Guided Math Schedules

Mastering our math minutes for Guided Math means choosing the best schedule to fit the needs of the learners in the room.  This post will look at five successful Guided Math Schedules you can implement for your Math Workshop Block.

How to Plan Your Guided Math Schedule

When considering the design of guided math time, I consider one main criterion: How can I best create the math experience to fit the needs of the learners in the room?

Guided Math Sample Schedules

Here’s a look at five sample schedules for the guided math block.  Typically, the K-5 classroom has 45-90 minutes for math each day.  This can range from state to state, grade to grade, and whether you are compartmentalized or self-contained.  If finding the schedule to match your minutes has been a struggle, hopefully, we can end that today, equipping you with a schedule design that excites and inspires the teaching and learning in your room!

Schedule 1: The Guided Math Guru

This first schedule is for our teacher-types who love to see all groups daily and have plenty of resources for running stations daily.  This teacher likely has at least 60 minutes or more for math.  The Guru loves math routines and sticks to them daily in order to schedule their daily math block this way. 

Math Workshop Schedule Runs Monday – Friday

• Math warm-up
• Whole group math mini-lesson
• Set expectations
• All rounds of math workshop stations while seeing all students in teacher-led small groups

Schedule 2:  Day In, Day Out

This guided math schedule works well for a shorter math block or a departmentalized teacher but is certainly not limited to those two situations.  The idea here is to switch back and forth from a whole group instruction day to a math workshop day with teacher-led small groups and student workstations.  This routine for the math block provides variety and focus where needed. This is a helpful option for those trying to do Guided Math in 45 to 60 minutes. 

Monday

• Math warm-up
• Whole group math mini-lesson

Tuesday

• Math warm-up
• Small group lessons and stations

Wednesday

• Math warm-up
• Whole group math mini-lesson

Thursday

• Math warm-up
• Small group lessons and stations

Friday

• Math warm-up
• Either a whole group math mini-lesson or small group lessons and stations

Schedule 3:  The Week END er

This schedule wraps up every week with a nice little bow, making sure to tie up loose ends and start fresh on Mondays.  Terrific for teachers who love mixed ability grouping and pulling kids to the table rather than having rotations, this schedule allows students to make up missed station work and meet with the teacher for a work check.  The math routine here is consistent Monday through Thursday with a flexible Friday. 

Monday-Thursday

• Math warm-up
• Whole group math mini-lesson
• Math workstations and teacher-led small groups

Friday

• Math warm-up
• Review the week’s content for math mini-lesson
• Students work on individual station work which was missed or incomplete from the week
• Teacher-led small group is reteaching content, student conferencing, evaluating students with their week’s work, or assessing

Schedule 4: The Long and Short of It 

Perhaps the most flexible of the four example schedules, this schedule ebbs and flows with timing and instruction as needed.  This one is a mixture of the previous three schedules. If you are still finding the right fit to schedule your daily math block, you may have already stumbled into this math routine.

Monday/Wednesday

• Math warm-up
• Longer whole-group math mini-lesson
• Shorter or less rounds of math workshop (stations)

Tuesday/Thursday

• Shorter whole-group math mini-lesson
• Longer or more rounds of math workshop (stations)

Friday

• Review, catch up, mini-conference, or assess as needed

Schedule 5: Making Magic

You’ll pave your own way to your math block bliss! Finding what works for you may take trial and error, but you are up for the challenge.  A pinch of this idea, a dash of that one, and you are formulating the best fit for your math minutes.  The framework for guided math allows for flexibility, function, and phenomenal learning.  There is no “right way.” The schedules above are just a guide, but you ultimately make magic when you create the schedule that is just right for you, your students, their needs, and your math environment. I can’t wait to hear about your success!

Level Up Your Math Block

Before ending today, I want to share a post called Leveling Up your Math Block. Whatever schedule works best for you, you can find resources and ideas to take each component to the next level.