Revamping Math Centers

I'm a big proponent of math centers for their small group appeal, novelty for the kids, and more activities to refuel their brain when they transition.  I'm also a proponent for whole group instruction when it's necessary because, to be honest, there are notes/certain lessons that I don't want to teach in small groups over and over and over and over and... you get it.  I want to spend my small group time focused on needs of students.

Anyway, I enjoy centers and have always thought that when I did them, they were done pretty well and I put a ton (probably too much) thought into what the specific activities were.  But because they took so long to plan, I didn't do it as consistently; only when I felt they were needed or when I had enough activities.  That was my biggest problem.

What do I want?

• centers weekly, not whenever (it will also aide in the math planning process & build practice time)
• go-to activities (so I'm not always thinking of activities for that station) that review, promote thinking, practice fluency of basic skills, etc.
• more differentiating (really able to meet with my high kids more often)
• not get rid of my whole group time (I need this independent time to target my low kids more often... which is why I wasn't getting to my high kids as often)

Luckily, as I was contemplating all this, I got an idea from a great teacher in my district during a training held in her room. She had a math rotation chart up, but the colors didn't go in order from one rotation to the next.  Talking to her about this, I got many ideas and tweaked it to match my room.

 Lo and behold, this is what I came up with:

First, let's talk flexibility:

• The top activities are taped on, so they're interchangeable...and I could use this chart for non-math centers in the future (I'm all about not redoing everything).
• Group names are also taped onto the bottom crayons to allow student movement based on concepts currently being studied.

Major Qs after people see this:

• Why is there an "x" on the tutor station?  I don't have an aide during that time.  She is actually not even there for the full 3rd rotation.  Therefore, I strategically planned my lowest kids with her during rotation 2 to get her the full time.  My middle kids are with her during the 3rd rounds.  She has plans and knows that when she has that 3rd round of kids, she should be doing her guided practice during the first 10 minutes and check for understanding before leaving and having them do the rest on their own.
• Why do you have only 6 groups but 7 stations?  This is because my tutor is not with me at all times.  A problem solving group could be used for my higher, independent kids who don't need her (since she's not with me full time anyway). Also, I am able to be flexible and add in or take away stations I don't need that week.
• Why don't the crayons go in order diagonally? This idea I got from that teacher in my district. Not every kid will hit each station.  My lower kids will probably not hit enrichment.  Some students need to build fluency with basic math facts more often than others. I organize where they'll go weekly and that sets my math plans for 2 days!
• How often do you do centers? I'll do centers twice a week (3 rotations/day). Other days are whole & small group break outs.

Here is a picture of my computer spreadsheet for 2 different weeks where I moved groups around:

BRIEF description of each station: (they can change anytime)
Computers: Greg Tang or other related sites on my class webpage; I'm also trying to implement Think Through Math this year as a more structured go-to computer station where I can assign pathways related to our current unit
Teacher: Based on the group I see, I may go over tests, guided practice problems, introduce different manipulatives, give math problems with difficult number sets, or move on
Fluency: reinforce basic operational skills with Equation Station Puzzles or Kakooma sheets found on the Greg Tang site
Tutor: more practice with middle to low groups
Problem Solving & Logic/ Hot Dots: If it's a review week, we will do Hot Dots (also sold on Amazom) and/or save this station for problem solving.
Review/Enrichment: more practice or enrichment work for high kids
Marcy Cook: See this post about Marcy Cook


How I organize stations:

Most stations have a manila folder (I'm working on something less lame as this is just a post it!) with colored construction paper folders inside (according to group color) to hold student material.  Students are taught to return papers back into their colored folder in case it is an activity that can continue next week. Also, I am able to see how much each group completed, check for understanding, and see if I can use the material in a teacher/tutor station to continue/review.   

DIFFERENTIATE: I felt that in the few weeks I have tried this, I have been able to differentiate so much more.  The high kids tend to be the ones left out, moving slower than they should.  For example, in this Review/Enrichment center, I have different activities in their folders based on abilities.  My red group is high and this activity  has them explaining their thinking with specific math vocabulary words.  The words have a fractional point value.  They add up the point value of the words they used in their explanation when they're done (still adding mixed numbers, but more in depth). My purple group is lower and needs more basic practice with the word problems we've already worked on that they haven't finished (they'll solve in their math notebooks). 

Thanks to friends and donors from DonorsChoose for these Hot Dot cards and pens.  I think the kids will really like the immediate feedback from the talking pens.  Don't you worry... I have plans for what to do if they misuse the pens.  ;) White boards are provided to help write down thinking if needed.  The manila folder holds groups' colored folders with their tracking sheets.

See this Marcy Cook post for more info about my set up.

And because it's my blog, here's a picture of my ultra cute baby working with me as I set up my math centers.

Marcy Cook Math

So I remember when I used to complete these as a kid.  Who says that what we used to do is totally out?  I purchased eight Marcy Cook Tile Packets to use as a center in my classroom (more about revamping my math centers in another post).

When I purchased, they were $15/packet, which isn't too bad, but can add up since I bought eight! However, I think it will be money well spent.

Depending on your students & the packets you purchase, these can be good review, fluency building, or challenging activities.

The "greater, equal, less than" packet that I purchased was purposeful as a starter to get my class thinking while figuring out how to use the materials.  As you can see, it still creates logical thinking and problem solving skills, as students are required to use all 10 tiles to complete the card activity.

What comes in each packet:

• sheet with suggested ways to use materials
• 20 card sheets
• reproducible student tracker sheet
• answer key
• directions and example cards

What you'll need to purchase:

• Quiet Tiles made of vinyl (or make your own 0-9 tiles)
• They are $1 each, not a dollar for four... I was obviously confused by this description: The strips ($1.00 each) come in four different colors  (I purchased 3 thinking I'd get 12, but alas, made a couple number squares out of construction for now.

student tracker sheet

How I set up the Marcy Cook station:

• I put each set of number tiles in a resealable baggie (5 total since that's the maximum number I have in a group)
• I placed the answer key in a plastic sleeve (so students can self-assess) and the direction/sample card on the back (I sadly have no prep volunteers this year, so spending all that time laminating is out for me).
• I copied the student tracker sheet and placed them in the colored construction paper folders (these are group colors...that way students won't have to dig to find their sheet each time they come to this station). 

As we work through them and students work at different paces, I will have to figure out how to put more than one card pack out at a time.  20 cards to start will suffice for now.

I'm super excited to see how the kids respond to these tile activity cards.  I anticipate it being difficult for my lowest kids, but they will hopefully get better.

Worksheet Turned Math Center

Ok, the week I did this lesson, I was being WORKED!  Stressful week, too much on my plate, irritated easily, emails galore, always feeling behind, beating myself up for not having better lessons because I planned it last minute... ever happen to you?

Well, this is not the best lesson I have ever done, BUT it turned a would-be worksheet into small centers and allowed students to move more often.  And since not every lesson can be so amazing, I thought I'd share how I tweaked a bland lesson into a more fun one. I thank the combination of "last minute planning" and "beating myself up for not having better lessons" thoughts the day before.

First, I took the 8 problems on the worksheet and called them tasks.  I then copied the question as many times as they would fit onto a sheet of paper, copied them on different colored paper, & cut them into strips.  My plan was to have them keep these work examples in their math notebooks. (If you weren't doing that, I assume you could leave space below for them to solve & then cut the paper.) I found by doing this, I also saved lots of paper!

I then placed each task in a different place around the room with a task number and glue bottle.

Students' jobs were to start at a task (didn't all start at #1) and move around the room at their own pace.  They glue in the strip, complete the work, get checked, and then move on.  

Of course, because they are working at different paces, some will be moving to a different station faster than others, and that's okay.  This would be the case anyway with a worksheet.  I had an activity ready for early finishers in addition to using them as "tutors" for those who need more help.  

For next time...

• One thing I did NOT do and should have was start my lower students at the same station so that I and/or my math aide could help them all at once on skills they needed and moved them together from station to station.  
• I will think about putting in an answer key at each station so students can self check.  I did originally want to do this, but knew many students would check incorrectly.  This is because we are modeling and I wanted to check for accuracy.  Perhaps I will only put in answer keys at some stations so I won't be so bombarded by checking answers.

Learning Logs

Reflection... I feel that I do this often.  Thinking about how I do things (good/bad) has helped me become a better teacher.  If we are not aware of what needs work, how can we improve?  It is the same with students.

I started these Learning Logs as "tickets out the door" at the end of the day rather than after each lesson.  The purpose is to write something they learned, were successful/unsuccessful with, etc. and they plop it into their paper bag that's on the bulletin board.  At the end of the year, we go through the memories and learning process.  I sure have done this different ways...

• cut up blank lined paper into eighths for them o write reflections (I didn't get good reflections, so I reflected and...)
• printed lined paper with Learning Logs as the title to make it more official looking (I still didn't get good reflections, so I reflected again and...)
• had students choose one of the sentence starters I posted around the bulletin board to get better reflections (some weren't choosing sentence starters anyway and I didn't have time to check, so I reflected again and...)
• required at least 3 reflections on any part of the day and had them share out (I was getting unspecific things like, "Today we did math," so I reflected again and...)
• you get the point!  haha

So what actually worked better this year?
I printed different sentence starters onto paper itself.  They would write their ONE good reflection based on this sentence starter they received at the end of the day and add more if they chose to.  Before introducing Learning Logs this year, I also started off with a lesson... the PURPOSE of reflection.  If I don't start off with reasoning and why it's important, how will I get buy in?

So before our first log, we discussed what reflection meant and how it could help us.  I even gave them examples of how I reflected as a teacher to improve on what didn't work and what went well.  We talked about if you always think you're all that, you don't tend to reflect, but then you have no room to grow because you think you're at your peak already.  I say that I never want to reach my peak because then the only direction to go is down.  I want to always keep climbing.

Some sentence starters I've used are below:

• Today in ____, I learned...
• I used my time well/not well today because...
• Today I am proud of myself because...
• I'm looking forward to working on/continuing...
• Today I was successful/unsuccessful because...
• Something I need to work on/improve on is...
• The easiest/hardest part of ____ is______
• Today I had a problem trying to____.  I will solve this by _____

The first few logs, we share what we write.  I make an effort to thank students who are honest and talk about any shortcomings, such as "Today I was unsuccessful because I did not stay on task during math and didn't get my work done."  I also have them follow up by writing what their PLAN is for tomorrow now that they know what distracts them. Now, I pick and choose days we share and revisit the purpose of reflection.  It's been going MUCH better this year so far.  I'm sure I'll end up reflecting again and tweaking this somehow...