I frequently get asked all things math centers for first graders so in this blog post I am going to break down how I run math centers, how I organize math centers and what I used for math centers. I am going to try to keep this as short winded as possible while giving you all the information you need. First, if you are just starting thinking about Math Workshop check out this helpful blog post before reading this one! Okay, let’s jump in.
How do I run Math Centers in First Grade?
The question I get the most is how do my math centers run in first grade. Here is a break down of my centers which stay the same all year but the activities change. My students rotate through 4 centers every day of math workshop. Students are not grouped by their math small group but instead behavior, helpers, etc. My 4 math centers are: Hands On, Fluency, Technology and Independent Work. I am going to break down each center individually for you.
Introducing Math Centers
When introducing my math centers for first graders, the entire class practices one center for a week whole group. We work our way to learning all 4 centers together before they ever do centers independently. Here is how that looks.
- Week 1- Introduce Independent Work. We talk about expectations, make an anchor chart using this outline and then practice completing work independently with kindergarten work or items that I can use to assess where they are at. I do not include any new content or anything I feel they will get frustrated with. The goal here is just to get down expectations rather than work at their level.
- Week 2- We do independent work time AND introduce technology. We will start math workshop by practicing independent work whole group then I will introduce the technology center. Again, we go over expectations, create our anchor chart, and then practice. I use this time to help familiarize them with their Chromebooks, logins and the websites we will use.
- Week 3- We practice independent work, technology and introduce fluency. Repeating the same pattern as above. With fluency, we talk a lot about partner/group work and practice using manipulatives as tools not toys.
- Week 4- We practice independent work, technology, fluency and introduce hands on. I do hands on last because it is the center that changes the most throughout the year. We follow the same patterns as above.
- Week 5- We practice all 4 centers in our groups, rotating. The centers work at this point is still not on level.
- Week 6- We practice all 4 centers AND me pulling small groups. In small groups, we talk about our small group expectations and play easy activities to ease us in.
- Week 7- We are up and running. I pull small groups and work on their level. They participate in their centers activities at their level.
I know what you are thinking 7 weeks is into October.. it is but I promise this routine will set you up for major success. I rarely, if ever, have to revisit expectations after this.
How do I Organize Math Centers?
I organize all of my math materials in hanging file containers. I have one that houses all of my hands on activities, organized by unit. One houses all of my fluency activities, organized by fluency strategy. One houses all of my small group activities organized by unit and standard.
One of my favorite hacks for file bins is that a 12 x 12 scrapbook paper makes the PERFECT divider. You will see a lot of my file bins organized with scrapbook paper and ziploc bags. I use the scrapbook paper to write the category then I use the ziplocs to house 1 activity. Each bag has all of the pieces needs, recording sheets, etc. This makes it super easy to switch out centers.
What do I use for Math Centers?
My math centers for first graders are a combination of a few TPT products, things from my district and things I have collected over the years. Let’s break it down center by center.
Hands On
For hands on, I use a combination of things that I have collected over the years but my go to are these spiral review, standards based, seasonal math centers. My students look forward to these because of the cute clipart and the seasonal themes. Each pack has 10 centers. My students do 2 activities a week so these packs last me the entire month and some.
Fluency
For fluency, I use some district provided games plus some I have created on my own. I can’t share my district resources but I will share this activity. This is one of my students favorites! Addition and Subtraction War are a hot commodity in my classroom. I only change the fluency activity once a week so they play the same fluency game all week since the point is to work on mastering addition and subtraction fluency I don’t feel the need to change the game daily. If you are curious why I include fact fluency in our daily centers, check out this blog post. You can find a bunch of fluency activities in my TPT Store, just type “Fluency” into the search bar on my store page.
Technology
For technology, my students use a variety of websites. My district has iReady so they spend Monday-Thursday passing their lessons. On Friday, they can earn fun Friday by completing all of their work throughout the week. This means they can play on IXL, Prodigy, Splash Learn, etc.
Independent Work
Finally, at independent work my students work in their math centers folder. This usually houses their math journal for our current unit where they complete 1 page. Sometimes I switch it out depending on what they are working on and what unit we are in. But, these math journals make independent work easy. Each day, I check math folders at the end of math workshop to keep up with grading and hold them accountable. You can check out the complete set of math journals I use here.
Helpful Links
Phew, that was so much information but I hope you found this helpful! I am going to list the helpful links included in this blog post here so they are easy to locate.
- Seasonal Math Center Bundle
- Math Workshop Anchor Chart Bundle
- Math Journals for Independent Work
- Fluency Activities
- Making Math Workshop Work for You Blog Post
- Building Fact Fluency Blog Post
- 5 Tips to Making Math Workshop Work
I hope this post helps give you a good look at math centers for first graders. As always, reach out if I can help in any way or if you have any questions!
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