Warming Up Eureka

Warming Up Eureka!
You work so hard during your math block, but sometimes you feel like you’re missing something.  Maybe your students are still struggling with concepts from the previous grade level, or you really want to play a quick math game but don’t know how it can fit in with Eureka.  Maybe you even need some more time to review a lesson you taught two weeks ago.  Imagine having enough time during math to allow students to access a Number Talk, peruse math websites using technology, explore math concepts from years prior, practice content students are still struggling with, or perform math fluency activities such as timed tests and SPRINTS.			Video: Students Discussing Daily Warm-ups
As you know, our students don’t always come to class motivated to learn.  When content begins to drag and stays a little too consistent, you might start to lose your students’ attention.  Our kids are growing up in a time where the push of a button can take them to another country!  If they feel like hearing a certain song, they can search for it on YouTube.  Additionally, let’s certainly not forget the fact that many spend hours in front of video games, the TV or their iPads.  Switching up your math warm-up routine can give your students that variety they need in order to stay alert and keep Eureka from becoming too stale.
	As much as I enjoy Eureka Math, I often find myself struggling to find time to fit anything else into my math day.  For example, our school site has been trained in using Number Talks, and I found myself not performing them as often as I should.  Furthermore, I love using depth and complexity frames with prompts to frame word problems, but I never had the opportunity to fit them into my day since I was always pushing myself just to finish the Eureka lesson on time.  I felt like I was doing my students a disservice because I knew what they needed, and I knew something had to be done.  Moreover, I felt like I wasn’t always including a part of ‘me’ into my lessons.  I decided to turn on my laptop and come up with some new ideas.
“Don’t make goals.  Make changes. (One at a time.)” --@katheats
What if you could set aside ten minutes each day to attack these incomplete areas?  Below, you will find the ways I use each day of the week as a warm-up theme prior to my Eureka lesson.
	Those of you who are Pinterest pinners may have come across pins about “Motivation Monday”.  This is what first piqued my interest and helped me to come up with some interesting daily themes for my math warm-ups.  At first, I started with a quote for Motivation Monday because it was a quick, inspiring and easy way to get the kids talking about perseverance.  Since we have P.E. on Mondays, I only get about an hour for math, so it worked well with my schedule.  But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I could do a whole lot more than just Motivation Mondays.  What about Tech Tuesdays?  Warm-up or Word Problem Wednesdays?  Throwback Thursdays?  Fluency Fridays?  And the more I thought about it, what about Math Talk Mondays?  Let me discuss each daily theme a little further. Math Talk Monday/Motivation Monday:  I use Number Talks to either review a concept we’ve been working on or to attack different fluency skills such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, etc.  Here’s a picture of a Number Talk I used to review ratios:    Tech Tuesday:  Tuesdays are a class favorite because they get to use laptops to learn.  There’s so much you can do with technology, but here are a few of my favorites: Assign different assignments pertaining to what you’re learning or have already learned on Tenmarks.com, have kids practice fluency on Xtramath.org, use Kahoot, Formative or Google Forms as a quick formative assessment, try coding, or have kids create a math blog or respond to a constructed response on a blogging site such as Kidblog. Warm-Up Wednesday:  At my site, the 6th-grade team was given this packet of wonderful Common Core Morning Math problems which review standards taught in previous grades as well as current standards (I believe we received it from Monte Vista).  We use this sheet as either independent or partner work, and then correct the problems, whole class.  I find this as a very helpful way to review old and new concepts with the kids in a continuous spiral, so they don’t forget the material later in the year.  Make sure to model any problems which are causing difficulty for kids. Throwback Thursday:  Here, we review something students have been struggling with or something I feel students need more practice with.  This is when I like to bring in depth and complexity frames or a Whiteboard Challenge using the Kagan structure “Showdown”.  For example, even though we’re learning about the division of fractions, I might use Throwback Thursday to tackle percentages or rates which we already learned about.  It’s also a great time to use the RallyCoach Kagan structure. Fluency Friday:  I don’t know about you, but my 6th graders still do not know their multiplication facts to automaticity.  I use Fluency Friday to give my students a timed multiplication test.  Students all begin on their twos and need to get all the way to their twelves.  After they reach their twelves, they’ll start with division timed tests. The kids can use this time to quiz each other prior to the timed test by orally calling out multiplication problems. It’s also a perfect time to give students the Eureka Sprints and teach a particular strategy.   Don’t forget to set your timer for 10 minutes only, so you still have enough time for Eureka. :)  If you would like any of these items or have any questions, please feel free to email me anytime!  I’m always happy to help!   Educating together, Kimberly Smith (Loya)