Math Centers: A crisis averted, a goal achieved.

After the first two weeks of school, there is so so so much that I want to say about it. The first week felt like it was a month long. The second week felt like it was half a day. It's surprising to see how quickly my students are learning certain routines and how they are taking a little bit longer on others that I thought would be quick. These are all little tidbits of learning I'm discovering on my own. I'd like to share a triumph of this week with you though.

If you know me, you'll know that I adore English, reading, writing, and everything literacy. So there is a small part of me that can relate to the child who tries to sneak a peak of the next page in their novel when their stamina is fading while finishing a math worksheet. When I see this though, I've realized that I really want to find a way to engage my students in math in the same way that they are engaged in their book long after reading is over. Although our math curriculum is very thorough, well-organized, and user-friendly, I am seeing first-hand the need for differentiation in math in our grade three classroom.

I have long block of math (about 60-75 minutes) and a short block of math (30 minutes) every day. We work on our current chapter during the first block and do practice together. During the short block of math last week and this week, I was doing a whole-group activity about developing their facts fluency. Although it was okay, I have realized that it is not ideal because it doesn't meet all my students' math needs and isn't extending their learning from the curriculum objectives we are working on during the first block. Today, I did a short spurt of math centers during my second block of math. It went very well.

I was surprised to be completely honest. As I said, my second block of math is only 30 minutes, and we were running late coming in from a break. So, I actually only had about 20 minutes of the second math block. I had intended on teaching about centres for 10 minutes, and then having my three groups do just 5 minutes at three centres. This would be considered a full rotation, and now I realize that this would also be considered overwhelming for the first time doing math centers. I am so grateful that I couldn't actually do this because I think it could have ended in disaster, especially with it being Friday afternoon and without building any math independence. Right before the lesson, I decided I would take 10 minutes to still do a mini-lesson on what math centers are, and then have the students do about 7-8 minutes in just one center with no rotating for today.

I sent one group of three to a math game centre where they played Math Tic-Tac-Toe; I sent another group to a Math Challenge center where they completed a math writing activity collaboratively; and I kept a group of three with me at the "work with Ms. Becca"station.

It was just what they - and I - needed today in Math! In my center, I had the chance to better assess two students who seem to struggle in math. My students who really were needing a challenge in math got it finally today. And my more kinesthetic students played tic-tac-toe in the reading corner on the rug.

I wasn't interrupted at all. The other two groups worked steadily the whole time, and I could hear sounds of collaboration. One of my students was new today (he started late), so he sat close to me during work with teacher and started his pre-test that we did last week for this unit. I worked with the other two in a quiet area on the carpet. I wish I could convey my excitement in discovering that one student in particular was able to demonstrate his math skills to me much better in this context. The group setting was far too over-stimulating for him, and he was easily distracted.

If I had carried out my initial plan, I know I would have been interrupted repeatedly, felt frazzled with making sure the students were transitioning properly, and therefore I would not have been able to work with the students at my center. My students would have felt confused, frustrated about what they were doing, discouraged about their math skills, and altogether lost.

I am grateful for the last minute change! I really should have known better from the start.

I plan on digging into the Daily 5's program for math, the Daily 3, more in the coming weeks. I want to work this into math often. I did three centres today not considering the Daily 3, and what I did sort of ended up working with it. The Daily 3: Math writing, math with someone, math by myself. I'd like to put this more to use in the coming weeks.

If you have experience with the Daily 3, please send along your thoughts that you think I should consider. Or if you just have something to say about teaching grade three math that you think I should know, I would LOVE to hear from you. This first-year teacher will take all the guidance in teaching math that she can get!