Last year was full of MANY trials and errors. I learned so much
about myself professionally and personally. I made an executive decision in my classroom that I was no longer
going to be restrained by methods others wanted me to use in my classroom.
After all, they were MY kids. And yes, they are OUR kids, but they were MINE. I
learned their strengths and weaknesses within the first few months. At times I
felt I was hiding behind my “First Year Teacher” title and "this is how THEY are wanting me to do it".
Once I made the
decision to teach my way for MY kids, I noticed a big change. I became more
confident in myself and it showed. My 6th grade students slowly began to change their mindset
about math and school in general. Keep in mind, I was told that they were "THE GROUP." I began having idea after idea and I had to figure
out how to channel that energy. I needed to focus on ONE area in my instruction. I decided my entire Math Rotation was in a desperate need of a
makeover. I began using a Math Choice Board.
My students loved the idea! I introduced it to them with a 2-page
Google Slide with some eye-catching memes!I don’t know what it is about memes, but 6th graders love them!
Even though it was a “choice” board, there
were required to complete all the tasks. The choice the students had was the
order in which they completed them. The students loved this simple piece
freedom. The issue with the Math Choice Board was that the students weren’t
finishing the tasks. They loved the idea, but they still weren’t all in for
doing any work. Remember, I was told they were "THE GROUP." They were all MINI assignments. The
board was assigned Monday and due Friday. In all honesty, the boards should
have been ready to submit at the end of class on Wednesdays. We continued using
the boards until STAAR Boot Camp Week.
When I wrote my end of the year
reflection, I noted I wanted to GET RID of the choice board. I felt so
defeated. But, that didn’t last long. I had an epiphany while eating
CHIPOTLE!!!
I came up with a new style for my math rotations. Now, this was
after conferencing with my son. If you read my post “Sixth Grade from a SixthGraders Point of View”, you know that my son has really great ideas. I just
asked him to describe his math class in junior high. (Background info- my sixth
graders knew one of my goals was to get them ready for junior high with a
smooth transition. This meant they were mildly treated like 7th
graders.) I asked him what he liked and why. They used stations in
his 45-minute Pre-Algebra class: review, current topic, homework, and an exit
ticket. He liked being able to able to work with a peer if needed on the
current topic and exit ticket. He didn’t like that they had assigned station
orders and an allotted amount of time for each, 7 minutes to be exact.
I took this,
and I tailored it to fit the needs of my students and my block schedule. My
brainstorm list ended up as: review, independent, strategy, exit ticket, and
with the teacher. I want to take some components from my choice board to create
a new system. I hit a huge mental block. I literally stopped, grabbed my leftover Chipotle and starting thinking. I remember vividly stirring my chicken
rice trying to figure it out. Then it hit me! RICE! I could use a review,
independent, creation, and exit ticket station! The review, independent, and
exit ticket are self-explanatory. The Creation Station is where the magic will
happen. This will be the students’ “choice board”. I took all the creative medias
from the choice board and decided to allow students to demonstrate what they
know about the topic or question in a creative way. Some examples from my
choice board are shown below: 
My mind was blown! I couldn’t believe I did it! I came up with a
fresh system that wasn’t too difficult to orchestrate, it had an appropriate number
of task and the kids would have choices. Now, I know you’re wondering where’s “With
The Teacher?” I didn’t add that as a station. I didn’t want it to feel so much
as another to-do task as I did a learning tool for them. My small groups will
be called Conference Time. Students will come in leveled groups of 4. We will
talk about the lesson and address any concerns. I like the
idea of holding conferences because I noticed that my students didn’t feel
comfortable talking about what they were struggling with. If I can make “With
the Teacher” more casual, it should lower their anxiety about this vital time.
I’m looking forward to implementing RICE this upcoming school year.
You can view a preview AND get a copy of my Math RICE Stations here. If you follow me
on Instagram, you know that I announced a freebie in my story. This freebie is NOT AVAILABLE
on TpT. You can only get it here through my blog. All I ask is that you please
have respect for my work by not sharing the direct link to the free product.
You may share the link to this blog post. As always, please reach out if you
have any questions! Thanks for stopping by.
Click on the Math Choice Board image to get a free editable copy!
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