Hey 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade teachers:
Discover the easy way to teach an effective and fun math workshop that grows your students’ skills, confidence, and independence—without headache, hassle, hiccup, or hardship
(Seriously, the only problems in your math block will be the ones you write on the board!)
Imagine this math-a-magical scenario in your 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade classroom:
You’re in front of your class, teaching the perfect math mini-lesson—and you have the full attention of every student.
Next, you seamlessly transition to your teacher table with a small group of students—and the light bulbs of understanding just keep going off for them!
Meanwhile, your other students are so completely engaged in your math centers that they’re all on task. The only sound you hear is the gentle hum of math skills being practiced collaboratively, content-rich math games being played, and pencils scratching answers on paper.
Transitions between centers and groups are smooth like butter. Math is everyone’s favorite subject and the test scores prove that it works!
If you’re already exclaiming, “How do I get this awesomeness into my classroom ASAP?!” then this is going to be the best thing you read all day!
- I do NOT have time for a math workshop!
- Sounds like a 3-ring circus to me, no thank you!
- My students are too low to handle center activities…
- My students don’t behave well enough to do center activities…
- Centers are so chaotic!
- My curriculum doesn’t include centers, so…I’m off the hook! (Ha ha, nice try!)
- I have no idea how to get started with a math workshop.
- It’s way too much work to plan and prepare center activities. It’s so time-consuming.
- I have no idea how to do centers without having a nervous breakdown.
If you’d rather supervise an all-day dodgeball tournament in the gym with 75 sweaty 4th graders…….I bet I know why:
You’re probably thinking of the TRADITIONAL math workshop.
And if you’ve ever tried the traditional version of the math workshop, you probably know how it requires you to:
- Prepare and teach a long, whole-group lesson that includes every single problem from your curriculum
- Prepare individual lessons for every single one of your small groups and meet with them every single day so you can keep them on track for their state-mandated learning objectives
- Pick, plan, shop for, and prepare the center activities that hit the sweet spot of doable-yet-challenging-yet-engaging for your students while you’re busy with your small groups—so they don’t misbehave, go off-task, interrupt you, and/or break your math manipulatives
- Bark orders like a drill sergeant to make students transition faster and stay on task
- Cross your fingers, knock on wood, and wear your lucky scarf in the hopes that you can pull all this off in your humble daily math block
Who on Earth—all 196,940,000 square miles of it—has the time for all that?!
No teacher has the time to prepare for a daily math block like that—especially you. Plus, that kind of math block forces you to rush between each component so you can fit it all in. If you said “nah” to this chaotic treadmill, I don’t blame you!
Newsflash: Your math block should not be your cardio!
Simple to prepare for and teach 
All students experience growth 
More opportunities for differentiation 
Low students get more attention and support 
High students are being stretched and challenged 
Deep conceptual understanding 
The antidote to behavior problems 
Works with any curriculum 
It only takes 60 minutes 
The Not So Wimpy Math Masterclass is a professional development course for 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade teachers* who want to make learning math awesome for their students.
You’ll learn how to fit an engaging, chaos-free math workshop in a 60-minute math block—and it works with any curriculum! Once you get a workshop up and running in your classroom, you’ll love seeing your students grow and deepen their skills, confidence, and conceptual understanding of math. Your students will fall in love with math!
Now, as teachers who have sat through thousands of hours of professional development (PD)—we understand how vital it is for PD to be relevant, actionable, and straight-to-the-point. You need PD that you can actually put to use right away!
But we also understand that PD should be engaging, too! (Even teachers need to be engaged!) So in addition to basing the Masterclass on our collective 177 years of experience in education…we’ve also made it fun to do. There will be games and giveaways, free gifts in every module, and some extra surprises just for you.
Don’t forget: because this is online PD, you can take it from the comfort of your own home. You can wear your pajamas, sip on an adult beverage, and/or lie down while you learn. Can PD be useful, fun, and relaxed all at the same time? Yes, when it’s Not So Wimpy PD!
*The Math Masterclass is only for grades 2-5. Sorry!
The Not So Wimpy Math Process is as simple as addition, division, subtraction, and multiplication.
Add centers to your math block that are simple and manageable for you…yet still wildly effective for your students
Centers are an incredible educational tool for kids, because they:
- Reduce behavior problems because centers allow kids to move their bodies, take part in hands-on activities, and have fun—which actually makes them work harder.
- Increase retention by providing spiral review so students are getting even more practice for skills that have already been covered.
- Grow student confidence as they complete the different tasks, which increases their stamina for solving more complex math problems—this will set them up for future math success as well!
Previously, you may have tried using centers but found them as painful as a 2-hour long staff meeting on a Friday afternoon. Picking, planning, preparing, cutting, laminating…phew, teacher-friend. They have probably been a lot of work for you in the past. (To say nothing of how much money you may have spent.)
But I’ve got your back. In the Not So Wimpy Math Masterclass, I’m going to show you how to simplify centers from beginning to end!
Divide your students into small groups…and meet all your students’ academic needs
If you’ve ever thought your students were “too low” for math workshop, allow me to blow your mind: The math workshop is the best darn thing you can do for your struggling learners!
The math workshop model gives you time for small-group instruction. Small groups:
- Allow you to differentiate the material to their level
- Give them the attention and support they need in acquiring new math skills
- Afford them more practice with manipulatives
And, your high students will also see big gains. Whole-group lessons can be boring for them (no offense) if they go on too long. But in a small, leveled group, they can receive “extension” lessons that help them continue to grow their understanding of math concepts.
With the Not So Wimpy Math Process, you’ll be able to plan differentiated small group lessons in just minutes. Better yet, you can do this with any curriculum, including the one your school is already using!
Subtract ALL the chaos…and fit everything into your 60-minute math block
The Not So Wimpy Math Process zaps the chaos right out of math workshop because it simplifies and streamlines every single component.
- Whole-group lesson: Instead of teaching until even your lowest students “get” it, you’ll switch to teaching a mini-lesson that introduces the concept…paving the way and setting the stage for your small group lessons.
- Small group lessons: It will only take you a few minutes to plan your small group lessons! You can use materials you already have.
- Math center rotations: You’ll learn how to choose centers that will be easy to prepare and your students will be able to work on independently!
If you have 60 minutes for math block, you’ll have more than enough time to fit it all in! (Got more time? You can spend more time with your small groups!)
And multiply your students’ skills, talents, and growth…to the power of 💯
The science is in about math workshop: it’s the optimal method for math instruction. A report showed that the workshop format increases student achievement, and that students who engage in math workshop outperform students who don’t.
Math workshop is so effective because it gives kids many opportunities to:
- Get actively, physically involved in learning math—which is how kids learn best
- Develop a deeper understanding of math concepts as they play and experiment with finding solutions—which helps them learn how math actually works instead of just memorizing an algorithm
- Make choices and have fun doing math—which leads to greater engagement, buy-in, and willingness to learn
- Write, talk about, and even draw what they’ve been learning—which grows their conceptual understanding
Math workshop is also great for the teacher, AKA you!
As teachers, we sometimes forget that it’s good to take care of ourselves too. Math workshop as a form of self care? Absolutely! A modern math workshop:
- Uses your time more efficiently. ‘Nuff said.
- Makes ongoing assessment of your students a snap. Because you’ll meet with your small groups every day, you’ll have your finger on the pulse of their strengths and struggles. You’ll be in tune with which strategies students have mastered, and which need more practice. This informal, ongoing assessment will help you intervene early with mistakes, and adapt your lesson pacing.
- Provides more opportunities for differentiation. As you know, not every student in your class is at the same level of math understanding. This is where small-group instruction comes through for you in spades. When you group students by ability, you can give your students more personalized attention, offer assistance, and meet their academic needs. Both advanced and struggling students can succeed and grow.
Meet your new, modern, and teacher-friendly math workshop that’s totally doable in a 60-minute math block. You’ll be able to meet with all your students without losing control of your classroom as you do so.
How is this possible? It’s the magic of the Not So Wimpy Math Process—which you’ll learn right here, in this very first lesson.
- Discover the 3 essential components of a modern math workshop, and how you can structure your hour-long math block to include all of them.
- Learn the Not So Wimpy Math Process, which will allow you to meet with all your students without your classroom turning into a 3-ring circus.
Your daily math workshop will always start with the whole-group lesson! As big as that sounds, it’s actually the smallest component of your math workshop. That’s why from here on in, it will be known as your mini-lesson.
- Find out how to use your existing curriculum to teach new mini-lessons and skills each day.
- Learn a foolproof method for neatly fitting all 3 essentials (math facts, review, and new skills) into your mini-lesson.
- Discover my most fun ideas for increasing student engagement during the mini-lesson.
You know that small groups are where “the rubber meets the road” but how do you even divide your students into small groups in the first place? (Why can’t the Sorting Hat be a real thing?!) After this module, you’ll have tools for making sound decisions about your small groups.
- Determine how to choose the perfect number of small groups for your math workshop.
- Use my tools for deciding how to place your students into leveled groups…and when to change the groups.
- Learn how to easily display groups and the rotation schedule.
Now that you’ve got your small groups sorted, it’s time to discover how to run small groups effectively…and efficiently.
When you use the Not So Wimpy Math Process, you will NOT have to create elaborate, differentiated lessons for each group! In fact, your teacher prep for small groups will only take a few minutes!
- Discover how to run effective, differentiated small groups without creating separate lessons for each group.
- Learn how to incorporate math manipulatives and interactive notebooks into your small group practice.
(This module is the juiciest!) Math centers are the “little engine that could” for allowing students to practice and grow their math skills—while also increasing their independence. But many teachers find centers overwhelming and time-consuming to prepare, and stressful to run because of the inevitable behavior issues.
Stick with me, kid, and I’ll show you how to make all of it run like clockwork. You’ll have so many “AHA!” and “Ohhhhhhhhhhh!” and “YES!” moments during this module, it’s worth the cost of the course by itself!
- Learn the exact center activities that will help your students review, grow, and work independently.
- Discover the secret to not spending all your free time planning and preparing math center activities.
- Master the art of making math center procedures easy for your students to follow.
To grade, or not to grade? That is the question. In this module, we’ll help you answer it—in a way that satisfies your admin and your students’ parents.
- Use a simple framework for deciding what math work gets a grade, and what doesn’t.
- Learn the ins and outs of using pre-assessments, exit tickets, and end-of-unit assessments to measure student growth.
- Get my (many) ideas for simple informal assessments that you can use regularly to check for and ensure student understanding.
Congratulations, you now know how to teach an effective math workshop! Now it’s time to get your math workshop off the ground for the new school year. Here, we’ll walk you through the first 2 weeks of your math workshop so it’s set up to run smoothly in your classroom.
- Learn how to teach the routines and procedures for your math workshop so your students can work independently, with confidence!
- Find out how to nip student behavior problems in the bud so you can keep workshop running smoothly.
Bonus #1: Place Value Math Centers
This bonus is squeal-worthy—an entire month of math centers for practicing Place Value! No need to fall down a Pinterest hole trying to find engaging math center ideas. There are 10 center activities for 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades that will help you review the skills of Place Value as well as teach new skills through task cards, sorts, and math journalism!
Bonus #2: Ongoing Support
Get access to the Not So Wimpy Team and our tips and ideas all year! In this private, members-only Facebook group, you’ll be able to ask questions and seek advice as you implement your new math workshop. We also humbly request that you allow us to celebrate your wins and growth throughout the year!
Bonus #3: The Complete Guide to Organizing Your Math Centers and Manipulatives
Elementary teachers love getting organized! But staying organized can be challenging. This PDF guide will include ideas (with photos) for organizing your center materials, games, and manipulatives. You’ll also get printable labels you can use to keep everything organized and easy to access.
Ready to make teaching math even more awesome?
Teaching math is awesome when you know exactly what you’re doing, where you’re going, and how you’ll get there. You’ll feel good teaching math this way, and all your students will have fun while learning and growing at their own pace.
- The entire course with 36 videos and free gifts
- Bonus #1: Place Value Math Centers
- Bonus #2: Ongoing support in the members-only Facebook group
- Bonus #3: The Complete Guide to Organizing Your Math Centers and Manipulatives
Yours for only one payment of $97!
Meet your instructor, Jamie Sears
Hi, I’m Jamie Sears, the fearless founder of the popular Not So Wimpy Teacher blog and top-rated Teachers Pay Teachers store.
I’m passionate about helping 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade teachers simplify their instruction while enhancing student success! Teaching effectively does not have to be complicated, and I create resources, curricula, and digital courses that are easy to implement.
- 10,000 teachers enrolled in in my Writing Masterclass, which helps teachers grades 2-5 run a successful writing workshop
- 200,000+ teachers have joined my free Facebook groups for support, expertise, and camaraderie
- Coming in 2023: I have a book deal with Penguin Random House for my first book! No spoilers, but How to Love Teaching Again: Work Smarter, Beat Burnout and Watch Your Students Thrive will be full of actionable strategies for being a successful, happy teacher while working fewer hours!
Years ago, I fell head-over-heels in love with the workshop model for teaching math. It offered me incredible opportunities to differentiate my teaching so I could help all my students. Seeing my students’ faces light up when they finally grasped a math concept was addictive in the best way. I loved seeing them so interested and engaged in learning math!
Why? I’ll let you in on a little secret: when I was a student, I hated math. It was my least favorite subject. I vividly remember sitting in my 4th grade math class and completing page after page of long division problems. Some days there were dozens of problems to solve. It was soul-crushingly boring and even worse? I never learned the “why” of how it all worked.
So as a teacher, I was determined to teach math in a way that encouraged curiosity and exploration. I started using math workshop during my very first year of teaching. Admittedly, it was a hot mess at the beginning—I had 10 different center rotations, ahhhhh!—but I was committed to making it work. As I refined my math workshop process, it wasn’t long before my admin started bringing other teachers by to watch me teach math workshop. But I kept perfecting it until I had a process that was easy to prep and implement. I’m excited to finally share my Not So Wimpy Math Process with the world!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which grade levels does the Math Masterclass cover?
The Math Masterclass is only for 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade teachers. If you teach any other grade, this will not work for you.
I’ve never taken a digital course or online PD before. How does this work?
When you enroll in the Math Masterclass, you’ll immediately be sent a login and password to the course. All the modules will be available to you inside the course. You can start right away! (But you’ll also have lifetime access to the modules, so you can also take it later if you prefer. You can take it whenever you want!) There are 7 modules. Each module consists of short, pre-recorded video lessons accompanied by bonus materials to make implementing a math workshop even easier for you. Because the video lessons are pre-recorded, you can watch them whenever you have time. There’s also a private Facebook group just for course members where you can get support from the Not So Wimpy Teacher team as well as your fellow students!
What’s NOT covered in the Masterclass?
The Masterclass DOES give teachers an easy-to-manage framework for running a math workshop during a 60-minute math block. However, it does NOT cover how to teach specific math topics (for example: rounding numbers or comparing fractions).
What if my school has mandatory curriculum?
The Math Masterclass is NOT curriculum. Instead, we’ll show you how to take the curriculum you already have and incorporate it into a math workshop that’s easy for you and effective for your students. Whether you love your curriculum or hate it, the Masterclass will make you a more effective math teacher.
What if I don’t have time to take the Math Masterclass right now? I don’t want to fall behind!
You can’t “fall behind” with the Math Masterclass, because you have lifetime, on-demand access to it! That means you can go at your own pace and/or take the Math Masterclass whenever you want. You can start taking it, take a break, and come back to it. Wherever you go, whatever you do, the Math Masterclass will be right here waiting for you—just like that Richard Marx song from the 1980s.
Will I lose access to the Math Masterclass at some point?
Nope! Once you enroll, you have lifetime access to the Math Masterclass.
Will I receive professional development credit for taking this course?
After you finish watching the Math Masterclass video trainings, you’ll receive a 10-hour professional development certificate. Because every school is different, you’ll need to check with your administrator to make sure the certificate will be accepted.
How is this different from your curriculum, units, or centers?
The Math Masterclass teaches you “how.” You’ll learn how to teach an effective math block in 60 minutes. Curriculum is the “what.” It’s daily lessons and centers. In the Not So Wimpy Teacher philosophy, you need to know how to teach before you can start teaching the what. The Masterclass does not include curriculum, but it does include some centers (broken out by grade level) for you to try out.
I already teach a math workshop. Do I need the Math Masterclass?
I love that you’re teaching a math workshop! It’s the most effective way to teach math. The Math Masterclass can help 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade teachers decrease chaos as well as the amount of time spent on preparation. It also helps increase student independence and growth, while allowing for more differentiated instruction. In short: If you’re looking to make it easier to teach your math workshop, then yes, the Masterclass will help you.
Do you offer refunds?
Yes, we have a money-back guarantee. Keep scrolling for more details.
Here’s what you’re getting when you enroll today:
Ready to make teaching math even more awesome?
Teaching math is awesome when you know exactly what you’re doing, where you’re going, and how you’ll get there. You’ll feel good teaching math this way, and all your students will have fun while learning and growing at their own pace.
- The entire course with 36 videos and free gifts
- Bonus #1: Place Value Math Centers
- Bonus #2: Ongoing support in the members-only Facebook group
- Bonus #3: The Complete Guide to Organizing Your Math Centers and Manipulatives
Yours for only one payment of $97!
The Masterclass is RIGHT for you if:
- You teach math to 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade students
- You want to learn a simple process for teaching a simple math workshop that gets results
- You have at least 60 minutes to teach math every day
- You dislike chaos and you want it OUT of your math block
- You want to spend less time preparing lessons and center activities
- You love the idea of learning at your own pace, and knowing that you can take the Masterclass now, later, or whenever you want
- You feel confident enrolling in the Masterclass because of our money-back guarantee
- You want to make teaching math AWESOME!
The Masterclass is NOT RIGHT for you if:
- You teach math to Pre-K, kindergarten, first grade, or sixth grade and higher (sorry, the Math Masterclass just isn’t for those grades)
- You like how your current math block is going
- You have less than 60 minutes to teach math every day
- You don’t mind chaos in your classroom
- You feel good about how much time you spend preparing lessons and center activities
- You’re not comfortable with online learning, and/or you don’t have access to the internet or a smartphone, tablet, or computer
- Your budget is tight, and spending $97 on this Masterclass would be a financial hardship
- Your math workshop is already awesome! (And hey, good for you on that!)
The Not So Wimpy Math Masterclass is a math workshop implementation program for 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade teachers. You will learn how to set up, start, and run a chaos-free math workshop that engages your students and helps grow their skills, no matter what their academic needs are.
When you enroll in the course, you will instantly receive access to all 7 modules of training videos, handbook, centers, and oodles of bonuses.
Watch a few of the lessons. Ask some questions in the Facebook group. Really try out the course and see how it can help you run a more effective math workshop.
If however you don’t believe the course can help you with your math workshop at all, just send a message to jamie@notsowimpyteacher.com within 14 days, and we’ll return your investment so you can put it toward a different math workshop training program.
Why you should enroll in the Not So Wimpy Teacher Math Masterclass now
If you’re a 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade teacher…
One who wants to see real growth in your students and their math skills…
Who is willing to make the effort to teach math more effectively…
Who loves the idea of spending less time preparing for their 60-minute math block…
And who feels confident knowing they can try the Math Masterclass risk free…
Do you want to make math awesome in your classroom ASAP?
If yes, it all starts with this button right here