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Math Mini Lesson Mistakes many students to dislike whole-class instruction. It is especially true for your slowest pupils, who can’t understand the lesson for the majority of a full group lesson, and your most advanced students, who will not require an hour of instruction to acquire a new skill.
When children are bored, they become antsy. That’s when the behaviors begin. Your solution to student behavior issues is a math mini-lesson.
Shorter whole-group lessons keep kids engaged and allow for more differentiation in small groups, where most of the learning takes place.
01 – You Spend Too Much Time on Review
As review takes place at the start of the session, you may have all the time in the world to complete everything. However, if you aren’t careful, you will shortly run out of time to Math Mini Lesson Mistakes.
During a review, it’s easy to get sidetracked. You can give pupils too much time to complete the problem, ask for too many responses, provide too many examples, or fall into the trap of reteaching a skill.
Your review problem should be straightforward to address. Set a timer to hold yourself accountable if you find yourself spending too much time reviewing.
02 – You Give Students Manipulatives During the Math Mini Lesson Mistakes
It takes a long time to distribute and collect them. Even though each student has their bags, the distribution process takes time. Plus, it’s tough to keep track of whether everyone is using them appropriately in a large group environment. Manipulatives can also cause issues with conduct.
Math Mini Lesson Mistakes using manipulatives to teach methods and skills during the math lesson is acceptable. The whiteboard is ideal for digital and magnetic manipulatives. Alternatively, you can project tiny manipulatives onto the board using a doc cam. For modeling reasons, you can even draw simple graphics.
Your children will have lots of opportunities to explore manipulatives in small groups.
03 – You Set Pace According to the Slowest Learner
During your mini-lesson, none of your students will be able to perfect the skill. That’s OK Math Mini Lesson Mistakes.
I understand how difficult it is to accept this. We want all of our children to comprehend the math lesson. It’s natural to give another example or try to explain it differently when you sense confusion. Your natural reaction is to keep waiting for that “a-ha!” moment.
That moment, however, is unlikely to occur within the mini-lesson. Even if it does, you’ll have lost the rest of the class by then. In small groups, students will receive further teaching, and they will have the opportunity to practice new skills in centers.
If you’re having trouble with this, tell your slower students that you’ll meet with them later to help them understand.
04 – Math Mini Lesson Mistakes You Spend Too Long on Student Practice
It is unrealistic to expect all kids to complete all of the problems. My favorites were one or two at the beginning (simple issues), one or two from the middle, and one or two at the end (where the problems are usually harder).
Walk around the room as students are working to see who understands the problems, who is struggling, and which problems are generating problems. Only go over the issues that are the most difficult. Don’t waste time discussing something that everyone already knows.
