Activities like math centers get my students excited for math, keep them practicing basic skills, and allow me to teach in small groups using math rotations. This is my first year doing math centers and math rotations and my first attempt in September was not as smooth as I hoped. Since then I have taken a break, regrouped and set up some new centers. I have been working hard over the last couple weeks to get my new math centers set up and organized. Finally they are ready to go and I am so excited! Now as we start our next math unit I can jump back into math rotations and differentiate my lessons. Hooray for being able to teach my students in small groups based on where they are at while the rest are kept focused and busy with math centers!!
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| All my centers activities fit neatly into one container and can simply be laid out during center time. |
As I was putting my math centers together I was trying to figure out how to keep everything together with the little space, time, and money that I have. My centers in September were kept in basket containers but I found students had a difficult time knowing where everything went when they were putting things away. I have found a cheap and easy method for keeping centers small, compact, and easy to move from space to space.
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| Students take the plastic sleeve to their desk with their center packet and have all the materials they need. |
My new idea for organization in the classroom is using plastic page protectors to keep everything together. We have been using these for our spelling program so students can keep all their spelling materials together in one spot. These plastic envelopes are great because they are durable, clear (which I find helps students keep their materials neat and tidy), and can be written on. In spelling my students are placed in different groups based on where they are at so I simply coloured the top corner of their plastic sleeve so they know what colour group they are in. It is such an easy way for me to pull out their stuff and know immediately what group they are in, what they have been working on, and where they need to go next.
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| The coloured blocks on the corner of the packet let me know what group the student is in. |
I have also used these for all my new math centers which is great because all the centers materials fit in two baskets and take up way less room. Students simply grab the plastic sleeve for their center, take it to their working area and get to work. All the materials are kept in the plastic sleeve which is kept closed with a paperclip. I know they don't look that pretty and there are a lot of containers, plastic drawer stands, and other great ideas for centers however I have limited wall space in my room (lots of cupboards) so I like to keep things small and compact. Best of all they are inexpensive so if one of the plastic sleeves gets ruined I can simply replace it with a new one for about $0.15.
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| This center contains vocabulary cards, play money, a dry erase crayon and dry erase page to write on. Everything a student may need to complete the center. |
Finally as my contribution to the Kind-Hearted Teachers part of this linky I am including some of my math center pages as a freebie. Many of my materials are from other teachers so I don't feel like I can share them but if you are looking for some great math center ideas please send me an email or leave a comment and I will gladly direct you to some of the places where I found my center ideas.
Thanks to Blog Hoppin' for this wonderful opportunity to link-up and share!
