Reflect
Read the center overview page linked below and then take a look at the MANY centers linked on our new math site. Choose one (or four!😉) centers recommended for your grade level and play it with someone!
Consider
- What are your thoughts about incorporating centers into your math time? How might you organize them so that they are manageable for you and easy for your students to access?
- What center did you play? What did you think of it?
Respond and Interact
After exploring some of the centers, please post your response to one {or more} of the prompts above. Read our colleagues' reflections. Feel free to respond to someone by sharing a comment, insight or interesting possibility.
It is important to recognize that centers are an intentional means to practicing skills and concepts across the year. For grades 3-5 center time is in addition to the regular lesson as desired by the teacher. I appreciated the suggestions on how one might utilize the centers. Kids will love them!
ReplyDeleteI checked out the website, looking great Renae! Thank you for having all of the pictures for a variety of ways to organize center materials. I see these centers as a wonderful way to support your emerging mathematicians and as a wonderful way to utilize a parent helper.
Yes, I agree with you Shelly. Thank you Renae for sharing the different ways that teachers can organize their materials. I am a visual learner so this was really important for me. I am excited to try the math center games that are not online. There seems to be so many (a variety) and so I can't wait to introduce them to the kids this September .
DeleteI like how the “Addressing Centers” go with the lesson or unit being taught and how the “Supporting Centers” reinforce prior learning from a previous grade(s) or lesson(s). What is interesting is the stages of a game across units and grades. I can’t wait to see this in action next year.
ReplyDeleteSomething that was interesting is how in grades 1 and 2, there is a center day at the end of each section of each unit. In grade 2, I WILL NOT skip these optional lessons that introduce new centers. With the centers, students can choose between previously introduced centers that reinforce content from the unit or build grade-level fluencies. I like the flexibility of choice that is given to students for center time. This year, I gave my students math games as a choice during WIN time if they had completed all their work and weren’t pulled for RAP/MAP/ELL or in small group with me. I am hoping I can do that with these centers this coming year. I might also utilize parent volunteers to do a math game 1 on one or 2 on one. But I didn’t have that many volunteers this year. I would love to hear how all pilot teachers at each grade level, 2-5, incorporated the centers. I greatly appreciate the pictures of how teachers are organizing their materials. Any chance we can have a place where teachers write down the name of any storage containers they purchased and through what company? Are the Centers Names and Materials list that I see if some of the picture somewhere to access?
My goal is to use WIN time for this as well, providing I have that in my schedule. :) It worked pretty good for me last year.
DeleteBeverly - I also liked that they have the two "categories" of centers; addressing and supporting. I didn't fully attend to that last year as an early implementer - one of the things I will better plan for as I go into my 2nd year of IM! I really had a difficult time fitting centers in. I am going to try it as an entrance time to math (10 minutes -assuming our blocks are long enough,) and also use a little more time when first teaching each game.
DeleteI love using centers! I have been a huge fan of using math centers since as long as I have been teaching. I use it in my Daily 3 Monday-Thursday. The kids love it and they have an opportunity to do a math game that interests them. This is something that I will introduce to them and then they have an opportunity to make a choice on all the learned games. I have been using games from my other school district and the games that have been posted on our math website. The kids do really enjoy them. The more variety, the better. I also have drawers that I put the games in with all the pieces. I teach the kids explicitly and intentional so when it is their turn they know what they want to do. Also, I do show the kids the extra game pieces, just in case if there is an odd number of people in that rotation, they can get the pieces themselves without interrupting my small group. We always say in class "Please join our group."
ReplyDeleteI have never done the games from the IM except the center games online. I tried them this year with the flatscreen and they were so easy to use. The kids had a chance to play versus the computer or with a friend. It was very engaging and we even tried some of the harder ones and easier ones for all kids to participate. They were great except my only complaint was "I wish there were more that online activities." With technology these day, I feel like kids are really into games online and so that would be a wish for me. Otherwise, the online ones were fantastic.
Hi Linda,
ReplyDeleteMy students loved Capture too. They also play something similar with rubber bands and geoboards to capture a square and place a unifix cube inside a square they completed. The student with the most unifix cubes in completed squares wins. It will be nice to have all these centers connected in the IM math lessons as well as the games already on the shared math site that went with Math Expressions. I hope we don't get rid of those shared math site games. When you mentioned running the # cards on different colors, which number cards are you talking about? I have ones Stacey shared with our team but was wondering if it is the same ones you were talking about.
I agree with those above who spoke about the importance of centers and that while some might be "optional" the opportunity for growth is worth the time invested. What I really appreciate is that I've heard it talked about, and read in the hand out that K is primarily focused on centers. This is fantastic for those in later grades, because K is really doing the heavy lifting with teaching new games and management. Thanks K! By the time they've reached 2nd grade, they've learned the "rules" for many of the games. I am confident in the K-1 teachers at my school that they will provide structure and management skills of centers, so I can really focus on content.
ReplyDeleteWhile I didn't "play" Can You Draw It, I looked at it, and was so excited that, like many of the centers, it is a spiraling intensity. I assessed where my students might use it in 2nd grade and their prior experience with it. It is the same idea, just including new skills. As many teachers in the district, I have a child in the district as well. I was able to see what his experience with the same game would be, and it sounds fun! There was a little bit more of an element of competition in it, which may lead to more willingness in later grades.
Organization of centers makes me slightly nervous. I want to make sure I create materials that can be reused and store them correctly so I'm not scrambling yearly for materials nor wasting supplies. I will be relying on younger grades in my school for their systems along with seeing how others in the district do it.
As an early implentor in grade 3, fitting in centers was hard, since they were not embedded into our lessons but an add-on. But they are so important for developing fluency and the kids love them. I found an easy way to use them was for early finishers, but I also needed to find time to introduce new centers, that was the challenge. I eventually found a way and am hoping to have a time that I can use at least 2 days a week to do centers with my kids, more days if possible. This will allow my kids to use them as needed as an early finish option. One of my colleagues shared that in their class they devoted the first 10 minutes of math time as a center time. Starting out math time with that made sure it didn't get put on the back burner, the kids got good at getting set up quickly knowing they only had 10 minutes. (Something for me to think about). My team ended the year by using our PLC time to dive into centers we each picked one center, played it with our class, came back and shared with the team. This was very helpful. I do wish there were videos of the centers being played or explained more in depth. I did find some videos on-line from a group I joined on Facebook. A couple of centers my class enjoyed was Capture Squares and Five in a Row.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea that they start the lesson with the centers. It would really start the lesson with positive energy.
DeleteThe Centers have been a hit in our early implementers' classrooms. The kids don't want to quit playing. 😊 I especially love how the centers meet the needs of most (if not all) of our math learners. Our students who tend to struggle with math can find entry points and the centers offer our high achieving mathematicians opportunities to go deeper with the content and really THINK as they strategize.
ReplyDeleteCenters have always been a tool I have loved using in the classroom and especially with math. I'm encourage to see the use of centers throughout our lessons. What I love the most is that they have all the materials at the ready. Half the problem is getting everything organized and ready for all of your lessons.
ReplyDeleteKids think that center time is the best. They get a chance to practice their learning and it's a great time for me to do some formative assessments. I can also use this time for differentiation.
My students absolutely loved the IM centers! They were something that they looked forward to at the end of the each section and they knew when center day would be coming up. It is definitely not something I considered optional as the centers were so rich in opportunity to move the learning forward for each of my students at their own level. As an early implementer, it wasn't surprising that I had to spend more time this year teaching the routines for each center. I know this will become much easier and faster as we progress forward and students have been engaged in many of the centers since kindergarten and first grade. They will already know the routines and the rigor will just increase. I love the different center stages that the students move through during the year. Another thing that my students appreciated was the choice available. Once a center had been taught and played, they could then choose other centers to spend time at. They have so much fun that they don't even realize all of the math that they are practicing and ultimately strengthening skills as a result.
ReplyDeleteSome of my 2nd grade students favorite centers were Capture Squares, Would You Rather?, and Five in a Row. While they were involved in centers I could borrow some students to differentiate some of the learning. Once students knew a center well, it also was a great activity for some of my early finishers. As you can no doubt tell, I am a huge fan of the centers that are a component of this curriculum! :-)
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of using centers in the classroom for all context areas and it is exciting we will get new ones with this new curriculum. I think that centers are a good way for students to be able to explore and play with the math that they have learned in a low risk environment. I could see incorporating the centers at the end of my math block after students finish their independent work or as a part of WIN time.
I looked at creating line plots, which I thought would be good for 3rd graders. This is actually very similar to another activity I already do in my classroom. It gives students the ability to choose their own items which is good for taking ownership of their learning. Then it has students use their data to create line plots which is in line with standards. Students would have fun doing this activity and it would be a great review from 2nd grade.
Having the ability to observe centers last year was such a great benefit going into this year. I absolutely love these centers. Students have a blast doing it and don't even realize the impact it is having on them while they are "playing". Afterward, being able to listen to discussion as students talk with their peers on what worked, what didn't, what did they try, etc. We buddied up with 4th grade students every other Friday and practiced different centers and my students loved them. I look forward to implementing them this year and showing students how impactful they can be while also having a blast doing it.
ReplyDeleteI played 5 in a row and I felt like it requires a lot of strategy from those that feel confident in their skills but also allows for some basic playing where students who might be struggling in some areas have the opportunity to learn and grow as they play.
I plan on implementing them toward the middle of my math block to give a little bit of a "break" while students practice the skills we are working on and then continue the block after a short discussion/journal entry about what worked and what didn't as they play. I look forward to starting a new math block where students will have more opportunity to share their ideas with their peers and practice their skills in a more broad spectrum of activities.
To be honest last year when I was implementing this curriculum, it was hard to get the timing down correctly and I would skip the option center days to keep up with the lessons and pacing. As the year went on, I became better at managing my time within the lesson and didn’t feel as rushed. I also began to realize that I didn’t need to explain more than what was in the lesson because the curriculum does a wonderful job of building on the previous days lesson. Having been through the entire year and having a better understanding of the big picture, I will definitely make time for the center days. Some of the favorite centers from my class last year were “Capture the Squares” and “Five in a Row.” I am looking forward to doing a better job at teaching the number puzzles. I would also like to focus more on the center, “Target Number.” My goal this year is to introduce the center on the center day and then have them in bins for the students to play as an entry task.
ReplyDeleteJeannine, I agree! The different stages of the centers really does help differentiate, that is something I loved last year. Also, building that math fluency and critical thinking as they begin to understand some of the strategies involved was fun to watch.
ReplyDeleteAs I mentioned in my comments to others, I had a hard time fitting in centers. I agree with Amy Oliphant, as the year went by, I began to understand that the curriculum does a great job of building on previous lessons, I began to really trust the flow of the lessons and was better able to manage time. I love the idea of starting math with "center time" and really hope we can do that. Last year, my students loved capture squares too and 5 in a row. I just explored "Can you draw it?" which will be GREAT for the language/comprehension of all the geometry vocabulary! I didn't play it this year because at the end, I was sometimes doing 2 math lessons a day to finish before the end of the year. I also checked out "compare" which will be super for differentiating and building fluency because it has addition/subtraction as well as multiplication. Looking forward to reviewing pacing and prepping all the centers prior to starting new units. Last year I had a parent helper that came in once a week and I did have her do some center prep for me! I hope to get another "helper" this year for that purpose.
ReplyDeleteCenters in classrooms can be very beneficial to learning and differentiating for all students. I appreciate that we got the centers for the new curriculum last year. I have had time to process a few of the first games. I think that these games will end up being used at our WIN time at least 2 times per week. I am not sure how much time it will take to teach them but I am hoping to get on a regular schedule with teaching games during math time or maybe morning meeting on Thursday or Friday. I think if we have a regular schedule for teaching and trying new games then it will be easier for me. This will hold me accountable for fitting them in.
ReplyDeleteAs far as materials management, I have a file cabinet set aside to put these games into then I plan to rotate them out into a bucket depending on the unit so students can easily access them. The manipulatives, counters, dice, etc. will be in a set of drawers that are clear and easily accessible. We will practice taking out and putting away a lot in September so students do this readily.
I love the way IM lines the centers up so that they build upon previous knowledge. It helps that the games are leveled so that all the students can be playing the same games but at levels that make sense for their current understanding and so it makes differentiation easy.
ReplyDeleteI used the centers to start my math lessons last year and will continue to do so this year. I set a timer for ten minutes and we played until it went off. I made game slides and presented them on the big screen when the kids came in. It helped to leave the directions and materials up for kids who straggled in from recess. The kids came into the math lessons excited after being able to demonstrate their skill level and play games. Math was after lunch and it really helped usher the kids in and get them excited to learn.
I liked the virtual centers too and pushed them out through google classroom. It was perfect for WIN time and something they could do at home as well. They could play independently or with someone by sharing their device. I liked this option for material maintenance and distribution.
I organized my centers and had them available in a basket in the front of the room last year. This year i plan to have them on my shelf but accessible for all.
I always made sure that i partnered up with a different student after our first time playing a game so i could continue to build my relationships. Whether playing with someone who had mastered the skill or playing with someone who really need assistance, it was a great way to connect and spend 1 to 1 time with my class. I can't wait to play the games with my class this year.
I LOVE centers and been incorporating them into my math practice for a number of years. I will absolute use the optional days next year to ensure my students have adequate time to build their math skills and apply/reinforce the concepts from class collaboratively with their classmates.
ReplyDeleteI used a number of the centers last year with my students and they really enjoyed them. I found them to be engaging and supportive of their learning.
In the past with a different curriculum I would prep each units centers before starting the into so all I had to do was grab the materials right before teaching. It was time consuming but really help me feel prepared and organized.
I have used math games as an early finisher option for many years. However, I want to make sure to include these centers as more of a part of math class so that everyone can participate.
ReplyDeleteI played How Close Stage 4. I found this game to include enough strategy and chance to be fun to play for a couple of rounds. I love how it includes estimation, addition, subtraction and comparing. This is a game that students could also play be themselves and try to beat their own score.
I had 2 parent volunteers cut apart all of the center cards last spring. But I can see that I need to continue to prepare the centers. Where/how I will store them long term and then how students will access the current games. What about dice/spinners? So much to think about! I appreciate the examples given on our site!
Math centers are a wonderful way to help children engage in math together and keep practice their math skills. I will be using them for sure next year. I really liked Jeannine's idea of maybe using the math centers in the morning where I used to use the Remembering sheets or having a math center day on Friday. This will be something I will need to experiment with to figure out what works best for my kids and the schedule.
ReplyDeleteLast year I decided to try out two of the IM games Kylie was using in her class. My students played Capture Squares and Five in a Row. They enjoyed playing these games and it got me excited for the different center activities we will be using next year. If I ran out of ether of the games, I would have a child write me a note that i needed to print more copies.
I believe centers are an important part of our learning community, enhancing lessons in a fun way. I look forward to using them next year. I plan on incorporating the centers into my WIN time and on Fridays. I will adjust when needed. In addition, I know it would be important to take the time and do them as an entire class session when I notice most students are struggling to understand a skill.
ReplyDeleteJill showed me how she organized the materials in a 15-drawer rolling storage cart off Amazon and I plan to use the same thing this year. It was so organized and easily accessible to students.
Last year I showed my students how to play the 5 in a Row Multiplication. It was a hit, easy to understand and enjoyed by students.
I think the centers are an extremely important component of Illustrative. As an early implementer I didn’t always give them the time they deserved (due to pacing) but after getting a piece of advice during a training to hone in and focus on introducing and mastering a couple centers at a time I was much better off. The presenter assured us we did not need to introduce all the centers in our first year of implementing IM. That was the permission I needed to give myself grace and dedicate the time for myself and my students to master one center at a time. Some of my students' favorite centers were “Capture Squares” and “Number Puzzles.” I personally loved ‘How Close?” - lots of lightbulb moments during that center!! It was incredible to watch students develop strategies as they moved from picking random numbers to add or subtract, to estimating and reasoning. Knowing the centers are built across stages and grade levels, I can only imagine how efficient our little mathematicians are going to be after experiencing the curriculum for a couple of years!
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