Teachers are always looking for new ways to improve/adapt what they naturally do in their classrooms. Luckily at JBE we are given lots of different opportunities to participate in professional development. The most recent PD that I have joined is one focusing on implementing stations (centers) into the math block. Although I have always used math centers as part of my normal routine, I have picked up some wonderful organizing techniques as well as a refreshing sense of "you can do this" lol :)
Step one was reorganizing my math board. This is what the final product looks like. It is actually a drip pan from Discount Auto Parts that I covered with fabric to make a cute magnetic board. The student's station numbers are glued on and their names are on magnets so they can be easily manipulated.
Step two was putting all of the math stations I was already doing into one centralized spot. I changed out what was originally in this bookcase in order to house the centers. Inside of each lid I hot glued Velcro directions explaining my expectations for the center. The directions allow students to have something to reference when they are playing the game and the Velcro allows me to change out the directions easily when I rotate centers. In addition, I placed a topic card on the top of each tub. The card has the skill the students will be working on printed on the top and a dry erase circle in the center for me to write the name of the game.
Step three was allowing the students to play! They loved having the choice of which station they got to go to and which partner they wanted to work with. Everyone was engaged and on task. Although the stations covered basic review material they allowed for the additional spiral practice needed to reinforce skills.
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