Math Routines

As the new school year is nearing close, I thought I would get into the habit of blogging again. It has been too long! So without further ado - Here is the Math Routines that I do with my first graders every day. It takes no more than 10 minutes and it helps develop number sense. By the end of the year, the children are experts at it!

What I like about Math Routines is that it fosters an opportunity for students to talk about math. A lot of times when we get students to "turn and talk," it's during read-alouds, because we realize the importance of challenging students to think more deeply around a story. But with Math Routines, you can do the same because it requires children to explain their thinking. For example, you can say something like, "25 children are in our class. We know that 2 children are absent. How many children are present? 23 - great! How do you know?" This gets the kids talking about HOW they got the answer. It forces children to think about the strategies, or "math tools," they used to solve the problem.

With the new Common Core State Standards for Math where the emphasis is on the DEPTH of its instruction, rather the breadth, meaning that we want students to think more deeply about a topic, this is pushing them in the right direction. And it only takes 10 minutes! For older students, you can choose more grade-appropriate routines for them to do every day.