Chunking the Lesson: How to Structure a Math Class with Group Work

When teaching with students working in groups throughout an entire class period, we can’t just stand at the front of the room and lecture the whole time. If we do, students will quickly get off task.

Instead, it’s important to break each lesson into smaller parts and have a plan for each part. This keeps the lesson flowing and helps maintain student engagement.

When done well, group work stops being a potential classroom management challenge and instead becomes an invaluable learning resource for students.

We call this process Chunking the Lesson.

What Is Chunking a Lesson?

Chunking a lesson simply means breaking a class period into smaller instructional segments, each with a clear purpose and learning strategy.

Here are the basic steps:

• Work through the lesson before teaching it

• Decide where good cutoff points are throughout the lesson

• Choose a learning strategy or teacher move for each chunk

• Anticipate how students will respond to the problems within each chunk

• Have a plan for how to respond to anticipated student responses

That’s the high-level view.

Now let’s take a closer look using a lesson I taught earlier this year as an example. Before continuing, read through the Warm Up, Notes, and Practice & Spiraling sections of the lesson.

Chunk 1: Entire Warm Up

I decided the entire warm up would be the first chunk of this lesson.

Students were given five minutes to work, either individually or with their group. I rely heavily on the timer on my phone during class to keep each chunk moving.

During those five minutes, I circulated the room to see how students were doing with the problems.

Based on my preview of the lesson, I knew there was one particular problem worth discussing as a class, so I planned to debrief only that problem.

After the five minutes were up:

1. Students first shared their estimations for the estimation challenge.

2. We revealed the answer.

3. We quickly moved to debrief the key warm-up problem.

Before discussing the problem, I announced that Number 1 students would be the reporters for the day. This is a variation of the Numbered Heads learning routine, meaning only the students sitting in the number-1 position in each group could speak during this class period.

I called on a number 1 and asked them to explain:

• What the problem was asking

• What their group’s answer was

I always remind students that they are reporting a group answer, not an individual answer. They are allowed to talk with their group before or during their response.

After finishing the warm-up discussion, we moved on to the notes.

Chunk Recap

• What: Entire Warm Up

• Duration: 5 minutes

• Learning Strategy: Numbered Heads

Chunk 2: First Two Problems in the Notes

When previewing the lesson, I noticed that students had enough prior knowledge to attempt the first two problems in the notes without instruction.

So instead of explaining first, I asked students to:

• Work individually

• Complete the writing prompt silently

This used the Quick Write learning strategy.

While students worked, I circulated the room. The majority of students were successful, so when it came time to debrief, I simply drew the correct answers on the board without a full explanation.

Giving a long explanation would have been inefficient and likely caused students to lose focus since most already had the correct answers.

However, I did ask one quick question:

Why didn’t point F move?

Any Number 1 could respond.

Finally, we watched the 12-second animation from the lesson and I reinforced the big idea:

Rigid motions map every point from the pre-image to the image.

Chunk Recap

• What: First two problems in Notes

• Duration: 3 minutes

• Learning Strategy: Quick Write / Numbered Heads

Chunk 3: Third Problem in the Notes

This was a higher-level question, so I decided to dedicate an entire chunk to it.

Students used the Think-Pair-Share strategy:

1. Think: 1 minute silently

2. Pair: 2 minutes discussing with their group

3. Share: Whole class discussion

During the discussion, I called on a few Number 1 students to explain their group’s thinking and possible strategies.

Because I noticed some confusion while circulating, I decided to fully model how I would solve the problem.

Sometimes a full explanation is necessary, especially when students need a clearer structure for approaching the problem.

Chunk Recap

• What: Third problem in Notes

• Duration: 5 minutes

• Learning Strategy: Think-Pair-Share / Numbered Heads

A Powerful Lesson Design Idea

Educator Henri Picciotto has great advice about when to use challenging problems.

He recommends alternating between easy and difficult problems throughout a unit, rather than starting easy and gradually increasing difficulty.

“Throughout the unit, go back and forth between easy and hard the whole time. Avoid the trap of starting easy and gradually making it harder, for two reasons. One, starting too easy gives the wrong impression, and students don’t launch into the unit with the right attitude. Two, gradually getting more difficult gives the impression to some students that there’s a time where they might as well give up. Going back and forth is a way to keep everyone alert and challenged, and to have times where the pressure is lessened.”

This idea has made a big difference in my classroom.

Students are now more engaged in challenging problems, and difficult tasks feel normal instead of intimidating.

I highly recommend adopting this approach.

Chunk 4: Fourth Problem in the Notes

For this chunk, we again focused on a single problem.

This wasn’t because the problem was difficult. In fact, I would classify it as a proficient-level problem.

Instead, the focus was on a new concept: reflecting across a line that is not vertical or horizontal.

Because this idea was new, I decided to directly teach the example.

I introduced a shading method and displayed an image on the board. Students first participated in a Notice and Wonder routine.

After about 30 seconds of silent thinking, I asked Number 1 students to share observations.

Then I explained the method and released students to try the next three problems.

Chunk Recap

• What: Fourth problem in Notes

• Duration: 2–3 minutes

• Learning Strategy: Notice & Wonder / Numbered Heads

Chunk 5: Problems 5–7 in the Notes

Students worked on the next three problems together in groups for about two minutes.

While circulating, I noticed confusion about the problem involving segment FG, so I decided to demonstrate that one on the board.

After that, I quickly displayed the answers for the other two problems and clarified any remaining questions.

Chunk Recap

• What: Problems 5–7 in Notes

• Duration: 4–5 minutes

• Learning Strategy: Group Work / Numbered Heads

Chunk 6: Problems 8 and 9 in the Notes

These problems were intentionally easier, continuing the pattern of alternating difficulty.

Students needed to recall what the equations x = −1 and y = 4 represent on a coordinate plane.

So I asked students to think silently for 20 seconds, then called on a Number 1 to share.

After that quick refresher, students worked on the problems individually or with their groups.

Once most students finished, I asked a Number 1 to explain how their group handled triangle EFG when the line of reflection passes through the shape.

Chunk Recap

• What: Problems 8–9 in Notes

• Duration: 2–3 minutes

• Learning Strategy: Numbered Heads

Chunk 7: Problem 10 in the Notes

This was another challenging problem, so we returned to Think-Pair-Share.

Students:

• Thought silently for 1 minute

• Worked with their group for 2 minutes

While circulating, I noticed most students were stuck. Instead of extending the discussion, I decided to directly teach the problem.

After the explanation and student questions, I released students to try the final problem.

Chunk Recap

• What: Problem 10 in Notes

• Duration: 5 minutes

• Learning Strategy: Think-Pair-Share / Numbered Heads

Chunk 8: Problem 11 in the Notes

Students worked on this final notes problem directly in their groups.

The goal was for students to apply what they learned from the previous example and support each other’s understanding.

After about three minutes, we debriefed the problem as a class. A Number 1 shared their group’s strategy and we addressed remaining questions.

Chunk Recap

• What: Problem 11 in Notes

• Duration: 5 minutes

• Learning Strategy: Group Work / Numbered Heads

Chunk 9: Practice and Spiraling

The final chunk of the lesson was a Practice & Spiraling handout.

Students worked individually or with their groups while I circulated the room to:

• Provide support

• Answer questions

• Redirect off-task students

Depending on the class period, students had 10–15 minutes to complete this portion.

This final chunk helps reinforce the day’s concept while keeping other important skills fresh through spiraling review.

Influences

This approach to structuring lessons has been influenced by:

• District SpringBoard training

• The book 5 Practices for Orchestrating Productive Mathematics Discussions

• Mapping Out a Course