Elementary Shenanigans: Monthly Math Q&A and a GIVEAWAY!

Monthly Math Q&A and a GIVEAWAY!

I am thrilled that so many of you are just as excited as I am about my month-by-month math centers! I know that you have had lots of questions, so I decided to do a little post and try to answer those that have been most common! Then…stay tuned for a little giveaway!

How do these centers meet the needs of students’ grade levels 1-5?

These centers as designed to allow students to work towards mastery of a basic, yet specific, math skill. The actual practice sheets are blank…meaning they do not include numbers. This is perfect because not only does it allow the students to complete an activity as much as needed, but it allows them to advance at their own pace. For example, if the whole class is still working on one digit addition, yet you have a student ready to move on, he/she can begin creating two digit numbers and so on. That is why I love them so much. They do not have to be switched out, the students are always working with new sets of numbers {so they do not just memorize the answers}, and it allows for the students to feel a sense of ownership….like they created the activity on their own. On that same note, remember…you do not have to implement each center. I typically used 6-8 in first grade and more in second.

How do you implement these centers?

I have used the centers in both first and second grade. I intend to implement them into 3^rd as well for my early finishers and possibly some homework assignments.

First Grade: Since these youngsters are not quite independent at the beginning of the year, I like to take it a little slow. I will usually introduce addition, subtraction, and Can’t Top It at the beginning of the year so that they can practice these concepts when they have extra time. Another little tip just in case the the cards aren’t enough of a visual: I allow students to have a bag of manipulatives in their desk {counters, fruit loops, etc.}. They can use these at any time when trying to solve problems. This is an excellent way to really develop number sense, one-to-one correspondence and helps students visualize what is going in their math problem. First Graders LOVE these centers. It makes them feel so grown up!

Second Grade: At the beginning of our second grade year, I introduced three centers each week. {Trust me, they pick up on the concept very quickly}. At the end of each week, I would allow the students to work independently as I walked around and monitored. During this time I made sure that each student thoroughly understood how to complete each activity. Then, once all centers were introduced, the students were allowed complete activities as early finisher stations. On occasion, we would have a choice day and they would always run to these activities first!

How do you keep your color ink usage to a minimum?

First of all, I do NOT print everything in color! HOLY ink bill! I run a master copy and place it into a notebook. Then I just make regular copies on the copy machines at school. When printing a master copy, you can also choose the grayscale option prior to printing. Either way works fine! The only thing that I print in color is the cover sheets for the folders and their cards {which I choose to laminate so that I can use them for the next couple of years}.

Do you just use these activities for early finishers?

Primarily I do use these for my early finishers. Let’s face it, part of mastering basic math concepts is a lot of drill and practice. It is just a fun way that allows students to engage in such work without the “bored out of my mind” factor. They truly enjoy them! However, I have used them occasionally for homework. For example, when working with rounding numbers this year, we practiced rounding two and three digit numbers. So the students could easily take home the activity, create their numbers and go to town rounding.

Are each set of centers exactly the same?

Yes…and no. Each set of centers is formatted the same way for a reason. Here is how I view early finisher activities. They must be engaging for the students, focus on a skill that students are familiar with, and meaningful. They are not “I need to ask my teach a trillion questions so I am sure that I am doing it right” activities. {You feel me??? We have all been there!} When my students complete these activities, I am usually working with small groups of students reinforcing concepts taught during my instructional time. It is difficult to give them the attention that they need when 10 students are running up to you every second. So…yes, they are the same activities…BUT…remember, the students are always creating new numbers. Therefore, they are practicing the same skills {remember that drill and practice thing I talked about earlier}, but always with new numbers ensuring that they truly understand how to problem solve.

How do you monitor their progress? Do you assign specific activities?

This really depends on the student. In first grade, I would have a basic outline of a checklist and would individually create each student a list of centers that they needed to complete for the week. They kept them in a little notebook and would check off the activities that they completed. This still provided choice {which activity they wanted to complete when} but with a little more focus. Then each week, I graded a different group {2 groups} to check for mistakes here and there. This also helped me as I structured my instruction for the next week and would occasionally throw in a little mini lesson here and there on our weak areas. In second grade, I specifically used them for early finishers and would quickly check them before they turned them in. I really prefer the way that I structured this in first and will probably return to that method in third. It’s all about trial and error people….right? RIGHT! Really, it is all about what works for you!

I hope this information was helpful to you! If not, feel free to let me know and I will help in any way that I can!

Now, for the giveaway! I will be giving one lucky winner a set of my math centers. You can click on any of the pictures to check them out at TPT.