First week of Math Centers

hi I'm Jamie from NASA would be teacher and this is the last video in a series that I've been doing about teaching math using the math workshop model and math centers so if you've missed any of the other videos in the series I highly recommend starting there and then finishing up with this video it'll make a lot more sense to alright so today I don't want to talk to you around the first week actually two weeks of math centers this is the most critical time this is where you set yourself in your class up for success for the rest of the year so it's really important that we take the time to slowly model out expectations our requirements for our students okay the number one advice I can give you is that you should take your time don't feel pressured by other teachers in your building that are moving faster than you you have to move at the pace that your class is ready to work at and it can be very different from class to class teacher to teacher grade to grade and so don't feel pressured by the teacher next door was like oh we've been doing her math centers on our own for a week now are you so so if your class meets it then spend the time now so that in like a month or two and you don't have all the behavior problems you don't have lengthy transition and students are doing what they're doing students who aren't on task to spend the time right at the beginning of the year and that way the rest of the year is much smoother you still need to review some procedures Ciara progresses but by spending a lot of time now you will save your time yourself some time later okay you will be so much less frustrated when teachers give up on Max's hopefully because they're frustrated and those frustrations could have been alleviated by more training hi this is huge I thought I really believed those first couple of weeks should be spent building a relationship with your students and working on procedures okay what I'm gonna do today I am going to talk about kind of like what I did for my first eight days of math centers and I have this little cheat sheet as well as a more detailed explanation on what I did during my eight days on my blog and there's a link in this video description to help you so I'm just going to briefly go over it because you'll have more details that you can reference later right first of all I get asked often but my school says I have to start my curriculum on day two how am I going to do all of this teaching of procedures if I'm already doing the curriculum you can do that I did I don't leave my school required us to start a math curriculum around day three it's pretty early so I did I you know what you there's no point in complaining about the hurdles that we have we just have to get over them and it worked out fine for me what I did was I taught my lesson from my curriculum that was not my pacing guide for that day I would teach it whole group it's similar to the way I taught I was going to teach my mini lessons all here if you haven't seen that video you don't want to check that one out so I would teach that whole group lesson introduce that lesson to me students usually curriculum kind of starts a little bit more of a review from the previous year it's not usually too difficult in those first couple lessons and so I could do it fairly quickly but even if it took a little bit longer than what my meaning lessons will be because I don't have the small groups going yet it's okay but when I'm done with that whole group lesson that extra time that I have set aside for centers and for small group that's the time I'm going to use to work on teaching these procedures okay so it can be done all right a little rundown about these eight days and like I said I'm going to kind of go over it briefly but there is more description and the blog post that I linked in this video okay day 1 after I've done my mini lesson taught the curriculum the way I need to I do a whole group almost like a student meeting and I'm really excited because here's the thing you if you are excited about math centers your excitement is gonna be contagious for your students don't forget that drink an extra cup of coffee you be caffeinated okay put some energy behind this don't be scared the class meeting about what are mad centers what are you doing this year and then really I like to make an anchor chart at this but at least have some really serious discussions about what it's going to look and sound like during the round Center time talk about what the teacher is going to be doing during math Center time what will students be doing during the hour center time what will they not be doing during about that Center time and why do all these new centers anyway I like to tell my students like I have these amazing metal centers I've been waiting all summer just to show you I'm so excited and we are gonna have so much fun with them and you were going to become amazing mathematicians by working with me in small groups that worked out for it okay so the first day I love an anchor chart about what it's gonna look and sound like have students help you come up with examples how students are going to be on task students will be talking to their friends students will be working on their Center so you'll be at the correct Center at the correct time students will transition quickly between centers those types that they okay talk about it you can even model it and you can have students model it too alright that's day one how about just a meeting what it's gonna be like do you don't want a sneak peek okay day two I also keep whole group it is my last full whole group during this mass Center type and that excites me because I don't enjoy teaching whole group this is one I'm going to actually model the independent center if you've watched my video about the center of activities then you know what I do during independent centers for my first unit I always start with my back to school centers I have these in all the many on Center bundles and the great thing about the back to school centers is that they cover skills from the previous grade level so my second grade set covers first grade skills of me third goods that cover second grade skills and so on so by starting with this it helps me students to focus on the maps and our procedures and how we run down the center's without being too stressed about my own skills but it also gives me as a teacher an opportunity to see where they're at with skills they should already have mastered it gives you a little bit of a look do they just have a little bit of summer sign or are there some serious skills that we're gonna have to work with these students on you might start being able to pick out your Panther groups by watching the first few days of this Maksimir - alright so I grab out these back to school Senate I would just sit my class in the circle if I have the space and I don't know for them how it'll be done I show them the recording book I show them the 10 different sinners talk about how they're going to be able to choose which order to do this in Ursa and we talked about how I'm gonna go and get the center where I'm gonna take it we talked about opening it up and finding the direction card and making sure that I always start by reading the action card and then I'm gonna model as many visitors I can get through I'm gonna show them how I'm matching your sorting or whatever the center calls for and to keep this engaging because I can't get boring for students that they're watching you keep this engaging with lots of pair shares turn and tell your partner where they're gonna go to find these math Center activities turn and tell your partner about what the first thing they should do once they have their math Center app there's eat tile you're trying to tell your partner where they're going to record their answers okay that kind of thing keeps them engaged in lesson you're getting them lots of permission to speak and actually repeating what you're saying helps to commit it to memory for that they're hearing it a second time they're saying it so it's really good idea and it can be so quick lots of pairs done very quickly so that's what my day two looks like and really it's working at the independent center rotation first because I think this is a little trickier there's more pieces this is the part that's gonna get graded for me there's just a little more to it it's why I like to start with this one so that we have longer to practice it before we have all of our rotations down and we're doing it on our own so day three I'm still working with the independent centers but this time take your little class and put them into some small groups and don't worry about who's in what group it does not need to be based on their level or anything just putting two into groups because the groups are going to be working on these centers and you only have some centers so you need to put them in groups they'll be working together that way you in a centers for everybody and I tell my kids this is you all be working in groups when we actually do this I want you in groups today actually because I only have so many centers and all so that way you could help each other out if we've forgotten anything okay so I put them in a group and this group is going to go and pick out a center and bring it back where the whole group is and as a group they're gonna work on sorting or matching your with the rolling the dice whatever the center asks them to do the only thing is I don't get them the recording book I tell them I don't need to worry about that right now you're going through the process of doing this interest with but we don't need to worry about the manager right yet so they don't need to do the recording book they will do that soon okay it's just a matter of them being able to practice the center's well you don't have a small group so you can walk around and answer any of their questions if there's some confusion about what directions mean you can help clarify now and that way there aren't as many questions when you're busy with a small group since my center activities are very consistent once you teach the back to school ones you'll have a lot less questions with the next several units okay so I have them work on a center and then I put it away go get another one the goal is on day three to get through about 5:00 the center's may be here they mean on that no I'm stress and then day four will do the same thing they're in the same groups and help maybe they'll get through the next five centers it's more practice than routine don't worry about the math it's a practice of going and getting the materials bringing it where they're supposed to work reading the directions and seeing if they understand the directions putting the center materials back and putting them away that's what it's really about and so as long as you're seeing that kind of practice happen and then you're having a successful day hey Dave Fox we're going to move on to another one of our rotations we've been working on the independent Center for three days now so generally my students are ready to move on and learn a new rotation if yours aren't so take another day I do what your students need feel them out a little bit it's ok fitting it through all 10 centers but if you still felt there was a lot of challenges then bring them back together talk about the solution to those challenges and try it again ok but usually body mount day 5 we're ready to learn our next rotation and I go ahead and teach the math fact rotation second when I did my nail fat fact rotation I have my kids do the extra math first and then the fact games and I talked a lot about that during the video about linings and our activities if you haven't seen that one you want to check it out so on this fifth day I taught them how to log in to extra math and I wasn't wondering why I have a classroom full of devices but I just put them into some groups where they could each take turns locking the device into their extra math and seeing what that was all about after that I modeled from how to play maybe one or two of the knapsack games I showed him where those games would be stored we would talk about going to get those supplies bringing the one that could play and a little bit about okay because that's the toughest part about the math back to gate and if you have time you might be able to let the groups play a game at the very least have some kids model playing the game so that the rest of the class can see that okay but really focus I'm just practicing math backs and what they should do during the math fact rotation day6 I teach them the technology rotation this is really the easiest one to teach so you might even have some time to review the back scratch rotation if you need to and then go on technology technology is usually pretty easy for them but again you can stick them into some groups so that each kid can practice logging into whichever website was that you chose for them to use during this time making sure that they can get there that their login works make sure that you talk about your rules and procedures for taking care of technology if you've not already done that make sure they know where to get it that they shouldn't have sticky hands or be drinking water around them they should run where are they allowed to take their technology make sure those things have been covered if they have not already been covered in your classroom day seven and eight are our run throughs this is like our rehearsal we've now learned all of our rotations so now we're gonna run through them the key is that you're not busy with a small group so therefore you're able to help them go okay don't forget this is where you find this material and you're there just going to be there cold okay by May 78 I do like to post my math rips who's in watch math group so they can really practice it that way they'll be doing it next week when we really get going okay so I talked about this when we talked about small groups it doesn't have to be perfect but you've been watching your kiddos now for several days you probably have a little bit of an idea of where it belong and it's okay if it's not perfect you can change these things once there once they understand the procedures really you can change them from group to group pretty easily so on day seven I tell them that we're going to pretend it's a Monday or Wednesday if it is a Monday or Wednesday that's awesome but either way we're going to pretend because on Monday and Wednesday remember they do the exact same rotations so we're gonna pretend it's that day we're gonna do a run-through so basically I'm gonna take them from the mini lesson they're gonna look at the poster know what group they're in they're gonna head to their first rotation so I'm gonna have kids at the matter-of-fact rotation I'm gonna have kids at technology I'm gonna have kids the independent centers and this one I will give them the book they can actually start working on these back-to-school centers independently or if it's coming to meet with me it just has something real simple from the work on because you need to be available to the whole class at this time so you want to acknowledge like hey what do you guys come back here we are gonna have a lot of neat things we're gonna cover and I'm really gonna help you with with the skills we're learning in class we're gonna use manipulatives we're gonna do interact notebooks it's gonna be so awesome this might be a good time to give them their math notebook and have them color the cover or even if you have to give them a worksheet this might be one of those times where it's just something so they can practice doing the rotation but you really have right now that these not the whole time I didn't need to be available to talk around help that kid I was struggling to log in help that kid oh who forgot a certain procedure or team they ate we really do the exact same thing but now it's Tuesday or Thursday because they do different rotations on Tuesdays and Thursdays and so now they're gonna get to practice their Tuesday Thursday routine and these are run throughs you're really wanting to focus on do my kids understand the procedures quiet are they moving from from Center center quickly are they following the rules at the end of each of these days I would end just at out early you don't have to go the full 20 to 30 minutes for rotation because it's really for practice I would home and stand and talk about like what went well and what do we need to improve on have them reflect with you so that we can continue to improve if day seven and eight go really well in your classroom think wait I'm day nine meet with your groups and go full fledge everyone's doing their activity and you're you're good to go guys day seven and eight aren't great then take another couple of days to rehearse I know it's a lifetime now but you will thank yourself later when other teachers talking about all my kids just don't move from Center to Center and they don't take care of the games and pieces are everywhere and they talk so much you're not gonna be in the boat because you cleared up these things before they became the bad habits hey you take care of it now now I talked about this during my writing video series if you watched that then you might know this little strategy it's something I learned from the daily five book I don't do daily five by this strategy and used it all the term of my classroom so I just think it's worth repeating one fun strategy you can use throughout these eight days as you're teaching them different things is the model what not to do strategy and here's kind of how it works I teach my kids how to go and get their independence and our materials and take them back to their desk to work or their the floor wherever it is they worked I've told them how to I've even shown them we talked about what to do what not to do now you need to choose a model choose that Ketel most struggling miss it still the kiddo who wants to talk so badly you're not making fun of him you're not making like a scene of it but you're actually letting him do what he wants don't pick that shine your biscuit who would be embarrassed but the kid who's I'm dying to get in front of the class okay and you're gonna say to him hey Johnny I've just gone through all kinds of procedures for getting here independent centers but you know what would be fun could you please show the class what not to do I want you to break all the rules okay you don't need to be quiet you don't need to take care of the materials I want you to show them what not to do and you know what if you've picked the right kid he's super excited and actually rs.25 because it's fun okay it's just fine so Johnny's gonna get up and he's going to take the longest route to the to the materials maybe stopping in a couple places and talking you know get materials and maybe he's gonna take multiple centers until there's just one and maybe he's gonna talk all the way back he's gonna go to a place in the room that you told them not to work at and he's gonna he's gonna forget words recording book in and have to get up again and go that okay and the whole time the classes laughing you're probably johnny is actually having a difficult time not laughing - okay but afterwards you're gonna call them back over and as a class talk about what are some of the things that Johnny did that we can't do when we do math centers and you know tell Johnny thank you that's exactly what I was wanting you to do that's great let's talk about it and as a class we don't brainstorm some of the things he did that we can do but then turn to Johnny say okay Johnny you did a fabulous job showing them what not to do and we're really hoping you could help me out again can you show the class exactly what to do can you do it perfectly remembering all of our procedures okay until he does it again in this time he falls our procedures he's enjoying this attention and so it goes really well him come back over and talk about the difference between the two times he did it if you have time do it with another student or do it the next day with another student it's a fun the thing for your class they will remember this as a being fun but also it is a good teaching moment for the whole group and for Johnny it is priceless because you were gonna look right at Johnny and say great now I know that Johnny knows exactly what to do when we're getting independent math centers he's just proven to you that he can do it so now you can count on him okay and the whole class has learned and have a good experience together okay it's fun and masseter should be fun I like to bring out the strategy for teaching all kinds of procedures in my classroom that way students who really want to give an opportunity to be the bottle do all right the key is really take the time to teach those procedures they're so very important and if your students can't work on independent centers for the full 20 minutes at first that's okay tying them and say how long what a long can we do it we need to get to 20 minutes well today we only made a 10 before we were really really chatty so maybe tomorrow we can make it to 15 if that's what you need to do then start there gauge what your kids need and take your time with it you will pat yourself on the back and think yourself later all right guys it's been really fun talking about how to teach math with you and I'm sure I'll be back with another video before long bye

Channel: Not So Wimpy Teacher

Views: 10,838

Rating: 4.7762237 out of 5

Keywords: Not So Wimpy Teacher, Math Centers, Math workshop, math, Math Activites, First week of school, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade, 5th grade, second grade, third grade, fourth grade, fifth grade

Id: HWtv67n-QgI

Length: 22min 32sec (1352 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 29 2018