Teaching Fifth Grade Math Skills With Step-by-Step Student Guides

THE STRUGGLE IS REAL.

Teaching fifth grade math skills can be challenging, but it doesn’t have to be. When I was in the classroom my lessons always pretty much went like this: hook the class with an interesting activity or problem related to the day’s lesson, teach the whole group the skill while (I hope) they take notes, have students complete their guided practice problems while I walk the room and help students as needed, and then…independent practice. During independent practice time, I would pull small groups to my table to work on the skills that we learned or to practice applying the new skills by completing word problems.

And…this was a great routine. Students knew what to expect during each lesson so behaviors were on point. BUT. There was always a tiiiiinnnyyy (ahem…huge) problem. Students learn at all different paces and begin at different levels. Therefore, some students were totally fine working alone on these new skills. Some students even were able to progress onto task cards or another math choice after completing all of the problems. However, a chunk – and depending on the year it could be a large chunk – of students were struggling. While I rotated groups to my small table they didn’t have the slightest idea about how to complete the problems on the own without help.

Enter – wasted time. I don’t know about you but one thing that teachers do not have enough of is time….so time wasted is a huge pet peeve.

STEP-BY-STEP STUDENT GUIDES TO THE RESCUE

I was always trying to juggle the table, the strugglers, and the early finishers. Teaching fifth grade math skills with a step-by-step guide for students helped solve this problem. These low-prep and easy to use student packets really transformed my math classroom. Students were taking notes on the packets during our whole group lessons. Then, they could use the step by step guides in the booklet to help them complete their independent work.

It was AMAZING. Like – having another teacher in the room amazing. More and more students were able to work independently while they waited making math run smoothly. Early finishers were able to move onto task cards, challenge tasks, and math games. Looking for some ideas? Check out this blog post all about how to make math fun! 

Don’t forget to grab your FREE ALL ABOUT MULTIPLYING DECIMALS booklet! 

xo, Kristin