What is Small Group Teaching?
Small group teaching is when you will be working with just a handful of your students at a time while the rest of the class does something else. This is when most teachers plan to have their center rotations going so that students can work independently in centers while you work with a small group. This is also a great time for independent or partner work as well.
When it comes to your small group, you'll want to choose how many students you'd like to have in a group. I liked to consider the needs of the students so that I could make sure each group allowed me to give individualized attention. I found that 5-6 was the perfect number for me. I also liked to make sure that my students were grouped by ability so that I could easily meet each group right where they were. This allows for a little challenge without students getting frustrated by the difficulty or bored with concepts they have already mastered.
The benefit of small group teaching is that you'll get a closer look at how your students are doing with specific skills and topics. Since you'll be seated at the table with them, you'll get to observe their thought process, ask questions, and even model and correct as needed. I also love small group teaching to introduce new skills. This is especially true for math, which, in my opinion, needs to be hands-on at this age to be concrete! I love being able to work with a few kiddos and show them exactly what we're going to be focusing on with tools and manipulatives during our small-group math activities!
Materials & Tools for Small Group Math Activities
Before we dive into activities, let's talk about those all-important teaching tools! First graders are tactile learners and enjoy having hands-on materials to work with. Not only does this make math more fun, but it helps tremendously with understanding topics like place value.
In my room, base ten blocks are a must, and I like to ensure I have a set for each child at the table in my group. This is another benefit to teaching in small groups if you don't have a set for every single child in your class. Having just enough for your small group is perfect.
Another great tool to consider investing in for small group time is this place value building set. It's a great visual and you'll use it again and again in the primary classroom.
Other things to have on hand include number lines, small dry-erase boards, paper and pencils, dice, plastic spinners (or paperclips), and a large supply of mini erasers to use as counters. If you've got these items, you're ready to go!
My Favorite Small Group Math Activities
Alright, are you ready to see how this all comes together? Here are 3 of my favorite small-group math activities that really work!
1. Place Value Activities
In my room, we work on number sense and place value every single day. It has become part of our routine and the children look forward to it. Our routine includes a daily worksheet and some hands-on learning activities. More on this process can be found in this post. I like to use the hands-on activities during our small groups to model new numbers and practice with the students.
The daily place value activities we use are set up to have 1 pack per month which includes a student worksheet for each day as well as 2-3 center activities that are great for small group teaching and hands-on learning. Each pack builds upon the one before it, so as the students increase in ability, the difficulty does too.
When it comes to using these resources in small groups, typically, I will model a center game first as my lesson. Then, we will play or work through it together a few times as a group. After that, I have students work on their worksheet of the day to finish up our session, or they take it with them to complete independently afterward. I love that this resource makes it super simple to plan my small-group math activities. No more stressing about getting everything together that we need for an effective lesson!
Plus, the centers are fun for my students, so they are eager to participate! They're also easy to prep and vary a little each month, keeping them engaging for students as we work through the numbers during the year.
For example, in month five of our place value activities, one of the centers included is a greater than or less than activity that is absolutely perfect for my small group math activities. To use, students will each choose 2 numbers and then arrange them properly in the boxes on the greater than/less than mats to show which is which. I love using this to teach greater than or less than because it provides a very clear visual for students. We can also use our base ten blocks to model the numbers if we need further verification. Once the students have learned this, I will often reuse this center activity for review by pulling a few cards to use as a group warm-up.
This is just one of the center activities in the resource though! There is also an ordering activity as well as a spin-and-cover hundreds chart that are both absolutely perfect for small-group math and can be used multiple times throughout the year.
2. Place Value BINGO
Another great option for small group time is a game, like BINGO. This is actually one of my favorite options since it allows me to have fun with my students! They really look forward to playing games with me, so why not use that to my advantage to get them excited for small group math activities? If you'd like to try this in your room, take a peek at this Place Value BINGO set. It's super simple to use and a great way to practice tens and ones in a fun way.
This resource includes two different game options to choose from. The first set features boards with 18 spaces and numbers up to 90. The second features boards with 9 spaces and numbers up to 50. This will allow you to choose based on the skill level of your student and differentiate for groups that may be working at a higher level.
To play, you'll choose a calling card and say the number. I also like to hold it up or lay it on the table for my students to see. Then, students will check their boards to see if they have a space that shows the number of base ten blocks. As a side note, this activity is great for an informal assessment since you'll be able to see right away if any of your students are struggling to identify numbers on their boards. Students will cover up spaces as they are called and you'll repeat this process until you have a winner!
This game is so great for helping students learn to identify sets of numbers more quickly and use those skills you've been working on. Not to mention, it's a lot of fun too! My kids love the colorful game boards so much that I actually laminate them and keep them in our small group area so that we can play once a week or so.
3. Balancing Equations Activities
This last idea is great if your students need a little extra help with the equal sign and balancing equations. This resource has some great activities for teaching in your small groups! First, I use the included poster as a reference tool to explain the meaning of equal signs. We talk through it together and I point out the examples on the poster.
Then, each child gets a mini-reader with some opportunities to dive deeper into this topic. I like to complete this activity with my students and do each page together. It's an interactive book, so there are questions to complete on each page that give students a chance to practice. This is a great time to slow down, ask and answer questions, and make sure all of your kiddos are getting it!
After that, we usually use the 2 center activities in this resource, though not usually on the same day. We'll revisit that trusty poster as a refresher the next time we're in a small group together and then get to work with the center activities for some hands-on learning. The games include a true or false activity as well as a scale activity and are both great for your small-group math activities. Students can take turns and observe their peers. This is such a valuable part of small-group learning!
This resource even includes 22 practice worksheets that you can assign students to work on independently after small group time is over too. It's a great tool for your small-group math activities!
Getting Started with Small Groups
Getting started with small groups doesn't have to be complicated or overwhelming. Simply consider what you'd like to focus on, group by skill level, and choose some engaging, hands-on materials to use with your students. As a general rule of thumb, I always begin with a lesson or example of some kind and then get active with learning and playing with my kids! This should be a fun time in your routine, so make the most of it and choose materials that you know you and your kids will have fun with! If you need some inspiration, don't forget - you can find all of the games and activities mentioned here in my TPT shop!
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