Working with your students in small groups to practice and hit their differentiated learning standards is an important part of our day in the primary classroom. However, sometimes getting students started in their small group while also making sure the rest of the class gets situated with their activities can be challenging. To avoid unstructured down time, I started using small group math warm ups, and I’ve never looked back!
I love using small group math warm ups to get students working independently while they are waiting for their math small group to begin. I am so excited to share with you how I use these math warm ups with my small groups to get my students focused and ready to learn!
Set up Students for Independence
Students as young as Kindergarten can learn to work independently. It’s not just a great skill, but it’s important if you plan to use small group teaching in your classroom. From the beginning of the year, you can help your students start to develop strong independent working skills. Just do it – I promise it will pay off later in the year! It all comes from setting clear and reasonable expectations, modeling, and giving lots of opportunities for practice. From morning work to centers, early finisher activities to small group warm ups, independent work skills are very important to a smooth running classroom.
When I introduce any activities that my students will be using independently, I make sure to go over the activities with the entire class several times before making it an independent activity. Sometimes we do this as a whole class and sometimes in the small group setting.
By teaching the activity first, you can ensure that students understand the expectations and will be able to work on the activity independently.
It can also be helpful to have simple instructions for students to refer to while working on their math warm ups. Using both images and words will help those emergent readers understand the steps and expectations while they are working independently.
Math Warm Ups for Small Groups
Any time I have a small group, I always prepare a warm up activity. It helps make the transition smooth and frees me up to make sure the rest of the class transitions well too. In this post, we are diving into my favorite math warm ups that I use in my classroom. You can learn more about guided reading warm up activities in this post.
My favorite small group math warm ups are Cover It Up games! They really hit all the marks: skills based practice, the kids love them, easy to prep, and students can complete them independently! These games not only focus on specific math concepts and skills my students are learning, but they are also super fun.
I begin by choosing the skill that I want my students to practice. I like to print and laminate the game boards so that I can use them over and over again. All I need to add is a small manipulative that the kids can use to cover up their answers. I try to keep a bin of small erasers or counters right by my teaching table just for this activity. The game boards can also be printed and students can color in their answers, or mark their answers with BINGO daubers.
When students arrive at our small group table they know just what to do. They choose a game board and their manipulatives and begin playing. Students know that they look at the top of the page to find out what they will be searching for and covering up. Then they get started.
While they are working I am free to monitor the rest of the class as they transition to their next center and answer any questions that might arise. Once everyone is settled, we start our small group instruction. Not only have my students had a quick activity that helps get their brains ready for math, but they have had a little skills practice instead of just sitting and waiting.
Not only do these math warm ups help with the classroom mangement of transition time, but they also act as an informal assessment of student skills. Just before starting our math small group activities, I can take a quick look at each students’ game board and do an informal assessment of the skill students are practicing. This helps me to know which students might need a little more practice and who has mastered the target skill.
Here are some of my favorite math Cover It Up games that I use as math warm ups for my small groups.
1. Cover It Up 2D Shapes and 3D Shapes
These sets are great for students to use to review their 2D and 3D shapes. The worksheets are great for differentiation because I can pick and choose what shape I want a specific student to focus on for their math warm ups that day.
Shapes in the Cover It Up 2D set include:
- Circle
- Square
- Rectangle
- Triangle
- Rhombus
- DiamondTrapezoid
- Oval
- Hexagon
- Octagon
Shapes in the Cover It Up 3D set include:
- Sphere
- Cone
- Cube
- Cylinder
- Pyramid
- Rectangular prism
- Triangular prism
With two options to choose from in each set, students can practice identifying the simple shapes or identifying the shapes using real-world objects.
2. Cover It Up Number Recognition
Number recognition is so important for our youngest learners. When they start learning their numbers, this is the time to give them lots of opportunities to practice identifying these numbers.
I have Cover It Up Numbers sets to help students to identify numbers 1 through 10 and 11 through 20. Each page gives students an example of the target number at the top of the page.
To take these games to the next level, as I look over the number identification portion, I also ask students to build me a set that represents the target number. This way I can make sure they understand what each number represents, as well.
3. Cover It Up Subitizing Numbers 0-10
Subitizing is a really important skill for Kindergarteners. Subitizing helps students identify numbers not only in standard form but also in visual representations. It really helps students recognize numbers quickly without counting.
The Cover It Up Subitizing Numbers 0-10 set includes images of objects using the focus number, numbers in standard form, and visual representations of the target number with fingers, dice, and cubes. It’s great for building those number sense skills and visual discrimation skills. Take a look at these mats in action:
Since the goal of subitizing is fluent number recognition, sometimes we play this game with a time limit. That extra challenge really helps to get students to focus on what they see without counting. For students that are struggling with one to one correspondence, these mats can also be used for counting practice.
4. Cover It Up Color Recognition
Color recognition is fun and engaging with the Cover It Up Color Recognition set, and are always fun for students to complete. I print these off in color and laminate them so that I know students are working on the target color.
The colors in the Cover It Up Color Recognition set include:
- Orange
- Pink
- Yellow
- Black
- Blue
- Brown
- Gray
- Green
- Purple
- Red
- White
In addition to matching colors, I like to print off the black and white option and allow students to color in the items that they would find in the target color. This allows students to take their thinking about colors to a higher level.
Math Warm Ups for the Win!
Math Warm ups are the perfect way to get your students ready to learn during their math small groups. They are also great to use for early finisher activities, centers and extra practice to send home with students. They are a fun and engaging way for students to review important skills throughout the school year.
I’d love for you to try Cover It Up games in your classroom. Just fill out the form below and I’ll send some games right to your inbox!
More Cover It Up Games!
Whether you are looking to build independence, find a hands-on activity for your students, or tame transitions, Cover It Up games are the perfect answer. You can see all my math Cover It Up Games in my store on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Save This for Later!
Be sure to pin this to your favorite math board so you’ll be prepped and ready to begin using math warm ups with your small groups!
