I’ve been doing a lot of Math Workshop demo lessons in classrooms, and talking about using the procedures for setting up a workshop as the first set of minilessons.
One of the most important things you can do is talk about the expectations you have of your students. They don’t always respond to “rules” as well as they respond to the idea of “expectations-” you already know how well they can behave if they try, and you expect them to act that way when doing a Math Workshop.
In my short career as a Math Coach, I’ve found that students will (almost) unanimously tell you that they love doing Math Workshop so much more than “regular Math.” They thrive when you give them the ability to take ownership over their own work, and love the idea of not just being stationary during Math class.
When I introduce the Math Workshop, I always go over the expectations as one of the first parts of the “lesson.” It usually takes longer than it’s supposed to, but I feel like it’s a worthwhile part of my time in the classroom. I tell the students that if they do NOT follow these expectations, the workshop will not run smoothly, and their teacher will be less inclined to try it again. Since they love and want to do more Math Workshop, it usually helps keep them in check!
Here I will attach two versions of the rules…you can obviously edit these to fit your classroom. I think the less rules, the better- it’s easier for them to digest and not as wordy- but you can do what you want with your class! I also have a condensed version of 3 rules to make it super simple. Hopefully this helps some of you as you are setting up your workshops. I am always willing to come in and discuss these expectations with your class before you try the workshop or review them if they aren’t doing so well! Good luck!
Click to download- sorry about my font, it doesn’t show up unless you have it downloaded…please change to your preference 🙂
Math Coach Corner 