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.
Teaching the 4th grade curriculum, I feel like I am squeezing the centers in when I can. I do love that there is a digital option, because I am able to plug those in to google classroom and the students can go there if they finish an assignment or cool down early. I also love that they can play against the computer because the computer kind of forces them to play correctly :-)
ReplyDeleteThat's a great point Caty! It is really neat how the game walks them through the game so clearly and prevents them from playing incorrectly. I never really thought about that benefit of using the digital option. I just love the paperless option---have I mentioned that there's a lot of paper? I need to try the digital cool down. I have not tried that yet since we have the print outs, but would like to explore all of the digital options just to mix it up. I am finding my routine has switched up quite a bit since I started Illustrative...whole group, to small group rotations, to half small group and then back to whole. It is wacky.
DeleteCaty, I haven't explored the digital yet. I need to do this.
DeleteI love seeing how the digital option is being used in all the classrooms I visit during the school day. It really gets the students involved. Caty I love that you are still squeezing in the centers though. Having the hands on is so important.
DeleteThe first couple of weeks were really tricky for me. I honestly needed a second to figure out what management worked for me and my current group of students. There were so many papers (stages), I didn't know how to fit it in, and I was just totally confused. I have a lot of scaffolds for myself, haha. First I go to my team and they teach me the paper games if I don't understand them. We talk about the problems that sometimes arise for kids (management and math), and which games really are "good". I also found that putting just 4 games out with materials make the transition go smoother. I set up a Google Math Game Material Topic and add games as we learn them there too. I keep the fan favorites up for multiplication practice so that keeps the routine going.
ReplyDeleteI try to fit in centers at least 3 times a week for about 20 minutes after the math lesson. The are also an option for students to choose a center during WIN. Luckily, my schedule lends itself to a huge math block that is never disturbed so I am lucky in that way. I have enjoyed seeing the progression of students interacting in centers as content becomes more solidified.
These pictures are super inspiring and overwhelming at the same time. I started with a drawer system and I thought I could switch out the centers games with each unit. Maintenance on that didn't work out yet. It will be helpful when I learn more about the games and which ones they like to go back to like Number LIne scoot. I like how all of the materials are packaged together in one container. I do have bins with the current games available to play. We also talk about having math talk as they play, just like one might in a math talk. "Iknow that" or explaining the equation.
ReplyDeleteIf any of you need help in assigning the digital centers, let me know and I can sit with you and show you. It's really easy to do and I think it's a great option!
ReplyDeleteThe 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.
ReplyDeleteI have been inconsistent with the centers. Partly because I teach math at the very end of the day when I have para support for push in IEP students. Unfortunately, there always seems to be a mess for me to clean up after the buses have rolled at the end of the day. Building the mathematical fluency is important, so I am going to make a serious attempt to do math centers one day a week during WIN time. Setting goals I can accomplish!
ReplyDeleteCenters have been tough but we do play the online ones as fillers or morning tasks. I appreciate these because it also monitors the students understanding and will help correct when they are doing thing wrong. I do not feel like I get to the paper Centers as much as I would like this semester because I lose one day a week in math but starting January I will hope to do more of these. My difficulty is making sure that I do intentional pairing so that the concepts are being ingrained correctly and games are played right.
ReplyDeleteWe use centers typically everyday. In first grade they are usually built into the end of the math lesson but if they are not we will still do our center time at the end of the day. We just discovered the online version and my kids love to do this on their ipad day! It is so fun to see them loving math.
ReplyDeleteI've found it a little tough to fit in centers regularly with the 5th grade curriculum, but every time I do, I think, "I need to find more time for these!" We're almost done with Unit 3, and so far we've done 4 center days: Rolling for Fractions twice, How Close?, & Compare. Each time, the centers have gone over wonderfully with the students fully engaged & getting a lot of math practice in. Rolling for Fractions - I gave the students the option of whether to play it on the computer or on paper, and the class was split about half and half for each choice - I found that super interesting & something to keep in mind for the continued success of these centers. For both How Close & Compare, I assigned these through Google Classroom and the kids played them digitally. At first, it was a struggle for them to fully comprehend what the games were asking them to do, so I called an audible, brought everyone to the front of the class & played a quick round against the computer for them to observe; after that, they were fully engaged and excited about the games! I did play a full round of Rolling for Fractions with one of my students and I loved being able to see him realize, after the first few rounds, that improper fractions were a possibility and could give him a better chance at winning! I was super happy that I didn't model that first, as I was following his lead, and he was able to discover that on his own! I also really love that we have digital options for these games & they have the option of playing against the computer OR with a partner.
ReplyDelete