1. Writing in Math Schedule
40 Minute Period Breakdown
1. (10 Minutes) ‘Do Now’ Activity: Math Journal
This will be a way to initiate the start of the period.
Display a writing prompt on an overhead projector or
white board for your students to read as they enter the
classroom. Students should spend five to ten minutes
writing on the daily topic. Math journals can also be
used to assess background knowledge when beginning
a unit, and then used as a means of assessing acquired
learning at the end of the unit.
2. (25 Minutes) Interactive Math Journal for Note taking
Interactive math journals enable students to use hands on
learning experiences to interact and interpret the material that
they learned in the class lesson. These types of notebooks are
great for visual and kinesthetic learning styles. Students will
be able to use these interactive journals to help facilitate their
studying outside their classroom learning experiences. It can
also be used as a resource to help assist them with homework
assignments that relate to the day’s lesson.
3. (5 Minutes) Exit Tickets
At the end of class, students write an important idea they
learned, a question they have, a prediction about what
will come next, or a thought about the lesson for the day.
Alternatively, have students turn-in such a response at the
start of the next day—either based on the learning from
the day before or the previous night’s homework. These
quick writes can be used to assess students’ knowledge or
to make decisions about next teaching steps or points that
need clarifying. This reflection helps students to focus as
they enter the classroom or solidifies learning before they
leave.
-M. Winfield