Math Work Stations PART 1 and Arrays

Remember that post about Math Workstations that I promised???

Well- here is goes!

1.  Order the book AND read it.  Debbie Diller is WAY smarter than me :)

2. Figure out how you want to manage your workstations. 

My students work in partners. Debbie highly suggests partners instead of groups for work stations. I would have to concur: noise levels are lower and kids work harder!  The numbers next to their names represent the work stations they will work on for that day.  I have ten work stations going on at one time. 

You also need have an easy way to store centers. These baskets are PERFECT.  They were three dollars each at Wal-mart. 

When you take my baskets off the shelves, this is what you see.

The baskets that I use are the perfect size for recording sheets, centers, and any manipulatives that you need for the center.

Many times I will use some of my work stations during my small group instruction.  I usually save my more difficult centers for my own small group instruction.

*Also another hint- sometimes I save my recording sheet as a kind of flashback or review instead of having my students complete it during rotations.  It serves as a great way to make sure students don't forget the concept the second they walk out the door for the day!

That is all for now but I will be back soon to talk about what I am doing while my kids are busily working away!

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Arrays:

Yesterday I taught the workbook-way to teach arrays. I should have known better.  My kids' eyes immediately glazed over, and everything I said went right over their heads. 

I joked on my instagram account that today I was going to pull out the big guns.... FOOD.  But in all seriousness, have you ever taught a food lesson that wasn't more engaging than a workbook way?!?! It's just.not.possible for kids to not be excited when working with food!

I simply bagged up some fruit loops and gave them some scrapbook paper and voila!

Here is my model for the students:

Writing about math is just so important!  If you read my post about Writer's Workshop, you know that I think writing is absolutely key, and I feel the same way about writing about our math thinking.  Students get a chance to use their math vocabulary and explain what is going on in their brains!