Math notes have made me incredibly happy. It may seem like a silly thing to get so excited about, however, they make this fifth grade teacher VERY happy. Add in their some place value math notes and honestly, we are kind of set for the school year. You can see all of them here in my TpT store.
What are math notes?
If you haven’t heard of math notes yet, you are missing out. The simple version is that math notes are a way for students to keep track of their notes – typically in their notebook. Math notes in the upper elementary level are usually a page and they are used during mini-lessons. Keep in mind that upper elementary students can’t focus on a lesson for more than 10-15 minutes. If you keep your mini-lesson – well… mini- then you will be in a better situation.
Place Value Math Notes
When I start with place value, I make sure I label everything perfectly. I often will spend more time focusing on the math notes to support the lesson. These notes are able to support my students throughout the entire school year. In fact, my students will use these to refer to constantly because they can see what they need to do. This is a huge benefit for students because it will help them refer back to notes plus it will help jog their memory with the specific skill.
How to take notes without a template
When I started math notes, I did not have a template at all. I would have the students copy the notes from my page. These notes sometimes would be extensive or super quick. The pro about these notes is that the students had an example. The downside of them was that sometimes I would have to waste a lot of time waiting for students to catch up on their notes. Students would miss some steps as well and then when they refer back to these notes throughout the year- it would be all messed up. Eventually I recognized that I needed something to streamline the notes.
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How to take notes with a template
There are some amazing benefits of providing a template for your students. One of my favorite benefits is the cut down of time it takes to copy notes. Students also have less room for error. If they write neatly, they can refer back to this throughout the entire year easily. I also have the notes broken down by a 3 step process. The first part of the notes have an example by the teacher. This would be the I do in the math lesson. The second part follows the we do in the math lesson. The last part allows the students to try the work independently. Each of the place value math notes allows the students to practice the skill with the teacher and then independently.
I have seen some teachers print all of the math notes in the beginning of the year and make a spiral notebook out of them. Personally, I print them at 88% and then I have the students glue them into their notebook. It really can be given to the students in any way. I will often try a variety of ways to see what works in my classroom.
Need math notes?
Lucky for you, I have completed an entire unit of place value math notes! They are simple and effective. You can use them immediately in your classroom. You can check them out here!
