Small group math instruction is an integral piece of any elementary math block. It is essential for differentiating instruction, closely assessing student achievement, and allowing for real time, immediate feedback.
So what are the benefits of small group instruction and how can you implement this system into your daily math routine as quickly as next week? Read on to find out how to get started successfully, and if you are a 5th grade teacher I have you covered with all of the student and teacher guided math materials!
I have created a full year of small group math work mats, assessments, and intervention guides that cover all 5th grade math standards. Would you like to try a sample unit before you jump in with the full bundle? Get the volume sample and see what is included in each unit.
So, are you ready to find out how you can get started with small group math instruction?
Small Group Instruction Benefits
Focused Instruction
Perhaps the biggest benefit of small group math instruction is the fact that it is just that..a small group. You, as the teacher, have the ability to provide more focused instruction to a small group of 3 to 7 students in contrast to a whole group of 25 to 32 students.
Not only are you able to target specific needs of these specific students, you are also more likely to hold their wandering attention. Whole group instruction is essential, as I discuss in my series on Guided Math. However, it is only a part of what should be making up your math block, especially in elementary aged classes.
Small group math instruction is the ⭐star⭐ of the show in guided math.
Flexible Learning Opportunities
Small group math instruction complements the teacher who is passionate about differentiating learning experiences and providing flexible learning opportunities for students.
To achieve this level of differentiation, the teacher can place students in groups of similarly skilled mathematicians and provide targeted instruction to this small group of students at a single time. This can range from providing scaffolded instruction to low performing students and, to enrichment opportunities for higher performing students.
Better Assessment Practices
When a teacher is working with a small group of students, he or she is better able to assess the skill level of each individual student. As a result, that student can receive targeted instruction in areas that they need the most, as well as intervention in areas that they struggle.
The teacher is able to more easily and accurately pinpoint the specific needs of each student because he or she will be physically watching the student work rather than grading a quiz or test after the student has already left and forgotten about the quiz!
Student Participation
Some people are gifted in the area of communication and socializing. These people don’t get nervous speaking in front of a large group and aren’t afraid of being judged for their words or thoughts.
On the other hand, those of us who are not comfortable when our peers are “judging” our words have the ability to thrive in a small group setting. The shy student, the unmotivated student, and even the troublemaker will potentially blossom with small group math instruction.
This method and strategy of guided math affords these students the opportunity to experience learning environments in which they feel comfortable and motivated to participate more.
Student Success
Similarly to the previous topic about student participation, another of the small group instruction benefits comes in the form of student success. The student who doesn’t normally get to be the one to answer the questions, or isn’t the student who feels the joy of getting a correct answer, has the chance to flourish in a small group setting.
The student doesn’t have a whole class of peers to “compete” with in a small group, so this allows for each student to feel qualified and confident to participate in discussion.
Student Connection
Finally, a benefit of small group instruction is the ability for the teacher to develop a deeper connection with students. When a teacher has a small group of students around a table or sitting in a circle on the carpet, it is inevitable that some “non-math conversations” will be initiated.
These conversations allow you, as the teacher, to get to know your students in a way that you wouldn’t be able to explore with exclusive whole group instruction.
How to Teach Small Group Math
I am going to share how I have used my small group math instruction resources in my classroom. Feel free to repeat my strategies or modify them to develop your own.
Creating Groups
Before you can implement small group instruction, you must create the groups! I recommend using data from an exit ticket or some other type of formative assessment AFTER you have taught the skill during whole group instruction.
Allow Students to Work at Their Own Pace
As mentioned earlier, if you are a 5th grade teacher, then you have the option of using my made for you math work mat units, but if you teach another grade level, you can still implement a system similar to the one I have used in my classroom. You will just need a set of practice problems, like a worksheet, a short assessment, and some intervention problems for students who require the additional practice with the skill.
Using your resources of choice, you will observe and guide students as they work at their own pace. If you have grouped them based on skill achievement and readiness then they will most likely work at a similar pace through the activities.
How to Plan for Your Small Group Math Instruction
I have labeled my skill based resources as “work mats” because they are a simple double sided practice sheet that students can use to work through a specific skill.
Each math skill/standard comes with 3 different work mats, designed to be used at 3 different occasions with small groups of students.
- First Work Mat: The work mats labeled “Math Practice Work Mat” at the top are designed for small group math instruction. These are designed to be used to reteach and practice a skill in a small group setting AFTER teaching the skill to the whole group.
I recommend you print enough copies for ONE GROUP, which is usually 5-6 students and one copy for yourself, and place them in sheet protectors for students to write on with a dry erase marker.
This part of small group math instruction should typically take 2 days. While students are in small groups, their classmates can be working independently and in pairs at math stations.
- Second Work Mat: The Work Mat labeled “Math skill Check” is a single sided QUICK ASSESSMENT that is designed to be a snapshot of the students’ grasp of the math skill.
During a “skill check” I recommend that 3-4 students are seated at the small group table working independently without guidance. This is so the teacher can get accurate data on what the students know and what they may still be struggling with, and determine the next steps each of them will need.
I recommend you print a copy for each student and have them write with a pencil so you can keep their paper in your files for future reference.
Data needs to be tracked based on how many answers a student gets correct. Then as the teacher, you can decide at what point the student may need intervention with the skill. The Small Group Math Instruction Work Mats include a “Skill Check Data Form” to keep your data organized.
- After skill checks are completed, you will have a collection of data that will help you decide which of your students have MASTERED the skill, which students are GETTING THERE, and which students NEED INTERVENTION.
Third Work Mat: This work mat is designed to be used as intervention for struggling students that were identified through the skill check as NEEDS INTERVENTION. It is labeled “Math Extra Practice Work Mat”. The amount of time you should plan for your math intervention lessons is dependent upon the number of students who you identified as needing the extra practice. If a large majority of your students are still struggling, you should consider a whole group reteach and practice.
I recommend you print a copy for each student that you have identified as needing intervention and have them write with a pencil so you can keep their paper in your files for future reference.
5th Grade Math Standards
This section is designed to link each 5th grade math standard to one of the Small Group Math Instruction Work Mats. If you teach a different grade level, you may want to skip this section!
Most State Departments of Education have identified state standards in alignment to the Common Core State Standards. For the purpose of this article, I am linking to Common Core State Standards.
Operations & Algebraic Thinking
Use parentheses, brackets, or braces in numerical expressions, and evaluate expressions with these symbols.
Write simple expressions that record calculations with numbers, and interpret numerical expressions without evaluating them. For example, express the calculation “add 8 and 7, then multiply by 2” as 2 × (8 + 7). Recognize that 3 × (18932 + 921) is three times as large as 18932 + 921, without having to calculate the indicated sum or product.
Generate two numerical patterns using two given rules. Identify apparent relationships between corresponding terms. Form ordered pairs consisting of corresponding terms from the two patterns, and graph the ordered pairs on a coordinate plane. For example, given the rule “Add 3” and the starting number 0, and given the rule “Add 6” and the starting number 0, generate terms in the resulting sequences, and observe that the terms in one sequence are twice the corresponding terms in the other sequence. Explain informally why this is so.
While there is not a unit that specifically goes with this standard, the standard can be taught alongside the Graphing Unit.
Number & Operations in Base Ten
Recognize that in a multi-digit number, a digit in one place represents 10 times as much as it represents in the place to its right and 1/10 of what it represents in the place to its left.
Read and write decimals to thousandths using base-ten numerals, number names, and expanded form, e.g., 347.392 = 3 × 100 + 4 × 10 + 7 × 1 + 3 × (1/10) + 9 × (1/100) + 2 × (1/1000).
Explain patterns in the number of zeros of the product when multiplying a number by powers of 10, and explain patterns in the placement of the decimal point when a decimal is multiplied or divided by a power of 10. Use whole-number exponents to denote powers of 10.
Read, write, and compare decimals to thousandths.
Compare two decimals to thousandths based on meanings of the digits in each place, using >, =, and < symbols to record the results of comparisons.
Use place value understanding to round decimals to any place.
Fluently multiply multi-digit whole numbers using the standard algorithm.
Find whole-number quotients of whole numbers with up to four-digit dividends and two-digit divisors, using strategies based on place value, the properties of operations, and/or the relationship between multiplication and division. Illustrate and explain the calculation by using equations, rectangular arrays, and/or area models.
Add, subtract, multiply, and divide decimals to hundredths, using concrete models or drawings and strategies based on place value, properties of operations, and/or the relationship between addition and subtraction; relate the strategy to a written method and explain the reasoning used.
Number & Operations – Fractions
Add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators (including mixed numbers) by replacing given fractions with equivalent fractions in such a way as to produce an equivalent sum or difference of fractions with like denominators. For example, 2/3 + 5/4 = 8/12 + 15/12 = 23/12. (In general, a/b + c/d = (ad + bc)/bd.)
Solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of fractions referring to the same whole, including cases of unlike denominators, e.g., by using visual fraction models or equations to represent the problem. Use benchmark fractions and number sense of fractions to estimate mentally and assess the reasonableness of answers. For example, recognize an incorrect result 2/5 + 1/2 = 3/7, by observing that 3/7 < 1/2.
While there is not a unit that specifically goes with this standard, the standard can be taught alongside the Adding/Subtracting Fractions Unit.
Interpret a fraction as division of the numerator by the denominator (a/b = a ÷ b). Solve word problems involving division of whole numbers leading to answers in the form of fractions or mixed numbers, e.g., by using visual fraction models or equations to represent the problem. For example, interpret 3/4 as the result of dividing 3 by 4, noting that 3/4 multiplied by 4 equals 3, and that when 3 wholes are shared equally among 4 people each person has a share of size 3/4. If 9 people want to share a 50-pound sack of rice equally by weight, how many pounds of rice should each person get? Between what two whole numbers does your answer lie?
Apply and extend previous understandings of multiplication to multiply a fraction or whole number by a fraction.
Interpret the product (a/b) × q as a parts of a partition of q into b equal parts; equivalently, as the result of a sequence of operations a × q ÷ b. For example, use a visual fraction model to show (2/3) × 4 = 8/3, and create a story context for this equation. Do the same with (2/3) × (4/5) = 8/15. (In general, (a/b) × (c/d) = (ac)/(bd).
Find the area of a rectangle with fractional side lengths by tiling it with unit squares of the appropriate unit fraction side lengths, and show that the area is the same as would be found by multiplying the side lengths. Multiply fractional side lengths to find areas of rectangles, and represent fraction products as rectangular areas.
While there is not a unit that specifically goes with this standard, the standard can be taught alongside the Fraction Problem Solving Unit.
Interpret multiplication as scaling (resizing), by:
Comparing the size of a product to the size of one factor on the basis of the size of the other factor, without performing the indicated multiplication.
Explaining why multiplying a given number by a fraction greater than 1 results in a product greater than the given number (recognizing multiplication by whole numbers greater than 1 as a familiar case); explaining why multiplying a given number by a fraction less than 1 results in a product smaller than the given number; and relating the principle of fraction equivalence a/b = (n × a)/(n × b) to the effect of multiplying a/b by 1.
Solve real world problems involving multiplication of fractions and mixed numbers, e.g., by using visual fraction models or equations to represent the problem.
Apply and extend previous understandings of division to divide unit fractions by whole numbers and whole numbers by unit fractions.1
Interpret division of a unit fraction by a non-zero whole number, and compute such quotients. For example, create a story context for (1/3) ÷ 4, and use a visual fraction model to show the quotient. Use the relationship between multiplication and division to explain that (1/3) ÷ 4 = 1/12 because (1/12) × 4 = 1/3.
Interpret division of a whole number by a unit fraction, and compute such quotients. For example, create a story context for 4 ÷ (1/5), and use a visual fraction model to show the quotient. Use the relationship between multiplication and division to explain that 4 ÷ (1/5) = 20 because 20 × (1/5) = 4.
Solve real world problems involving division of unit fractions by non-zero whole numbers and division of whole numbers by unit fractions, e.g., by using visual fraction models and equations to represent the problem. For example, how much chocolate will each person get if 3 people share 1/2 lb of chocolate equally? How many 1/3-cup servings are in 2 cups of raisins?
Measurement & Data
Convert among different-sized standard measurement units within a given measurement system (e.g., convert 5 cm to 0.05 m), and use these conversions in solving multi-step, real world problems.
Make a line plot to display a data set of measurements in fractions of a unit (1/2, 1/4, 1/8). Use operations on fractions for this grade to solve problems involving information presented in line plots. For example, given different measurements of liquid in identical beakers, find the amount of liquid each beaker would contain if the total amount in all the beakers were redistributed equally.
Recognize volume as an attribute of solid figures and understand concepts of volume measurement.
A cube with side length 1 unit, called a “unit cube,” is said to have “one cubic unit” of volume, and can be used to measure volume.
A solid figure which can be packed without gaps or overlaps using n unit cubes is said to have a volume of n cubic units.
Measure volumes by counting unit cubes, using cubic cm, cubic in, cubic ft, and improvised units.
Relate volume to the operations of multiplication and addition and solve real world and mathematical problems involving volume.
Find the volume of a right rectangular prism with whole-number side lengths by packing it with unit cubes, and show that the volume is the same as would be found by multiplying the edge lengths, equivalently by multiplying the height by the area of the base. Represent threefold whole-number products as volumes, e.g., to represent the associative property of multiplication.
Apply the formulas V = l × w × h and V = b × h for rectangular prisms to find volumes of right rectangular prisms with whole-number edge lengths in the context of solving real world and mathematical problems.
Recognize volume as additive. Find volumes of solid figures composed of two non-overlapping right rectangular prisms by adding the volumes of the non-overlapping parts, applying this technique to solve real world problems.
Try the Volume Unit for FREE!
Geometry
Use a pair of perpendicular number lines, called axes, to define a coordinate system, with the intersection of the lines (the origin) arranged to coincide with the 0 on each line and a given point in the plane located by using an ordered pair of numbers, called its coordinates. Understand that the first number indicates how far to travel from the origin in the direction of one axis, and the second number indicates how far to travel in the direction of the second axis, with the convention that the names of the two axes and the coordinates correspond (e.g., x-axis and x-coordinate, y-axis and y-coordinate).
Represent real world and mathematical problems by graphing points in the first quadrant of the coordinate plane, and interpret coordinate values of points in the context of the situation.
Understand that attributes belonging to a category of two-dimensional figures also belong to all subcategories of that category. For example, all rectangles have four right angles and squares are rectangles, so all squares have four right angles.
Classify two-dimensional figures in a hierarchy based on properties.
I hope this has been helpful as you are considering the implementation of small group math instruction in your classroom. If you have questions please do not hesitate to leave me a comment or email me at Danna@TeacherTechStudio.com
Remember to download the FREE VOLUME SAMPLE
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