do you organize your groups?

I tend to build my groups down the columns with increasing difficulty.  So, I put my students who need the most help in the first column so that I can ensure that I take care of their most basic learning needs first.  There is no sense in putting a child into a 2 digit subtraction group if they don't yet understand counting, for example.  It is important to follow a logical progression of numeracy skills.  I also ensure that each student only meets with me once per day, so that they always have the chance to do a "may do" activity.

What happens at the Guided Math table?

For planning purposes I use the following planning charts in a binder.  Each group has their own divider and section with blank copies of these forms.  I fill them in as I go.  They are typed here, but I just hand-write them in the binder for ease of use.

As for activities at the table, I try to incorporate as many hands-on activities with manipulatives as possible. I sometimes prepare a packet of worksheet activities that I know will help the students, but that they wouldn't be able to complete independently. As you can see, my plans aren't fancy.  They are basic and meet the kids right where they are at.  I blurred out the names and dates on the following picture. This picture is of an older version of my planning sheets, but a similar one is available.

 I have learned that it works well to plan one or two lessons at a time because I want to respond to the needs of the children, not simply follow a prescribed plan. However, if you have a specific text book or other resource you use or must follow, you can simply do that here (maybe repeating lessons if necessary).  I include a notes section so that I can keep track of the student progress or make note of what worked and what didn't.  It honestly gets messy, but it's so useful!

The guided math table is a great chance to introduce learning games as well.  You can teach each group a game and they can practice it in front of you, receiving support as they go.  

All about the "Must Do" activities

The world is your oyster when it comes to choosing the "must do" activities!  If you have a workbook or fact practice you might choose to assign that.  I sometimes assign skip counting practice or number printing or number sense practice.  It really depends on what you are working on as a whole class, or as groups.  You can put together packets if that's your style.  You can leave it more open-ended.  You can even have a "must-do" that is a game that you want to make sure every student plays a few times for practice or review, such a addition war, or something like that.  What is crucial is that each student knows how to play or complete the must-do independently or with a partner.  You don't want to assign something new or complicated, because then the students will probably need to interrupt you during your small group instruction.  You can also choose if you want there to be only one "must do" or a choice of "must do" activities.  It's so flexible!

Also important to note is that a student meeting with me at the Guided Math table is doing their "must do."  They don't have to do a "must do" during the other round.

All about the "May Do" activities

The "May Do" activities can be anything and everything you want your students to practice.  I believe that it makes the most sense to have "may do" activities that match your general learning targets, but they should be review, fun, and hopefully activities that you can keep out for longer than a week. The "May Do" activities might be for one person, partners, or even small groups! With some training, your students should be able to navigate through the "May Do" activities independently.

The key to making the "may do/must do" routine easy to implement is that you aren't constantly having to teach new games and activities.  You want them to be able to remain in circulation for a while before putting them away.  Also, it's a great plan to pull previous activities back after a while.  This should be easy, not arduous. I try to have a variety of types of activities available (here you can see a Bump game, a card game with handwritten directions (gasp!) and some counting pages that the students simply write numbers from 0-100 on the first page, 101-200 on the second page, and so on.

  If you already have a bank of games and activities to pull from, you're all set.  If you need some no prep/low prep activities, I highly recommend card games like memory (odd/even memory, sums of 10 memory), war (we play addition and subtraction number battle), and Mindreader (facts).

Picture from Deposit Photos - Used with Permission

You can also do dice games that the students can play over and over, like Bump. I highly recommend teaching your students games that have one set of rules, but then you can change out the theme so that you don't have to teach rules of new games constantly.  These Bump games use the same rules all year long, but have 20 different themes to keep things interesting and fresh. 




For another example, you could teach your students how to do non-standard measurement once, and then rotate out what to measure and how to measure it.  You could also put together printed centers like these non-standard measurement activities for the year.  Once they know how to do the first set, they will know how to do all of the subsequent ones.

Why does it work?

I feel like this "Must Do/May Do" system works for me because even though it is structured, it is easy-going and flexible at the same time!  I don't have to rotate students though learning activities.  The activities that the students are doing when they aren't with me are meaningful, and the students are motivated to do the "may do" activities.  There are two rounds each day, and the students know that they will get to do a "may do" each day.  If the students meet with me, that counts as their "must do" so they aren't penalized for needing to meet with the teacher more often.

Being able to meet with my at-risk students for 15-20 minutes multiple times per week in a small group format is so valuable!  I'm able to meet them right where they are at, without slowing down the instruction for the entire class.  It's also so rewarding to see the light bulbs go off for the students right in front of my eyes as a result of the repeated practice.

Additionally, this gives me the chance to meet with my students who are understanding or even exceeding the grade level expectations.  I can provide them with enrichment and deepen their understanding.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q- Do the students have to do the "Must Do" during the first round?

A- You can decide on the rule for this.  I have decided that the students may choose which of the two rounds they would like to accomplish their must-do activity (this is most helpful because I don't have enough copies of every single game that the students want to play, such as "Shut the Box."  Because I have some activities that are high interest and I don't have enough copies/resources for everyone to use it at once, it spreads out the usage so that the hot commodity games aren't sitting empty during the first round.  If you have enough of each "may do" activity, you can require the "must-do" activity be completed before the "may-do".  Do you see how flexible it really is?  It's so empowering!

Q- Do the students who meet with you have to complete the "Must Do" before they get choice?

A- No!  I put the names of my group on the "Must Do" side of the board to show and reinforce the idea that being at the teacher table is their "Must Do" for the day.  If they are with me first round, they get a "May Do" second round.  If they are going to be with me for the second round, they get "May Do" for the first round.

Q- How do you store your activities?

A- I store the activities in bins on shelves.  I separate the ones that are open from the ones that are closed.  I have way more activities than bins, so I basically empty the bin out when I'm finished using one, and put the new game in that bin. I used to try to label each bin with a different type of activity, but I find that just simply labeling them "math activity" works just great!

Q- How long is each round?

A- As long as you need them to be!  In general, my rounds last around 15 minutes.  If a student completes their must do in less time than the round, they simply move on to a "may do."  There's no down time.  Also, if you had time and your students could handle it, you could alter this plan and have three rounds!  In that case, every student would likely need to do a Must Do, even those who met with you at the table.

Q- Why do you only meet with two groups each time?

A- I only meet with two groups each time because that is what fits my schedule.  I have specials that "interfere" with my math block three times per week, so I use those shortened blocks for my Guided Math days.  I have time for a number talk or mini lesson, and then we move into the Guided Math portion.  If your schedule allows for it, you could of course do three or even four rounds per day, and then you could meet with your students more often!

Download the forms (suitable for handwriting or editing in PowerPoint) here