Math Journals

There are only 8 weeks left in my school year and I'm already looking ahead to what I want to do differently next year.  I have never done math journals and I wanted to know how everyone else is using math journals? Are you doing a question each day? What is your routine for math journals?


15 comments:

  1. I used math problem solving journals this year. I got the idea and cute labels from the kindergartenkindergarten.com website. She only posted for a few weeks but has some great labels for journals. I have liked that added problem solving component it has given my math program.

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  2. We use our math journals almost every day! Sometimes it's a math problem in the journal, but I almost always use it for them to do something at the end of a lesson. It could be solving a problem so I can quickly see what they know or even finishing a sentence like "I need to know how to tell time because..." It's really great for making them think about what they've learned. :)

    Colleen Patton
    http://pattonspatch.blogspot.com

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  3. I have two morning math journals. One I use for calendar math and the other I have for a math blitz. The kids answer one question from the previous lesson or an invented question similar to the module test.
    I have both journals available in my journal page on my blog.

    Cheryl
    Primary Graffiti

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  4. Hi!
    I use the Every Day Math program. Each lesson provides a "Morning Message" that either gets the children thinking about the the day's lesson or it requires the kiddies to recall what we did the day before. It is a great way to spiral back, when needed. I use the morning message, daily calendar, and monthly themed poems as morning start up work while everyone files in, I take attendance/lunch count/put out fires. It is nice b/c the children are independent with the routine, once it is in place. It is helpful to practice what to do if they get stuck. I usually have them write down anything they can remember from the day before OR they can write down as many facts as they can remember. They are not allowed to just sit. When the morning message work is finished they fill in their calendars and decorate their poems iwth their visualizations.

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  6. We have Math Journal time first thing in the morning when the students come in the classroom. Each student has their own composition notebook.

    Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (Divide paper into 4 boxes) we review whatever skill we are on working on i.e. Double digit addition, fractions of a whole, fractions of a set, etc...

    Tuesday and Thursday is devoted to Model Drawing. We are currently working on equal sharing.

    :) Hope this helps!

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  7. I do math journals (I call them math books) everyday. The cover page is a calendar of the current month. We fill in each day and talk about the date and how we can "make the date using coins". We decide if the date is odd or even. The next few pages are word problems. We do one problem per day. I have a weather graphing page too. My class can now complete their math books on their own. It takes only about 5 minutes.

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  10. Here are some rough templates that my grade level uses in our math journals. These include Today's Number, Math Vocabulary Word, (2) Constructed Response Templates, and a 3, 2, 1 page.

    https://docs.google.com/uc?id=0B6AmSa_yfrAgYmYzNWE4Y2UtYmU2YS00OWM0LTgwMzktMzA4NDQ3M2QxNGVm&export=download&hl=en

    First Grade Factory

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  11. I just started doing math journals after winter break. And so far, I love it! I don't get to them every day, but I wish I could. It gives me kids a chance to think a little bit differently than with the regular math program. I have tied it in to what we are doing with math or our social studies themes. I am actually going to start working on one today in hopes of using it in the coming weeks.

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  12. I use my math journals throughout each math unit, but this year I have also used them to review all the concepts that have been introduced during the year at the end of each unit. This has given me the opportunity to see who is retaining the skills that have been introduced.
    So excited to find your blog!
    Jonelle
    A Place Called Kindergarten

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  13. This year my school used math journals in K-5 for the first time and we have been excited by the results. I think it is important to have good open-ended questions that allow students to use different strategies to solve them at their own level of thinking. Sharing different strategies and ways of thinking about a problem are the highlight of these lessons in my class. I am continually amazed by my students' thinking!
    This year all K-5 classes used the journal prompts from:
    http://www.k-5mathteachingresources.com/math-journals.html
    and we will definitely be using them again next school year.

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