Three Little Words I Dare Not Speak and Throwback Thursday

B a c k   t o    S c h o o l .  

I know, I know too early.  But I also know there is a lot of printing, laminating, cutting, and organizing that goes on during the summer.  One packet you may want to check out is my (hot of the press) Bright Beginnings (10 Math Centers).

This packet includes work with number words, ten frames, number bonds, tally marks, number order, part part whole, and more.  I plan on using it during the first month of school in my first grade class.  It would also be perfect for kindergarten throughout the year.

If you are interested, check back tomorrow I'm planning on posting one of the centers as a freebie.

Speaking of centers, (I call them math boxes in my class) I wanted to share again how I organize mine.  First Grade Parade is hosting Throwback Thursday to highlight a past post.  What better excuse do I need?

Originally published on April 29, 2013

I love peeking into other teachers' classrooms and seeing how they organize their classes and materials.  I wanted to give you a little look at my math box organization and storage.

We call them math boxes in my class.  But you may call them math stations or math centers or math tubs.  Whatever you refer to them as in your class, I'm sure you know they are a great addition to your math time.

I try to use them everyday.  I partner students together during their math box time.  I usually partner a stronger student with a weaker student.  If I have an odd number of students, one will just work independently.  I leave the partners together for as long as that set of math boxes are out (usually about a month).  When I change my boxes, I also change the partner arrangement in the class.  

This arrangement has worked well, but I continually remind the students to take turns so that one student is not doing all the work.

So there you have a brief explanation of how I organize my students.  Below you can see how I setup and organize my boxes.

My students really like to do math box and I love the constant review I can work in by having them as part of my math time.  If you do not use them, summer is coming up.  You will have some time to think about how you can work them into your class' routine.

Thanks for reading and have a great evening.