90 minutes is a long time to keep someone on task and focused. Then make that person someone who spends their free time watching 60 second TikToks and the task becomes even harder. I’ve had to restructure my 90 minute classes to get the maximum amount of learning done while still keeping students engaged and occupied the whole time. Especially post-pandemic, students need to switch it up and need even more to stay engaged and focused on the content in math class. Here’s how I set up my class to include time for a warm-up, notes, independent practice and an exit ticket all in a 90 minute period.
Warm-up (~10 minutes)
I begin the class with a warm-up activity that reviews previously learned concepts to get them thinking. I will often use questions from our exit ticket, especially if a high percentage of students got the same questions wrong or made the same mistakes. This makes my warm ups pull double duty for me as they are both reviewing content AND giving feedback on the exit ticket they completed last class. If it’s a day after a test, I’ll try to find something that spirals on previously learned content to help introduce new content related to the day’s lesson.
Notes/Instruction (~20 minutes)
I know 20 minutes doesn’t seem like a lot of time for a lesson, but this is the amount of time I’ve found works best for *my students.* We are getting examples in while keeping students engaged. I don’t have the problem of students drifting off and losing interest. I also encourage active participation by asking questions, and using collaborative learning strategies like think/pair/share or having students work together and share answers on an example problem. I’m also not above bribery and have been known to offer blue jolly ranchers in exchange for answering questions! I include a lot more practice problems on my notes than we ever have time (or attention span) to go over. This allows me to pick and choose different problems to tackle in class depending on what my students need. I always post the full worked out answer key in canvas for students if they want to continue to try the remaining practice problems on their own and check their work. Want done for you guided notes for your Algebra 1 class? Check mine out here! (Get a free sample HERE!)
Bathroom Break (~7 minutes)
I am very fortunate to have my classroom right next to the bathroom and a collaborative teacher for 5 out of my 6 classes (and the one class I don’t have a collaborative teacher is during the lunch period so they get an automatic break). We take a bathroom break where students have 5 minutes to walk around, go to the bathroom, get a drink of water and take a brain break before we dive into independent practice. This helps minimize the disruptions during the remainder of class because students know when our bathroom breaks are and take advantage of them. I rarely have students leave the classroom during any other time unless it’s an emergency because of this break. I do go over what exactly we will be doing for independent practice before we take our break just in case there are students who don’t need a break and are ready to jump into the practice part of class. Then of course, I go over the directions again when we’re done with the break because students have the memory of a goldfish! 😉
Independent practice (~40 minutes)
I believe that independent practice is the most crucial part of math class. Allowing students to have ample time to apply their newly acquired knowledge through independent practice where they can make mistakes and correct them without penalization is important to build their skills, but also boost their math confidence and comfort in the classroom. I like to provide a variety of problems with increasing levels of complexity to accommodate different skill levels. This independent practice could be in the form of scavenger hunts, color by number activities or some sort of digital activity. During this practice time, I will usually circulate the classroom to offer support, address questions, and provide constructive feedback. I also have my desks in pods of 4 to encourage group work and for students to check their work with each other as they are working. This way, not all of the “checking” and questions falls on me. I also like to use a lot of self-checking activities so that students can know immediately whether their answer is correct and I don’t have to answer a million “is this right?” questions as I’m walking around. This independent practice could be in the form of scavenger hunts, color by number activities or some sort of digital activity. Interested in trying out a self-checking activity for yourself? Get a free self-checking activity on solving one & two step equations HERE.
review & Clarification (~10 minutes)
After walking around and answering questions during the independent practice time, I will take a few minutes to review the key concepts of the day, address common misconceptions, answer questions, and reinforce understanding through additional examples. This step ensures that I have addressed any common questions or issues in front of the whole class and prepares them for the exit ticket. If as I am walking around, I notice that everyone is doing well and we don’t have much to go over together, I may shorten this period or eliminate it altogether. We know our students and what works best for them and can pivot as we see fit!
Exit Ticket (~10 minutes)
End the class with a targeted exit ticket that assesses students’ understanding of the day’s lesson. This quick assessment allows you to gauge individual and collective comprehension, identify areas that may need further clarification, and inform your instructional approach in subsequent classes. Use the exit ticket data to tailor your teaching strategies and adjust the pace of future lessons. And as a bonus, I will even use the exit ticket questions as my warm-up for the next day so students see how it’s supposed to be completed and get the correct answers! (They hardly ever remember the answers and don’t pick up on the fact that they’ve done those questions before because I write them on the board and have them copy them on scrap paper or into their notebooks!) Need exit tickets? Each of my lessons in my algebra 1 curriculum comes with a done-for-you exit ticket that can be edited to fit your student’s particular needs!
final thoughts
Now, I get it. What works for me, might not work for you and your students but this is just a suggestion on what works for ME and MY students. And obviously, day to day things change. Some days I spend less time on instruction and more time on independent practice, while on other days it’s the opposite. This is just the guideline that I try to stick to when planning lessons and practice to try to have enough meaningful content to fill the period so we aren’t stuck twiddling our thumbs at the end of the period after finishing everything too fast!
Let me know what you think or if you structure your 90 minute classes similar or vastly different! I’d love to hear from you in the comments!
Fun With Algebra 