Guided Math & Math in Focus (FREEBIE included!)

     Have you wished for a new way to help your elementary students conceptualize math while differentiating to meet their needs?  Truthfully, I thought I'd been doing a pretty good job of teaching my kids math.  I LOVE math, I belong to NCTM, and love learning new ways to teach math.  My approach was hands-on, differentiated as best I could, and challenging.  What's wrong with that, right?  That is until my school decided to look for a different math curriculum, or at least a way to be more differentiated within a class.  We use Everyday Math as a main resource, but I didn't follow it exclusively.  I found it much more engaging to do hands-on activities and pull from resources my kids would enjoy while providing a differentiated challenge.  Having taught Saxon and Everyday Math, I was excited/looking for ready-to-go differentiation and a non-spiral curriculum that dives deeper than either of those programs.
     
     Mid-year last year, we had a wonderful parent meet with a few of us interested math teachers after school.  She is also a math professor at University of Illinois U-C, working with future teachers in a challenging, hands-on way.  We worked with the book Knowing and Teaching Elementary Mathematics: Teachers' Understanding of Fundamental Mathematics in China and the United States by Liping Ma as a resource for how we could reshape our way of thinking about math and thusly how we teach math.  WOW!  Definitely pointed out some holes in our mathematical understanding.   Current research is pointing to developing math thinkers, not rote memorization.  If you are like me, you learned a very traditional way.  We were never really taught the "why before how."  I must say I got a taste of the importance of learning through manipulatives in my Math Methods course in college and am grateful for that professor!  Take a look at this book too if you haven't already, Why Before How: Singapore Math Computation Strategies, Grades 1-6 by Jana Hazecamp.  

    Our parent/professor volunteer also introduced us to several programs including Math In Focus.  O.M.G.  Just reading through this curriculum, I was hooked!  It opened up my eyes to a whole new world (enter song from Aladdin), and made me wish I'd been taught this way!  Then I started looking for supplements because I knew I would want/need other resources.  *No math curriculum is a perfect fit.*  That's when I found Anna DiGilio and her Guided Math program!  O.M.G. moment AGAIN!  I emailed her to find out if there was a main program she used in her classroom.  To my delight she said her school uses Primary Mathematics, the original Singapore Math program.  I had looked at that program originally and felt it honestly wasn't visually appealing (she agrees!), but still a very good program.  We'd also looked at a few other programs, but none felt right.  When I came across Math in Focus, I knew it would be a fantastic start and perhaps what our school should start using as soon as possible!  Math in Focus is the "American-ized" version of Singapore Math.  Simply put, it is visually appealing and has links to Common Core standards.  It is important to note here that Common Core looked to Singapore Math among other math programs when coming up with standards, which is why not all lessons are linked to Common Core.  And so...  I pushed for all the teachers in my school to look at the program, though some were very happy with how they were already teaching math and didn't feel it was a good fit for their classrooms.  As with any math curriculum, Math in Focus isn't meant to be the end all be all.  In my humble opinion, I feel all teachers need to supplement to be sure to keep engaging, relevant hands-on projects among other reasons. 

     So what now?  I now have Math in Focus and Anna's Guided Math as my main resources, though of course I prowl Pinterest & TeachersPayTeachers for ideas too!  Then I merge it all (mainly Math in Focus & Guided Math from Anna's resources).  My school doesn't necessarily use textbooks, so I chose to have the kids keep a binder/journal.  My co-teacher and I were also piloting the program so we didn't have all the accoutrement for the students.  So -- at the beginning of each unit, I give the kids worksheets and activities that comprise "the important stuff" from both programs while following my school's standards/expectations.  I also usually include a menu/choice board to be completed at the end of the unit.  I've gone back and forth about working on the menu/choice board throughout the unit.  Since this is my first year attempting this way of teaching math, I've simply been doing the bigger projects at the end of the units.  My co-teacher and I are thinking about getting the Math in Focus student workbooks for next year.

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     There are a multitude of brilliant resources out there, and these are the ones I've come across and found useful for my third graders and other teachers in my school.  If you have other helpful suggestions or want more information, please leave info in the comments below!