You asked if we ever have a group that is a unit ahead or behind. Since I have started doing math workshop a couple of years ago with my teaching partner, we have not had that situation. However, I am sure there is a way for it to work if you find that your students are at very different levels in math. We do have students doing different lessons on different days because some groups move along quicker or slower in any given unit. Instead of having a group move on to the next unit, however, we will have them do more enrichment or complete collaborative projects while the other groups finish the unit instead of having them move ahead early to the next unit. That way the final test is given to all groups at the same time, and we all move on to a new unit together.
We do differentiate our math games on many days. You can read comment #45 for more information about your question on math games.
Karen,
You asked if we ever have a group that is a unit ahead or behind. Since I have started doing math workshop a couple of years ago with my teaching partner, we have not had that situation. However, I am sure there is a way for it to work if you find that your students are at very different levels in math. We do have students doing different lessons on different days because some groups move along quicker or slower in any given unit. Instead of having a group move on to the next unit, however, we will have them do more enrichment or complete collaborative projects while the other groups finish the unit instead of having them move ahead early to the next unit. That way the final test is given to all groups at the same time, and we all move on to a new unit together.
We do differentiate our math games on many days. You can read comment #45 for more information about your question on math games.
I hope I've helped!
-Beth