Math Workshop Schedule

A math workshop schedule that is flexible and can be adapted based on student needs is important for formative assessment. Math workshops do not need to look the same every day because students may not need the same thing every day. Teaching responsively when math happens in the classroom is the best way to help students make progress and develop a deep understanding of math that will last. 

Before jumping into some math workshop structures that worked well for me in the classroom, download this free guide, First Steps towards Data Driven Instruction: Ideas for Formative Assessment Organization if you are ready to begin teaching and assessing through a standards-based approach where data drives instruction. Get on the right track by organizing your instruction and assessment processes!

When my math workshop schedule became more flexible..

Math workshop has been part of my teaching practice for most of my career. In my early years as a first grade teacher, I was trained on the components of the math workshop model and how to use the infamous math workshop rotations that make differentiation easy to implement. Implementing math workshop really helped me to learn how to use pre-assessments to group students so that I could meet with leveled groups on a daily basis. I used the same structure of math workshop everyday that consisted of 3 rotations- meet with the teacher, buddy game and independent work. I was really getting to know my students and providing leveled work to meet their needs.

After using this exact structure for a few years, I noticed a few challenges that I wanted to adjust in my classroom. One challenge was the amount of busywork, another consisted of searching for new activities to teach the same concept and lastly I didn’t feel that I was teaching responsively enough because I was getting too comfortable with my leveled pre-assessment groups and using the same structure for math workshop. I began talking with my math coach about a few of my challenges and started to make a few changes to the math workshop structure.

The changes to the math workshop schedule

The first changes were to the busywork and searching for new activities. Instead of searching for a new math workshop game and independent work each week, I scaled back on the amount of games I was putting out and made the independent work more project based or thinking tasks in math journals instead of worksheets to review skills. Students would have games from past units in our math center as a spiral review in addition to 2-3 new games for each unit.

These changes provided more meaningful work for students and gave me better information about their understanding of the skills. I used their thinking journals for independent work and often again during the teacher rotation to have rich discussions and clarify concepts. I noticed a big difference in the engagement and quality of math instruction going on during the math workshop.

The last change took some more time and adapting the math workshop schedule. This change is an ongoing process as I learn how to teach more responsively and become better at making formative assessment a part of my daily teaching practice. I continued to use pre-assessments to help me gain knowledge about student understandings but did not continue using three rotations each day or keeping kids in leveled groups for the whole unit.

The math workshop structure changed based on what I was teaching and what my students needed. Read this post with example anecdotal record samples if you want to learn more about how to find student needs. The math workshop anchor chart that explained expectations and showed students where to go for each rotation became something that I changed on daily basis instead of a fixture on the wall. I finally felt like I was using the math workshop model the way that it was intended to be meeting student needs while creating an engaging math environment. Baby steps though, right? It takes time and reflection to get better at any part of our teaching practice! Read more here if you want to learn more about the research and ideas around the math workshop model.

This is for you even if you are trying to create a kindergarten math workshop schedule

As a former kindergarten teacher, I often felt like we were left out of trainings or in our little bubble. Creating a math workshop schedule that is flexible can work in kindergarten just like it can in any grade! I used the same planning templates in kindergarten that I did in 5th grade and adapted when I needed to. They are still learning math concepts while some students are mastering skills and others need intervention. Creating a flexible math workshop schedule is important with ANY grade.

Math Workshop Structures

When planning math for each week, I first think about the skill and student familiarity with that concept. This helps me to chose which structure to use. A weekly overview helps me to keep track of the math workshop schedule for each day so that I could plan and prep accordingly.

Sometimes, I would make changes to these structures based on how students were doing with the skills. These are three structures that I used most often in my math block.

1- Day 1 schedule

The day 1 schedule typically occurred on the first day of teaching a new skill. I would teach a focus lesson first and then choose one of these options.

Option one: While teaching the focus lesson or math talk, allow students to practice skills interactively on whiteboards or in notebooks. Quickly assess if students are picking up the skill by walking around and taking notes. Students who understood the skill went to independent work, students who struggled were broken up into two groups. One group was for more practice while the other group needed the skill taught in a different way. Their names can be written down on the planning page as you are walking around checking their work. Write down the names of students that mastered the skill so that you know you didn’t meet with them!

Option two: Use a pre-assessment on the concept given prior to this day’s work. This can be added to the bottom of an exit ticket of another concept. This saves time by assessing one skill and getting information on another.

This is what the math workshop schedule looks like on day 1 for an hour block.

• 20 minute focus lesson (time built in to explain directions)

• 30 minute instructional time (two 10-12 minute groups and built in transition time)

• 10 minute reflection to solidify concept, share new understandings and connect tomorrow’s learning

2- Day 2 schedule

This schedule is often a continuation of a concept from the previous day. Depending on how well students grasped the concept on Day 1, I will typically use this schedule on day 2. The day 2 schedule starts with a math talk or focus lesson. Math talks are often quicker than a focus lesson and helpful on day 2 to challenge thinking on a concept. It also leaves more time to confer with students about Day 1 material.

The day 2 schedule uses almost all of the workshop time to meet with students. I start with conferring with students about the previous day’s concept.  Students may need to confer about independent work, follow up on a group from the day before, or reinforce the math talk. These are quick conferring sessions, to prompt students with questions or solidify a concept. Sometimes, I pair them with a buddy that had similar challenges to work together.

After conferring, all students are met in a group to ensure the concept is understood. These groups typically have some type of instruction, practice and a way to assess.

This is what the math workshop schedule looks like on day 2 for an hour block.

• 5 minute math talk (if planning to use a focus lesson, adjust time during instructional or reflection time)
• 10 minute conferring time
• 35 minute groups (three 8-10 minute groups with built in transition time)
• 10 minute reflection to solidify concept, share new understandings and connect tomorrow’s learning

Some teachers use this schedule on Day 1 to meet with all students when a new concept is introduced.

3- Day 3 schedule

This is one of my favorite math workshop structures, the open or rich task! These are some engaging tasks already created for any grade level! An open task can be used at any point during a unit. I typically use them as a culminating performance task or on Day 1 to introduce a new skill. When using a task at the beginning of a concept, it can be very powerful and promote problem solving. Using a performance task at the end of a concept can be an alternative assessment. An open task can look different every time you do it in your classroom. Remember to be flexible and teach responsively as you tune into student understanding of the task and skill.

This schedule for teaching with an open task can really vary depending on what is going on with student learning so it is hard to put a time limit on different parts! Sometimes an open tasks would take 30 minutes while others lasted two days but here is a general idea of how it would typically go.

• 10 minutes- Introduce problem or task
• 20 minutes- Students are working on task independently or with a partner. I walk around and take notes without giving students too much support. These are thinking tasks! Prompt students with questioning rather than helping them to solve.
• 10 minutes- Come back together and share strategies
• 15 minutes- Follow up groups while other students choose another math workshop activity
• 5 minutes- Reflection

The conferring form allowed me to take notes while students were working so I could create groups if needed. The open task form was helpful in planning and taking notes during a deep thinking task type of math workshop.

You can grab these math workshop schedule templates and other planning pages for intervention and assessment analysis at my tpt store.

Other ideas about a math workshop schedule

Creating a math workshop schedule or any structure in your classroom should be responsive to student needs. Adapt the components of your block and regroup students as they are making progress or need more help so you can teach targeted, informative lessons. Here are some other ideas for grouping students.

There are many math workshop schedules out there and these are certainly not the only option! They have helped me tremendously to become a more responsive math teacher and I hope these ideas help you to do the same. 

Don’t forget to download these organization ideas to start the first steps of a data driven classroom so that taking and keeping anecdotal notes becomes a helpful part of your teaching practice!