For my Math Stations, I use Debbie Diller’s Math Workstations book as my guide. Math Stations change throughout the year and the best part is that they incorporate games we’ve already played. So, it’s more review for the kids and also less prep because the games are already there, ready, and taught. I change out my Math Stations about every 3-4 weeks depending on how often we’ve got to them. I have 12 stations in my room. Stations 1-10 are in storage bins, Station 11 is computers, and Station 12 is the SmartBoard. For Stations 1-10, I have doubles of each station. For example, Station 1 is the same as Station 6, Station 2 is the same as Station 7, etc. This way, it’s more review for the kids. They might play Station 1 game on Monday and then the next Tuesday they’ll review those games again at Station 6. This way they’re getting lots of practice, but it’s not the same thing two days in a row.
For my introduction stations, I make them easy and a little bit more of an exploration station. The reason I do this is because I focus more on the management piece of stations. We go over our Math Station Expectations, we go over how to work with partners, we go over how to use math tools correctly, and how to keep our voices at a Level 1 Whisper Voice during stations. I also don’t pull math groups during the introduction stations. During this time, I’m walking around the room helping kids work together, complimenting the good things I see (partners sharing, Level 1 voices, etc), and making sure the management piece is there. I find by doing this it makes it so much easier to pull groups in following weeks because I’ve laid the foundation down during the introduction unit of how stations should be.
Here are my introduction stations:
Station 1 and Station 6 – Time Exploration. In this bin, I have time puzzles, a book on time, two mini clocks for the kids to explore, and the large Judy clock.
Stations 5, 10 – Geometry Exploration. At this station, I have math books for the kids to read, attribute blocks for the kids to explore, and geoboards and rubber bands.
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