Math Centers

Centers should be designed to:

• be an integral part of daily instruction for all children;
• provide meaningful, independent practice based on the Standards, curriculum objectives and students’ needs;
• include a variety of activities differentiated to meet the needs of students;
• change regularly according to the needs of students;
• hold students accountable for the work in which they are engaged;
• allow teachers to assess students’ math skills and strategies.

How do I establish routines for Math Centers?
It is important to build a community of learners so that students will be able to work independently at centers since you will be engaged with other students during this time. When introducing Centers for the first time it is important to:

• communicate clear, explicit, high expectations and develop a few non-negotiable center rules established jointly by both you and your students;
• be available to assist students during centers and reinforce appropriate behaviors;
• instruct, model and provide guided practice opportunities before placing new tasks in math centers
• have very brief ‘mini lessons’ every day prior to children going to centers focusing on how to use the equipment and materials, how to share materials, how to take turns, put things away etc. During this time you might have two students role-play the use of the materials while others critique their efforts or model how to solve a problem without teacher assistance (e.g. introduce the “Ask Three before Me” strategy to encourage students to ask three different classmates to help solve an issue during center time before coming to you with a problem).