10 Essential Guided Math Tasks to Help You Launch with Confidence

Thinking about launching guided math in your classroom? Whether you’re taking time this summer to prepare or you’re in the middle of the school year and hoping to implement it soon, you’ve come to the right post!

Today I’m sharing 10 essential guided math tasks and tips that you can tackle before launching guided math in your classroom! I will briefly share my 10 guided math tasks below, but make sure you download the free Getting Started with Guided Math handout. In the handout, I’m giving you access to even more details, resources, and freebies to help you get everything ready to go!

Prepare to Launch: 10 Guided Math Tasks To Complete

While this is not a comprehensive list, use these 10 guided math tasks to help you get many items in order for starting guided math in your classroom. If you’re a total guided math newbie, you’ll want to check out my 3-part series on how to start guided math!

Now, let’s get to this list of 10 guided math tasks you can start working on today!

1.) Inventory Your Resources

Take an inventory of the resources you have and write down what you still need. Look through your math centers, games, assessments, independent work, curriculum, etc.

2.) Get Organized Like a Pro

Have a place for everything: centers, manipulatives, lesson plans, turn-in bins, clipboards, dry-erase boards, etc. Use labels and bins for everything so students can access what they need independently.

3.) Make Long-Range Plans

Grab your standards and pacing guides. Outline what skills & standards you’ll be covering each month so you have a better idea of when you’ll be teaching everything.

4.) Plan with a Buddy

Start chatting with your grade-level team or partner about how you can divide and conquer planning tasks. Sharing the prep work will make life easier and help you leave school on time during the year!

5.) Create a Guided Math Schedule

Figure out how much time you have for your math block. Plan what your rotations will be, how many rotations your students will visit each day, and how much time you’ll spend in each.

6.) Figure Out Student Rotations

Students need to know where to be at all times. You can use a classroom display, pocket chart, individual chart (these are my favorite), etc. Whatever you choose, have a plan to clearly communicate this with your students.

7.) Forming Your Small Groups

Think about how will you form your first guided math groups. Because your students are brand new to you, what assessment criteria will you use to create your very first set of groups?

8.) Make a Classroom Management Plan

Think through all of the expectations you have for guided math. What is your quiet signal? How will students know when to rotate? What should students do if they finish early? Make a plan!

9.) Think About Your Dream Day

What would a perfect day of guided math look like in your classroom? Write down what you want a typical day to look like. All your prep work should help you achieve this!

10.) Start Prepping Anchor Charts

Make a list of the anchor charts you plan to make with your students during the first few weeks of guided math. Get them set up and ready to use during your mini-lessons!

Download the FREE guide!

10 guided math tasks you can tackle before launching guided math in your classroom! Plus, read helpful guided math tips and access more free guided math resources!

Scroll to check out all of the guided math tasks below! Don’t forget to download the Free Guide (above) for even more resources and freebies to help you launch guided math!