Math Notebooking with Go Math!

Many moons ago I posted about my experience using the Go Math! curriculum in my classroom.  That post, by far, has been the one that has brought me fame and fortune lots of great emails from my followers or those who search Go Math! on the internet.  In that post I included my PowerPoint that gives some insight on the ins and outs of why we shouldn't be afraid of the curriculum and some pointers on how to change your thinking so you can be successful when you make the switch to the series.  I was given permission from Juli Dixon, one of the authors, to use her workshop notes in that PowerPoint.  It is free in my TpT store and you can find it here.

Over the past few weeks I started using our textbook to create a math notebook with my students.  With 9 weeks to go in the school year, we have finished the textbook and will spend the rest of the year having fun reviewing and getting ready for second grade.  I didn't want to see the textbook go to waste and I wanted my kiddos to have a concrete way to review for now and then again over the summer.  So I came up with this:

The top page is the vocabulary page and the bottom page shows the space where students will write their problem.

The textbook is set up with a Model and Draw section, which we use after the material is introduced.  This is the part of the lesson where the strategy is shown and then students get to practice with the strategy in the Share and Show and the On Your Own sections.  I thought it would be great to have students cut out the Model and Draw section, glue it to a page in a clean notebook and then create a problem to show their understanding of the strategy.  At the top of the page is the lesson number and the essential question for that lesson.  I also had them cut out the vocabulary page as the first page for each chapter and we also added the picture glossary to the end of the notebook for reference.

This is going to take us through the end of the year while we add some fun activities to move us forward as we get ready for second grade.  Next year, I will have my students do this as we complete each lesson and I will use it as a formative assessment to gauge their understanding on what they recall from the lessons.

My kiddos are loving the idea of having their own reference book and I am loving the idea of rechecking their knowledge.  I am sure you can use this with any curriculum, as long as your textbooks are consumable.

As I continue on my journey with Go Math! I will make sure to include you in as many of my ideas as I can.  I am off to celebrate my last day of spring break and then the countdown to summer begins on Monday, only 48 days left!