In my 26 years of teaching, no single approach to education has excited me more or led to more success than the use of math centers in both my first- and second-grade classrooms. I began this approach because I was frustrated that the teaching of mathematics was often not individualized. The brightest children, and even those who struggled, were sometimes ignored. Lessons often catered to the “middle.” Parents complained, children lacked stimulation, and some teachers felt inadequate.
Why Math Centers?
Then one day I decided to try a technique I had heard about called “Math Centers.”1 In this method of instruction, several learning centers are placed around the classroom. Each individual center highlights a particular concept, presented at various levels of difficulty while at the same time targeting diverse learning styles. I set up the first unit, introduced it to the children, and was thrilled with the results. My students loved math class, worked busily during the period, and submitted more work than ever before. Now, after years of using centers in my room and with a variety of co-teachers who love this program as much as I do, I’m writing this article to share the key elements that will make the execution of this program a success in your classroom. Try math centers — you’ll experience satisfaction in your teaching and receive respect from both your administration and the parent body!
The Setup: Planning and Individual Preparation
The first thing you need is the guide for your mathematics curriculum, along with the guides for the grade levels below and above your own teaching assignment. Most curriculums only cover seven to ten major topics in the course of a year. Next, ask to invest in a few critical manipulatives for each unit if your classroom is lacking in hands-on materials. After that, the planning is relatively easy.
It is usually best to set up four to six centers per unit. If you’re studying place value in a second-grade classroom, for example, the unit would have a variety of centers that allow children to work from a beginning level of recognizing, building, and representing 1- and 2-digit numbers to a much higher level that allows children to show a well-developed understanding of numbers with 4+ digits, while at the same time applying this knowledge when solving riddles and number puzzles. Visual, kinesthetic, and tactile learners will benefit through these building, drawing, and stamping activities.
At the Build a Number Center, children use base-10 blocks to represent numbers on place-value mats. Numbers with 2, 3, and 4+ digits would be available. After building the numbers, children then draw the blocks to replicate what they have just produced. At another center, the Stamping Center, the children stamp numbers using place-value stamps. Once again, varying levels would be represented. Yet another center, the Read a Stamp Center, reverses the process, and the children read and record the number represented by the stamp. Other centers could contain activities where digits are named, categorized, or manipulated. Puzzles and riddles are available for more advanced students. Last, games that use place-value blocks are easy to purchase or download if additional learning centers are needed. Creating these centers for the first time takes the most effort, but once you have done that, they can be used year after year.
The most important part of the planning process is creating two to four levels for each center. There should be a level below grade level, if needed, and a few above to challenge better learners. Teachers on other grade levels, as well as the school math specialist, can help create this differentiation.
Before the first unit, you will need to assess the students in order to determine the general levels in your particular classroom. Speaking to the students’ previous teachers or reading the school’s database may provide helpful information. At the beginning of the year, taking brief notes on each student can help you steer each individual child to the appropriate level. After a short time, each child will know his or her own level and will choose independently.
Execution: Large or Small Group, Mini-Lessons, Accountability, and Assessment
On the first few days of each new unit, plan to teach the main concepts found in the centers in either large or small groups. After a few days of practice with the material, you can set up the centers. The first day of centers will generally take 45 to 60 minutes because of the need for specific directions, but after that it will not take longer than a regular math period and can sometimes be done in shorter periods of 25 to 30 minutes.
During centers each day, take note of the concepts that continue to be difficult for the students or that seem to require additional direct instruction. This assessment is critical to the success of the program. Mini-lessons at the beginning or close of each math period (or even at other times of day, like morning meeting) provide the extra instruction needed for most children. Small groups can be pulled during centers if necessary; however, this takes you away from the management of the period. Occasionally, the math specialist (or teacher aids or paraprofessionals) may be available to help out during these times.
Accountability is another key issue in the execution of any math center program. Students should know which centers are for them and how many they need to complete. Index cards can be used to reward each child (with stickers, for example) for centers completed or to keep track of centers that have not been finished or need to be reviewed a second time. You might give extra stickers for longer activities or challenging ones that require additional time. When a child finishes a center during class, he or she should come to the teacher for correcting and brief one-on-one teaching of any concepts that seemed challenging. After that, the child fixes any mistakes, drops off the work in the finished bin, selects a sticker for his or her card, and then chooses a new center. In this way, each child rotates from center to center independently and at his or her own pace.
At the end of each unit, sort all finished work and return it to the students. Let each child choose a favorite piece of work, if portfolios or data binders are used, or discuss how the child feels the unit went and what learning occurred. (Students will sometimes discover that more work could have been completed or that a higher level could have been attained, and so they will set goals for themselves for future units. Self-assessment occurs often during centers and helps the students understand themselves as learners.) Store all finished center work in a binder or folder for use at conferences or with report writing. This work serves as the assessment in the early childhood years and, with older students, can serve as work to study for a more formal assessment of the unit.
If you determine through this assessment that certain skills are still weak but that the class must move on to a new unit, these centers can remain out or can be reviewed even after the next unit has started. For example, if you are currently teaching a geometry unit, centers that review addition and subtraction strategies can be placed out in the classroom in order to ensure that new skills learned are continually reviewed and eventually mastered.
Logistics: Some Final Thoughts
There are some general logistics I have learned over the years that make the execution of the program efficient and easier to manage. For example, it is helpful to have large bins at each table for the placement of the different levels. Color-coding each level helps the children quickly distinguish their level. Also, having a special bin for unfinished work makes it easy for the children to continue activities on the following day. At the front of the room, bins for finished work should be easily accessible. You can sort work each day, every few days, or whenever it seems appropriate to assess the progress of the students. If a child hasn’t completed the required centers, a note can be placed on his or her card for the next day. At the end of each unit, any additional work is sorted and stored.
Now you are all set to try math centers in your classroom — enjoy!
Notes
1. Bruce Campbell, “Multiplying Intelligence in the Classroom,” On the Beam 9, no. 2 (1989): 7.