5 Ways to Fit DynaMath Into Your Teaching Plan

As the writer of DynaMath’s lesson plans, I am constantly asked: How can you use this magazine in the classroom?

The short answer is many ways! Below are my five favorites.

A highly engaging way to teach your whole class is with a feature article and its lesson plan, which you can find in the Teacher’s Guide. This method takes about 45 minutes, and here’s how I do it.

• Spark engagement: Ask questions about the article and how it connects to real-life experiences. Use the sample questions in the lesson plan or come up with your own.
• Introduce the math concept and vocabulary: Encourage student-to-student discourse when introducing new concepts. You can model by sharing student examples, your own examples, or the examples included in the lesson plan.
• Work through a sample problem as a class: Give students a problem to solve collaboratively. Use the “Math Talk” questions from each article help create high levels of discourse, which deepens understanding and reasoning.
• Reinforce with math practice: Assign the remainder of the math questions from the article, or have students practice fluency with a corresponding DynaDash. There’s a DynaDash for each feature article and they target grades 3, 4, and 5.

For more info about this method, check out our Pacing Guide.

I like this approach for spiral review. On day one, read an article together and discuss it in depth. Then have students make predictions about the math they might do based information they learned.

On day two, have students complete the math problem set in the article. You can use a solving strategy example from the lesson plan. After students finish, they can collaborate to discuss each other’s reasoning and make learning connections. The Pacing Guide explains this approach more in depth.

Encourage students to work collaboratively in a stations or centers. Begin by having them read the article with a buddy or whisper read to build reading fluency.

Then have them complete the math problem sets independently or with partners. They can record their answers in a math journal or on a blank answer sheet (DynaMath posts one for each issue online!).

Afterward, have students compare their answers and solving strategies with the rest of the group.

DynaMath’s news stories are great resources for students to practice math and reading in a short amount of time. Use them as a warm-up or closing activity for 10 minutes. There are more suggestions like these in our Pacing Guide.

For just quick, daily math warm-ups, we provide 20 math questions each month in our Problem of the Day skills sheet. Use them for quick cumulative review, on-level practice, or as brainteasers.

Because each story has visuals, models, and supporting explanations, students can work on the math at their own pace independently. If the need help, they can watch short math videos online.

This works great for families too. Send the magazine and Family Engagement Letter home for students to read and discuss. Each issue’s letter is available online and explains the math covered in the magazine (with short math tutorials for parents).

Have students who need extra support? Use the “level down” activities or lesson plans mentioned in the lesson plans. For fast finishers or those who could use a challenge, try the “level up” skills sheets or our Math Goes Extreme vocabulary-building activities.