Reflect
Read the center overview page linked below and then take a look at the MANY centers linked on our new math site. Choose one (or four!😉) centers recommended for your grade level and play it with someone!
Consider
- How are you currently incorporating centers into your math time?
- How are you organizing them so that they are manageable for you and easy for your students to access?
- What center did you play? What did you think of it?
Respond and Interact
After exploring some of the centers, please post your response to one {or more} of the prompts above. Read our colleagues' reflections. Feel free to respond to someone by sharing a comment, insight or interesting possibility.
Well, to be 100% honest, I am doing a terrible job currently incorporating the centers in my math time. I feel that I do not have the proper time to do it well, so I don't do them on the days that we have scheduled. To be fair, report cards, "snow days" and minimum days did not help! I also feel that the last time I tried to explain the center/math game, I didn't really understand the game myself, so that went south!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward, I am excited because last year I incorporated and prepped the centers for the future units, so I will get back into the swing of them. I find that if I organize them for the unit and have them ready to grab, I am more successful!
I do think the centers are important and will be mindful to set aside time for them!
In kindergarten, centers are included in every lesson. Center time is really when we get to see our students in action and learn what they know. Center management is a hot topic for our grade level. Personally, I keep all of my centers in labeled bins. One bin per center. Each day I set out only the centers we need for our lesson (typically 4-6 centers per day). This system is working okay for us this year. I spend a lot of time replenishing and reorganizing center bins each day. I would be interested in learning how others are managing their center materials.
ReplyDeleteI played counting collections, mostly because I just got some fun new materials to put into the collections. I am excited for my students to see the new materials!
The Centers have been a hit in our classrooms so I'm grateful to hear that you are trying to find ways to fit them in. I especially love how the centers meet the needs of most (if not all) of our math learners. Our students who tend to struggle with math can find entry points and the centers offer our high achieving mathematicians opportunities to go deeper with the content and really THINK as they strategize.
ReplyDeleteHere are a few examples of how some teachers are organizing and displaying their centers:
https://sites.google.com/tahomasd.us/tsd-k-5-math-site/centers/center-displays
I am struggling to incorporate centers into my math time. My lessons usually last the entire time I have for math and that does not give enough time for students to play at a center. I do teach a game during the center day after the students complete their checkpoint, but that does not allow a lot of new games to be introduced throughout the unit. I do allow students to play introduced games during our WIN time if I am not pulling that student.
ReplyDeleteTo organize my games I have Sterilite drawers in the front of the classroom. The drawers include the clear plastic sleeves for students to use with the games. It also has the spinners, paperclips, and cards that some of the games need. I, in the future, will print out the name of the game on a label I will put on the front of the drawer, but right now students just know which game by opening the drawer. Once the unit is over the games will go in a gallon zipper bag with all needed pieces and placed in a tub labeled with the Unit.
The game I chose to play was Mystery Number Stage 2 with three digit numbers. This is one of the centers that is included in my current unit, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to figure out how it works. I think this will be a fun game for my class and a good opportunity for them to think about numbers in different ways and explain about those numbers. I am excited to introduce it to the class on Friday, which is our first center day.
ReplyDeleteHow are you currently incorporating centers into your math time?
I love centers but it really does depend on what students are in my classroom. Now that RAP has begun for my students some of my students are missing the meaningful math conversations but are able to interact with centers. Which is something that they need, as in building foundational skills like number writing and so fourth. I try my best to rotate between students and groups because I can sit with them and ask thought provoking questions or help guide them if they write the wrong number/ miscount/ ect.
How are you organizing them so that they are manageable for you and easy for your students to access?
I use bins with labels.
I chose to play number race because a lot of my students did not succeed on the number writing portion of the report card and regularly write reversals. I usually have students write to the top number (to see who wins) and then fill in the rest with a different color so that they still get the practice even if they already figured out the winner.
Math centers have been informally part of our TK rhythm since the first day of school, but I am excited to add more robust offerings to the menu after we return to school this week. So far, our slow-start mornings have been all about math materials and plenty of free exploration. Counting dinosaurs, unifix cubes, and pattern blocks are all the rage. Several students are chewing on the materials, so we are working on that too. :) I am trying to get more buy-in with puzzles and links (the patterns! the fine motor!), and after playing Math for Love's Tiny Polka Dot with my kids over the break, I am ready to introduce it to the class. Our favorite variation was called Hungry Numbers-- can't wait for my students to enjoy!
ReplyDelete