1Get ready
Independent study and hybrid programs often have one synchronous day a week, about an hour. The warm-up uses ten minutes of it, with the instrument and its PDF: one Day each week.
You need
- An instrument with a PDF, free on our site. No sign-up, no student accounts.
- Its PDF, one copy per student, open in a PDF tool they can write on (like Kami) or printed. They keep the same copy from Day 1 on.
- A timer you can show on screen.
Why
The warm-up should be the most accessible time of the week, when all students can engage with the math. It’s the time for them to build confidence and get wins.
2Think · 4 minutes
Tell them which Day. Put a 4-minute timer on screen. Then silence while they work.
“We’re on Day 2 today. You have four minutes to think on your own. If you finish early, feel free to keep going.”
- Students who finish early keep moving forward.
- Students who finish every Day go on to the challenge questions at the end.
- Students on a previous Day keep working where they are. If the class is on Day 4 and a student is on Day 2, that’s all good.
Why
Students really need that silent thinking time. The timer gives it structure and gets them moving, and everyone has time to think before anyone has to speak.
Each student goes at their own pace. There’s no such thing as falling behind here. Everything they do is progress.
3Share · 4 minutes
Two students, about two minutes each.
Who shares
- Call on one student to share their screen.
- If they shared this week’s Day, they popcorn to one more student. If they shared a previous Day, call on the second student yourself: someone who has done this week’s Day, so everyone can see at least one student example of this week.
- If a student says they didn’t finish: “No worries! Whatever you have is worth sharing.”
- Everyone else shares later in the synchronous hour, in breakout rooms. No breakout rooms? Discussion boards can capture everyone’s thinking and give them their sharing time. More on that in a separate guide.
Why
For example, the class is on Day 3, the table, and the first student shares their step 4 from Day 2. Next, call on someone who has made the table, so everyone sees at least one student’s table.
Two classmates’ work shows everyone there’s more than one way to see it.
Students often feel they have to get everything right before they share. Whatever they have is enough. This helps cultivate a culture where we always celebrate progress, any progress.
4Affirm
For each student
- Clap first. Always. Students can show the clapping emoji too, on Zoom or Google Meet, if they’d like.
- Affirm. “Thank you for being willing to share.” Then name one thing they did well, specifically.
- Then, depending on the student:
- A student who can or wants to be challenged: ask one question so they explain a little more, whether or not they got it right. If something’s off, they can fix it right there. They’ll know what to fix and why.
- A student building confidence: sharing is enough. No need to ask them to explain more. If something can be fixed, gently show them, right on their own work.
No deficit language. Affirm what they did and what’s next. Say what’s missing in a way that encourages:
“I can see how that could be true here. I would also think about it like this.”
Why
As many of you know, being called on is very scary for most students. Even being chosen is. The first thing they hear should be a win.
Affirmation is huge for them, even for the smallest wins. That’s the moment their confidence grows. Week by week, they build up a record of small wins.
A question lets a student who wants a challenge go further. For a student building confidence, sharing is the win.
In front of the class, a small fix can feel big. Done gently, it keeps them willing to share again.
5Connect · 2 minutes
Share the instrument and show the students the most essential concept, the one thing they should take away from that Day. Point as you say it:
“If there’s one thing you need to know from this warm-up, it’s this.”
For the linear function, it’s the 3 growing and the 2 staying the same, every Day, in that Day’s form: the diagram, step 4, the table, the graph, the equation. On Day 5, after the equation, give them the words last: the 3 is the slope, and the 2 is the y-intercept.
Why
The diagram comes first, on the PDF. The instrument comes last, after they’ve worked and shared. Now you get to do what you do best: make the connections and share the most essential concept they should take away from that Day. That comes from you.
6The five weeks
The rest of the week, keep referring back to the instrument and what they saw in it. It becomes their anchor. With linear functions, when the y-intercept comes up in the textbook or a video, connect it back:
“Remember on your warm-up, those blocks that don’t change?”
It helps them see it.
When the last Day is done
The finished PDF can serve as a work sample, every Day of it in their own work.
Why
One major family usually takes four to five weeks: linear, exponential, quadratic, or polynomial functions. So the warm-up is five Days, one a week, and each Day helps students see the major concept you’re working through that week.
The Days follow the order on our site: Day 1 is See it and Say it, Day 2 sees it at a new step, Days 3 to 5 arrange it as a table, a graph and an equation, your two minutes on the instrument connect it, and the vocabulary comes last, on Day 5. Students who finish every Day go on to the challenges at the end.