Posts tagged "Mathematics"

Math Centers and Small Groups

Math centers are a great way to add differentiated instruction into your current math program.  Sometimes it is difficult to provide small group instruction during your math block.  I know when I first began teaching, I spent most of my time focusing on my literacy groups and did most of my math instruction as a whole group.  I would set up basic math centers but would never really elaborate on my math centers and make sure that they were meeting the needs of all of my learners.  I felt that my planning and prep time was limited.  While I knew that differentiated instruction was important, I did not know how to include it on a consistent basis during that time.

During my third year teaching, a new teammate introduced me to her routine for using math centers and small groups to provide more individualized instruction.   Once I discovered that planning and teaching with math centers was not as time consuming as I had once thought, I started including it into my  program.  Here are several things that I did to help me get started.

1. Start small – Math centers do not have to be elaborate.  In the beginning I set out a variety of manipulatives and blank pieces of paper.  I would have students create their own story problems and explore patterns.  At another center, I would have students complete a worksheet.  The other centers would include games, counting exercises, and flash cards drills.

2. Pull groups  -  When I was starting to change my math instruction, it took me awhile to get the math center routine down.  I wanted to monitor the learning stations in the beginning, so I would only pull one group a day. Once I was able to work with students and group them, I adjusted my lesson plans to fit the students’ needs.

3.  Remember to assign partner activities – As teachers, we regularly assign partner reading, but I would sometimes forget to assign partner activities during center time.  Students can learn so many things working together during instruction time.

These are just some things I did in my classroom when I began incorporating centers and group instruction into my math program.  Give it a try and see if it might work for you!

Lesson Planet – Find Teacher-Approved Lesson Plans Quickly & Easily

Here is another lesson plan site that one of our customers uses.   It is a paid subscription model, and boasts over 75,000 lesson plans that conform to state standards.  There are also worksheets that come with the services.  They offer a free trail.  Many of these lesson plans are written and contributed by teachers.

Lesson Planet – Find Teacher-Approved Lesson Plans Quickly & Easily

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