Things in teaching ebb and flow. The new quickly becomes old, and the old becomes new again. One thing that keeps cycling back is the idea of Math Centers or Stations. At my school we have a designated time each day called Math SGI (small group instruction). This is the time each day that our Tier 3 students receive their intervention in the Math Lab. We are not allowed to teach anything new this time and we use this time to meet with our Tier 1 and Tier 2 students for support where they need it.
During this time, I like to break my class into groups. I do this several different ways throughout the year. Often they are ability based groups. This allows me to tailor the centers based on the ability of the students in that center for that day. My students do one center each day.
There are a total of 4-5 centers. Students are able to get through all of the centers in one week…sometimes Friday is a “finish up” day. I use the organizer below which lets kids see which station they are in for the day and then also includes their “must do” and “may do” options. This keeps students from finishing their work and then interupting my group to ask what they should do next. Some years I can adjust the schedule so that I can meet with my lowest group two times per week instead of just one.
For more math center ideas and tips on running your small groups, check here.
I create a slide for each day with this organizer. I just move the groups/student names down a slot each day of the week. I present this on my Smartboard or TV. I try to keep activities simple and easy so there is not a ton of prep on my part. I usually make one center technology based. This might be Freckle or Zearn. Then one center is with me. One center is with a partner (some sort of skill practice game) and once center is independent work of some sort.
I like to have a lot of hands on practice for students to use during centers. One that we are working on this week is a place value center. This is a great review for standard, word, and expanded form. Students can work their way through hundreds, thousands, ten-thousands, and hundred-thousands. Last year the kids did it digitally, but this year we are back to cut and paste paper. The bonus is that my class gets practice with cutting…and they need it!
Next week we will start another fun activity for multiplication practice. I will start with an easier factor and we will work our way up. The class loves this because it ends up being a step by step drawing while they practice their facts! They spin, solve and then draw! A big hit!
So you can see that it works great to have a variety of different activities to do during your math centers. With a chart, like the one I shared, you can manage your stations and get the best from your students. Students can take responsibilty for their own learning and behavior. Once the expectations for center time are set up, they will be easy to maintain for the entire year.
For more tips on math centers, check out this post I did here.
Good luck and be sure to grab the FREE organizer in our Free Resource Library here.
Have a great week!
~Heather Johnson
