Guided Math by L. Sammons

Guided Math is all about how to set up a Math Workshop. If you're wondering how to move away from teaching math in a large group to something more differentiated, this book is a great place to start. It's especially accessible to those of us who may be more comfortable teaching reading and writing than math. The author uses the same principles and strategies we teach there and applies them to math, so terminology, research, even many of the books referenced are already familiar.


Guided Math argues that we should teach math with the same framework so popular for Reading and Writing Workshops. And why not? The structures are proven to work. Unlike in some language arts books, this book clearly lays out the different aspects of the math workshop, exactly which kinds of teaching are best done in each segment, and why. It includes a helpful chapter on creating a rich math classroom environment. There is also an extensive section of ideas for math warm-ups -- those independent, interactive ideas suited for the first few minutes of school.

Therein lies the seed of my complaint about this book. The real question for many of us is "What will my kids be doing while I'm teaching small groups?" The answer here is -- centers -- with the usual list of ideas including games, math journals, computers, and activity sheets. Yet, to me, what the students do independently is the heart of the program. There's no discussion here of how to be sure our kids aren't just doing 'busy work'. While reading and writing, (the independent activities kids do during those workshops), are automatically authentic and purposeful, math pages and games aren't. Also, the recommendation for advanced students to move ahead in skills is mentioned, but there's no discussion of how a teacher can plan or keep track of groups learning different skills.


I am glad I purchased this book, (used.) It does provide a clear well-explained outline of how to organize a math workshop. It is also very strong in justifying why math should be taught this way. (Too strong, in fact. I got tired of reading about why small groups are such a good idea, etc.) Thus it's a good introduction, and would be an excellent book to share with teachers or administrators who aren't convinced math workshop teaching is the way to go. Beyond the basics, however, Guided Math does not go, If you're looking for a more detailed discussion of how to ensure authentic learning for all students, what valuable discussions or journal entries look like, or how to adapt a standard curriculum, you won't find that here.