The Giant One with Math Centers

Blame it on the week before Spring Break or blame it on Spirit Week (dress up days) or blame on my March Madness heartache…it’s been a long week! And it’s only Wednesday! 

I’m sure you’ve felt that way before so I decided to share my *almost* fool proof math block and math centers! Just a little bit of positivity and some ideas on this Wednesday! 

First, my math centers continue to be an ever-evolving process but for the most part they boil down to 6 types of rotations.

We only ever do four types a day and usually stick to those four the whole week. Our schedule for math block goes one of two ways:

 

Math fluency is a quick review of either multiplication or division facts, Problem of the Day comes from CCSS in our current district interim cycle, and Whole Group comes from our school-wide curriculum, Math in Focus.

Math Centers takes all of that and piles it into one!

If you’re a person who doesn’t do math centers I highly encourage you to try! Fair Warning: I love all centers everything. BUT STILL! They are great and I will share with you why J

First the logistics (this is both necessary for your sanity and for their learning)

Each rotation was at least introduced whole group twice before becoming a center. Introduced as in I explain, have a small group show quickly, and we try it from there. Sometimes this does bite me in the youknowwhere but for the most part it works and saves time! 

Most importantly, our PowerPoint is on a timed rotation and chimes when it rotates. This is SO necessary for me because if there wasn’t a sound I would have 23 kids yelling at me the picture changed and I would still be teaching!

This is also where I show what iPad app or Computer program to use. I tell them at the beginning but it’s a needed reminder.

I’m long winded sometimes so the best way to explain my rotations is with pictures!

Seat Work

Admittedly the most “boring” of my centers but holds students accountable for the whole group learning of the day. Students cannot rotate until seat work is done (designed to only take the time allowed) they also must fix their answers from the day before at recess (really only necessary the first few days to set accountability.) 

If they finish Seat Work early they know to immediately start a Today's Number. It’s allowed me to always have students learning!

Partner Game

This is the most versatile center (like how I say that over wishy-washy?) Games vary from Scoot, to multiplication war, to this week – white board challenge – all of our review problems cut up and put in a basket. It’s funny how the same problems can be done in seat work but add a white board and tally marks and it’s a competition! 

Work With Teacher

This is a differentiated lesson based on the day’s whole group lesson or on students’ target skills. I always like to start with my most struggling group (hippos) and work my way to the more advanced (toucans) so they get more instruction before seat work.

Interactive Notebooks

I previously wrote about those here, so I won’t go into anymore detail except the kids still LOVE them and I am still indebted to Not So Wimpy Teacher for all her hard work making these resources!

iPads

I’ve also shared my love for certain apps previously and you can check it out here! Lately we’ve been doing SplashMath a lot because I finally splurged for the full access account. Students also love Penguin Math to review facts. 

Computers

We used to do a lot of SumDog and other random skill sites (which I’m still a fan of) but lately I’ve been trying Edmodo in math. I’m really loving everything about Edmodo except my student usernames! With so many students on Edmodo our usernames look something like a computer code and you can only imagine how many times it takes to get it right! 

I love the Snap Shot feature! This allows me to pick and choose CCSS to quiz students on. Edmodo creates randomized quizzes for these CCSS and provides me with amazing data after! You get 5 free snapshots a month so use wisely! I think I’ll do one a week once we get in a groove. 

Beyond the snapshot I can create and send quizzes, (whole group or personalized) take polls, and send discussion questions.

Here’s a “snap shot” of Edmodo Snap Shot!

I hope this post gave you a few ideas on how to start Math Centers – if you use math centers I’d love to hear your expertise as well!

The One When the Panthers Win!

March Madness started a few days ago but today was the first *real* day because UNI played!! Yay! I decided I just HAD to find a way that I, I mean my kids, could watch it. 

I searched TpT and googled “educational ways to watch March Madness” and ya know? Nothing showed up. Surprising, I know. So instead I incorporated our focus skill in math currently: created and interpreting graphs. 

In room 21, we graphed how many points each UNI player scored. Don’t get too jealous – we only watched the last ten minutes, but it was so fun! I had a few “We’re not graphing the players for Wyoming?” – Um no, we cheer for the purple and gold.

Just kidding. I let them cheer for whoever they wanted. As I’ve mentioned we are studying universities in writing, and one student researched Wyoming so she (and a nice, loyal friend) cheered on Cowboy Joe.

During the game we tallied each point scored (free throws and field goals were new to some of us) and during commercial breaks we played “around the world” in table groups. It was a fun little break after a week of state testing - and on a Friday afternoon you can’t beat it! After we created bar graphs. It’s safe to say Westpun is everyone’s new favorite player.

 

Even though Google didn’t give me much I did hear, “Wow, this is fun and I’m also learning! Did you know that would happen Ms. Buikema?” To be honest, the words came from my class ham but it’s always nice to hear ;)

Next up – Louisville! When they asked if we could do this for the next game they were disappointed it was on a Sunday…so I sent them home with graphing paper. Turns out Colorado is a PANTHER STATE too! 

The One Where Cardboard has Taken Over: Part 1

A few weeks ago I shared how enthused my students were researching their college or university of choice. I also mentioned that in the future we would be creating a building on campus in the near future. Well the future is now and cardboard has officially taken over the classroom! 

It's all apart of a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) competition that we are signing up for as a class. Check out Cain's Arcade for the inspiration. The competition is in May so we have a good start!

This is only “Part 1” because we are in the early stages of plans, blue prints, and custom ordering our cardboard pieces. Guess who the custom cardboard cutter is? Just another hat I now wear. *insert diva emoji*

 

Here’s how we started and where we are going:

1. Students each picked a prominent building on campus. Some buildings are elaborate ceremony halls, others are sporting arenas, and some are buildings where students would like to study!

2. We researched the history, purpose, and design of the building. Using Google Earth, school websites, and our trusty Google Images we were able to better understand our buildings. 

The next few steps we really had to work to s-l-o-w d-o-w-n and plan. Building right off the bat is so much more fun though!

3. We took a few days to explore with different size pieces and draw what custom orders we would need. Seeing as I’m the only one who can use the box cutter, I’ve become quite skilled. 

4. Now we are at the point of building! Yay! I figured the most organized least chaotic way was to have each table group work to help one person a day with their building. We spend 30 minutes a day at the end of each day working. 

With today being the first day with spray glue, glue guns, and box cutters all in full swing I was *SO* thankful to have a parent volunteer to join us EVERY DAY! How lucky am I?

5. In the future we will continue to create and add detail to our buildings. Every day a student has another brilliant idea for their building (which usually leads me to Hobby Lobby) I can’t wait to see how they progress and what the end result will be! 

Stay tuned for Part 2!