Why I LOVE Escape Challenges (and how I fixed the biggest problem I had when using them)!

Guided Math Workshop and Problem Solving

By far, the most important thing we teach our students during math is problem solving. We all know none of our kids is destined for a life of completing worksheets with decontextualized numbers. They will grow up to encounter real-world math problems at home and work every day. Teaching problem solving strategies is key (more on that in another post), but what if your kids see every real world problem as an epic chore?
Motivation is a big obstacle when it comes to teaching students to be mathematical problem solvers. After solving eight problems in twenty minutes on task cards or in their math books, most kids are not looking to dig deep into making sense of a problem, choosing a strategy, solving, and checking for reasonableness. We teach these and other strategies regularly as part of our Guided Math Workshop. But when I really want to push my students and see what they're capable of, I set up an escape challenge!

What are escape challenges?

You can find tons of escape challenges on Teachers Pay Teachers and the teacher blogosphere. Some are extravagant classroom transformations for people who are really good at pulling it off -- you know who you are! That's not really my cup of tea, though. I tend to stick with those that are either on paper with a few little design elements to carry the narrative, or digital challenges.

The structure of the challenge varies from one creator to the next, but essentially they all involve using academic content to solve puzzles. The solution of one puzzle might lead to the next, or students may be able to solve in any order.

Escape rooms engage students with a challenge. Students know the tasks are difficult, but still within their reach. Working in teams allows the students to share the load and support each other, and also helps prevent reaching a frustration point or getting completely stuck. It creates the setting we're always striving for in Guided Math Workshop or throughout the school day:

A safe space to take risks and fail, repeatedly.

I loved the engagement I saw when using escape games in my classroom. But quickly, a problem arose. The same few students kept completing them well within the time limit, while others never got past the first couple steps. If you have a few high achieving students in your class who also happen to be very competitive, they become your escape game MVPs. The rest of the class loses interest and gets discouraged. You've just lost your engagement, your motivation, your safe space.

My solution: Leveled Escape Challenges

If you're using the Guided Math Workshop, you may already have your class grouped so that you can offer support for or extension of your grade level standards. My Leveled Escape Challenges are designed to integrate seamlessly with those groups. All are based on fifth grade math standards. Each includes three levels that either include support toward the standards, assess mastery of the standards, or branch into the standards of the next grade level. You can decide which level or levels to use in your classroom and how.

Trapped in the 90s: Operations and Coordinates

In our curriculum, the Operations and Algebraic Thinking Standards are taught alongside the Geometry Standards that relate to plotting coordinates. This escape challenge combines those skills in a low-prep printable. The only thing you'll need is one file folder per group. I even included a Spotify playlist of 90s favorites.

The Shrink Ray Incident: Multiplying and Dividing Fractions

Fractions are a huge part of the fifth grade standards, and the work of multiplying and dividing them is a big shift from what students did with fractions in fourth grade. This challenge focuses only on multiplying and dividing fractions. A challenge for adding and subtracting fractions is in the works! Watch my store. 😉

Digital challenges

My newest escape challenge is ALL DIGITAL. If you have enough Chromebooks or other devices for students to share in teams of 4, then you are ready to implement this challenge in your classroom today! Just like my printable escape challenges, this escape includes three levels that students complete using a Google Form. I used this in my classroom after my class wrapped up four math chapters that cover all the whole number operations standards in the Numbers and Operations in Base Ten domain. 

Or, snag all three with the bundle!

Pin this post so you can find these challenges when you're ready to use them!

Using Guided Math Workshop to Master the Standards: Small Group Instruction

Small group instruction is the heart and soul of Guided Math Workshop. If you already teach using Guided Reading, then the general structure should be somewhat familiar. You know you need to meet with groups purposefully and briefly, and rotate through as many groups as possible while keeping the rest of the class engaged with meaningful activities. But what are the best ways to do that when teaching math?

Figuring out how to meet with groups is a major source of stress for teachers who are contemplating going forward with Guided Math Workshop. I want to reassure you -- you can do this, no matter your curriculum, class size, or time allotted for math. I'm going to show you how you can:

• Stick with your curriculum and change up your delivery method to improve results for your students.
• Fit meetings with all your students into the time you have.
• Find the system that works best for you.

Let's break this big topic into two main parts: the logistics of small group meeting time and what to do with your groups once you have them.

Planning Small Group Time - Logistics

Figuring our when to meet with groups is a big concern for teachers looking to make the switch to Guided Math Workshop. Some of it will depend on your curriculum. I'll start by sharing what works for me. This is one of many, many ways to do this, so if my way doesn't sound like it will work for you, stay tuned. I will share some others, including what my teaching partner does and why we do it differently.

Many math series, including My Math, Go Math, enVision, Stepping Stones, Bridges in Mathematics, and others follow a basic I do--we do--you do format. This means each lesson begins with some sort of an exploration of the strategy (I do).  Then, the teacher guides the class through a few attempts of the strategy (we do). Finally, there is some sort of independent practice (you do).

My approach is to include a condensed version of the I do and we do parts in the minilesson. The we do might be a section in each lesson referred to as Guided Practice. I use this as a formative assessment before moving on. See my post on Whole Group Instruction for more on the minilesson and formative assessment.

If you use Saxon, things get ever so slightly more complicated. Students will still have a Guided Practice and Independent Practice Time in the upper grades (third and up). This is still a good time to see groups, and you can use the Partner Time transition I describe below 

First rotation - Partner Time

As students move into the independent practice section of the lesson, I begin pulling groups. This is because we've structured out Guided Math Workshop so that I take all the students in need of enrichment and my teaching partner takes those who need intervention in her co-taught Guided Math Workshop (more on this later). I've done this different ways, but most recently, I've had a group working above grade level who get a separate, accelerated lesson and I meet with them immediately after the whole group lesson. 

During this time and this time only, the students not in the most accelerated group work in partners on the independent practice. Yes,  you read that right. Guided Math Workshop is a noisy, bustling time in your classroom because your students need to be having conversations about math. If you decide to have each student work silently and independently in their books, some will be bored, some will do it all wrong without knowing it, and others will be utterly lost. I also assign only as many problems as I think students can finish in 15 minutes, because that's when I will pull my next group. My rule for partner time is that both students work on each problem, then check in with each other before moving on to the next. This way, if they get different answers, they can look back at their work and see if they can spot the mistake. Immediate feedback!

In the accelerated group, I plan my teaching based on the standard I am teaching the whole group and the corresponding standard of the next grade level. Admittedly, this is a challenge teaching Common Core State Standards in fifth grade because the standards are organized differently for sixth grade. Sometimes your math curriculum will include this information in the teacher materials. Sometimes we do a little more than the curriculum does with the fifth grade standard, sometimes we do the sixth grade standard, sometimes we try to bridge the space between. Use your assessment data to determine the needs of this group.

A small difference: Intervention vs. Enrichment groups

As I mentioned, my partner teacher and I use a system where I focus on enrichment and she focuses on intervention. The resource teacher and para are in her room for math, along with a large group of students who will need intensive support to master the day's objectives. In her classroom, the groups most in need of support will come to one of the teachers/paras as soon as the lesson is done. There they get support immediately instead of being asked to figure it out on their own first and come to a teacher second. This might be the better option for you if you are co-teaching during math, if you teach departmentalized math, or if you are not grouping across classrooms and will have some needy students in your room. If you have any way of flex grouping across classrooms, I highly encourage it, but I recognize not everyone is in that position.

Next few rotations - Leveled Groups

The rotations that follow the first are similar to each other. You can do as many or as few as time allows. I find that 15 minute rotations work best for me, but you may prefer 10 or 20 depending on how many students you have, how much time you have, and what you do during your time together (more on that next). Most recently, I've had four rotations after the Partner Time rotation. If you're doing the math, that means I spent an hour and a half on math every day during the 18-19 school year. Not everyone is able to do that, and I understand. Our building prioritizes guided math and blending it with co-teaching, which allowed my teaching partner and I to do this.

If you are stressing about how to fit everything in, you're not alone. This is another big hurdle for teachers looking to launch Guided Math Workshop. I'm going to tell you something that I heard at a professional development workshop when I was first launching: Any amount of Guided Math Workshop is better than none. Maybe you only see one group a day. Maybe you set aside one day a week to see groups and teach math the traditional way the rest of the week. It's all OK. 

A few of your many, many options!

As you meet with each group, the others students are working on independent activities. We'll discuss this on the 5 Keys post for Centers.

Planning Small Group Time - Instruction

As I mentioned, my highest level enrichment group receives a separate lesson. This may or may not always be appropriate. I tend to reserve this for when I have a group that scored 80 percent or better on the preassessment. This group also works independently on the homework page in our curriculum while I teach the rest of the class. If I see a lot of misunderstandings on this when we meet, I switch gears and teach that skill instead. Students may be working above grade level according to various assessments, but that doesn't mean they know all the grade level content. They will still need some on-level instruction. 

If this group needs grade-level advanced enrichment, I usually find myself going shopping. I want resources that address the next grade level's standards, but I don't want to pull from the actual curriculum from the next grade level. For one thing, that tends to bother teachers at that level. And in my district, middle school teachers have had to develop their own curriculum, so it's not very accessible to me anyway. For fifth graders, I've used resources from To The Square Inch (great for games, foldables, and task cards) and Maneuvering the Middle (great for lessons and assessment). When I taught primary grades, I turned to Miss Giraffe, Lucky Little Learners, and the Brown Bag Teacher. 

My school also has math Versa Tiles, thanks to a grant we wrote when launching Guided Math Workshop as a building initiative. The set we purchased was grades 1-6, so fifth grade teachers kept the sixth grade materials for enrichment. Sometimes the accelerated enrichment group uses these with me, other times during rotations with their partners. These have been around a while, so you may know somebody who has tile cases that they are willing to part with (I bought some at a garage sale) and you can purchase individual books to go with them.

The rest of the groups that I meet with will have completed some problems with partners before they see me. The first thing we do is check that work together. It's a way for me to see what misunderstandings they may have and address them right away -- another chance for formative assessment and immediate feedback. As with the other assessments you'll do related to Guided Math Workshop, you might notice many students making the same or similar mistakes. If the mistake is really prevalent, I might stop class and do a quick whole group reteach. This saves me having to do a full-blown reteach four times in a row with every group I see. Other times a pair of partners will realize they repeated the same error in every problem they did and will ask you to pause so they can correct them on their own right there at your table. All of this is great for having math conversations in your small group time and for students improving their understanding and taking ownership of their learning. 

Finally, I add another activity that extends the learning. Some of this is focused on Problem Solving Strategies. You'll find a deep dive on that in another blog post to come. Other times, I use an interactive notebook or game to apply the skill, strategy, or standard in ways different from those in our curriculum. I have used interactive notebooks from Blair Turner, Jennifer Findley, and To the Square Inch. For games, I shop Not So Wimpy Teacher and Games 4 Gains. These are often games that students will later play independently, but small group time gives me a chance to guide them to the correct way to play. In my post on Centers, I will discuss more games, including games that are free or that use items you can beg, borrow, and steal (dice, dominoes, playing cards, etc.)

I also want to say that I know I'm shouting out some big accounts that don't need my help, but I have leaned heavily on them and want to give credit where credit is due. That being said, if you are selling these products, let me know! I'm a small account too and would love to link some other sellers that could use the traffic. Follow me on Instagram @riverbendteacher and send me a DM!