Math Stations
You guys…I think I have finally figured out the most successful way to teach math!
Let me fill you in on some teaching strategies I have used in the past but they were never quite right. First I taught math using the traditional whole group lesson method. I started with a markerboard warm-up and I then taught a mini lesson as the students practiced in their math journals. As the students finished, they would move to a math game or an extension. I felt like I didn’t really know my students as mathematicians as much as I wanted to. Plus, the engagement level was not what I had hoped for.
Another way I have tried to teach math in the past was by splitting the class in half. One half of the students were with me as I taught the daily lesson and they practiced in their journals. The other half of the class was taking part in either a math game, an extension, or a review activity. I liked teaching the smaller group. However, I was constantly managing the other side of the room. Having that many students in a group was extremely distracting.
I have recently experienced my Goldilocks moment when it comes to math teaching! I use 4 stations daily. It’s easy to plan, I know my students as mathematicians, and the students can move at their own pace. This has increased engagement. Planning is easy because there are only four stations. Three of the stations use activities from our district’s math curriculum, Everyday Math, so they are already planned. The fourth station is games and yes I do find some from our curriculum, however, I have also created many lines of games. Creating multiple games with different concepts that have the same rules makes it so my students are familiar and have few questions about what to do. I do always offer the students an enrichment activity for early finishers.
Stations have allowed me to know my students so much better as mathematicians. This is because they practice with me daily in small groups. Right now I know I have a student who struggles with visual concepts such as measurement and fractions. I also have found out who excels at problem solving and critical thinking. This information allows me to differentiate to meet the students needs.
Using math centers as my style of teaching has increased engagement because each center lasts about 13 minutes. The students are constantly moving and working on different activities. I make sure that students are clear about extensions and games during small group to eliminate interruptions. One of the greatest outcomes from stations is that I hardly have any management issues because the students are so focused!
What are these four stations you say? Let me describe them to you. I teach a pullout program so I have a total of 60 minutes for math instruction. This leaves me with about 13 minutes for each station. I also give the students a couple of minutes to transition between stations. The stations are:
Teacher - This is at a small group table with me.
I begin with a short warm-up, usually this is the students showing their thinking on a markerboard. This is quick. The students know that they only have a small amount of time to respond and I start as soon as the first child sits down. The fast pace and start encourages the other students in the group to come to my table quickly.
I then move to the daily math lesson. We use Everyday Math in my district and I teach the daily lesson from that curriculum. I make sure to give the students time so I can see them practice the concept before they move to the next station. Yes, this does mean I teach the lesson more than once. However, I don’t mind it and I am so much more effective on my third time around!
Independent - This always comes after the teacher station. These are the pages in the student journal that go along with the lesson and give students the time to practice. Most students work on this at their table seat however some prefer flexible seating by themselves. I give the students a choice on where they think they will be the most successful. So far I have been proud of their decisions!
Math Boxes - Everyday Math is a spiraling curriculum and they have included pages in the students math journal called math boxes. This is a page with 6 concepts the students have already practiced. If you do not use Everyday Math you can just use some sort of review page. This station can fall anywhere in the rotation (since it is a review), it can even be the very first station. Beware! The students usually move through this station the fastest, I always have an enrichment opportunity available. *See below for more information on this!
Game - The students also take part in a small group or partner game. I always select a game about the concept my students have just studied or a concept they need to review. Some of these games come from the Everyday Math Curriculum but since we play math games each day I find I do not have enough choices to keep my students engaged. I have created many math games that my students love. I find that when the game directions are clear the students begin much faster and hardly ever interrupt my small group. When directions are difficult or confusing, watch out for off task behavior.
Some of the games my students play are dominoes. This is where the student starts with the first domino (it says start) and reads what is on the other side. They then must find the domino with the matching answer. They continue to place the dominoes until they get to the last domino and read the word “End.” This is a self-correcting activity because If they have any dominoes left then they know they did not solve the puzzle correctly. One thing I have learned over the years is to give the student the count of how many dominoes are in the stack. Otherwise, they are positive their deck is missing some!
Checkout a mini domino game for free here:
Need a lot of various topics? Checkout my domino bundle:
I also have many individual decks (printable and digital) in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.
The game station is flexible because the topics are review concepts and the center can fall anywhere in the rotation. If needed I teach new games during the teacher station before I have the students play independently. This is another reason I love dominoes. Once the students understand the game you can place new versions in the center without any instruction!
At this time I only have 3 different groups of students with 4 rotations. That leaves the last rotation for me to check journals, reteach concepts, answer questions, confer, etc.
Students will finish each station at various times. I always have at least a few extensions for the students to choose from. I also try to align these extensions to the concept being taught or a concept that needs more teaching. For example, right now it’s January and the students are studying area and perimeter. I created Draw a Scene printables that the students love! The students look at the figure and then determine it’s area or perimeter based on the question. They then have 2 answer choices. The students determine the correct response and draw what the answer says to draw. When the students finish they will have created a winter scene. The students stay engaged because they are practicing math and tapping into their creativity. They are also differentiated so the students can choose the level they are comfortable with or move from the easiest to the hardest worksheet. I love this activity because I just glance at their picture to determine if they included the 6 items they were directed to draw.
