Effective Math instruction is way more than just standing in front of a group of students (or your child) and delivering content. In fact, the way students learn is by allowing them to practice the skills they were taught. Students might not get the information right away the first time. Think about it…if doctors learned how to operate just from reading a book or from their professor, would you let them operate on you right away? Of course not! So should we assume a student has mastered a math skill because you taught it once or twice? They need to practice the skills and there may not always be time during your regular math block. That is where centers or small group instruction come in place.
Centers allow students to have more practice on a skill that has been identified as one that they need more assistance with. It also grants more individualized attention and allows them to see the same material in a new way. Some teachers may be afraid to implement centers because they may not have efficient classroom management. This means that they may not have procedures in place for students to adequately independently learn. However, I’ve seen the most growth in a class that productively runs centers with quality work 2-4 times a week. In centers, students can review material from the past and for higher students, it can introduce more rigorous skills. For example, due to the pandemic, third graders spent the first part of the year with 2nd grade standards in the rotation, especially the standards that relate to what they are learning that year. Centers do not have to be long at all. 30 minutes a day can allow small groups to rotate twice for 15 minutes a group.
Keep in mind your grade level attention span.
- 4 years old: eight to 12 minutes
- 6 years old: 12 to 18 minutes
- 8 years old: 16 to 24 minutes
- 10 years old: 20 to 30 minutes
If you are not comfortable with doing centers, here are some tips to help get started.
- Figure about how many centers you feel comfortable with.
Some schools have para support which will allow for more centers and smaller groups, but that is not the case in most schools. You will have one teacher led group and the others will be independent. The smaller the group, the better. But it’s good to try to keep the number of students between 4-7 if possible.
- Decide what activities and tasks would work for your centers.
You don’t want activities that students can’t do on their own. This can cause students to be disruptive. The same reason is why you don’t want activities that are too simple as well. You want the activities to provide enough engagement and challenge to keep them interested without you watching them all the time
- Prepare the materials ahead of time.
We know that things don’t always go as planned. But it’s better to have a plan then nothing at all. You do not want to be cutting out fraction strips 5 minutes before centers begin. Materials can be organized labeled and you can teach students to put them back where they belong as a routine. Kids love organization and routine.
- Create groups for your students.
Teachers group students in different ways. Sometimes they keep the same groups for a few months based on an assessment. Sometimes they change based on how they are doing on a particular skill. You have to decide what’s best for your classroom at the time.
- Do what’s best for your students.
You might see a teacher doing centers one way and you try it and it doesn’t work. It’s ok, they won’t always be perfect. You need to PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE and adjust to make it fit for your students. I may like the way my counterpart introduced 2 digit multiplication, but my students may not be ready for that, so I’ll do what’s best for them. Be patient, know that it won’t always work the first time, and learn as you go. And most of all HAVE FUN!!
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Here are some ideas for Math centers from Amazon.
-Liz
