Launching Math Centers - The Brown Bag Teacher

Math Centers are *the* most fun part of 1st grade learning. We had our Family Math Night Thursday and a parent asked – “When are you all starting math? _______ says you all just play games.” Our team giggled and gave ourselves a pat on the back. We LOVE to hear that our friends love the sneaky learning of math games and centers.

Our team does use a Guided Math model for our learning block, but before beginning we have to set the foundation and a ‘bank’ of math centers to pull from. Tomorrow will be Day 15, and I am hoping to try our Guided Math rotation!

Today I am sharing those first math centers we teach/play. We do these games whole-group in partners initially and then, by table. As students are working, we conference with small groups, check on their progress, tweak centers as needed, and do basic/initial math assessments.

Race to 100/120

The first center we introduce is Race to 120. Students work with a partner to roll their way to 120. As students touch a number they must say it out loud. Since our first “I Can” of the year is writing/reading to 120, Race to 120 familiarizes students with the patterns of the 120s chart. When teaching the game whole-group I display the visual directions on our SMART Board. When students play at tables, I teach them to turn our Sterelite containers on their sides so they have a guide.

Building the 100/120s Chart

After we’ve mastered Race to 120, I introduce our 120s puzzles. This is the simplest center but one my friends LOVE. I mean, they’re puzzles! I cut 6-8 120s charts into many different pieces. Some I cut into stripes, others zig-zap, some number blocks. Then, I set one puzzle at each table. Students work together to put together their puzzle. Then, when they have a 120s chart, they count 1-120 to ensure all the pieces are in their just-right places. As a scaffold, some groups will use an actual 120s chart as a mat for their puzzles, while more confident groups will lay their puzzles directly on the table.
Learning the Numbers Chart

SPLAT is a free, online 100s board that we love using to identify numbers, talk about more/less, and identify patterns. Students find great patterns as we explore on our SMART Board!

A partner-version of SPLAT, 4-in-a-Row offers students practice in saying and identifying numbers on the 120s chart. Students take turns pulling a number, saying it out loud, and finding the number on the 120s chart. Students ‘win’ the game by pulling 4 numbers in a row (horizontally, vertically, diagonally).

We also love this 100s board from Learning Resources (Unfortunately they don’t make a 120s board). On one side it is blank (see below) and on the other it has the numbers 1-100. Students draw a number from the bag (or dump them on the table…boo!) and take turns reading it out load and placing in its home. At this point in the year, 17 of my 22 are using the numbered side of the board and 5 friends are using the blank board.

Subitizing – Counting Groups Quickly

As we learn our numbers within 120, students also need to know how to represent these numbers in different ways. Students need real and concrete experiences with number representations. Subitizing is such an important number-sense skill and one we practice a lot throughout the year. In our Subitizing Center, students draw a card, say the number out loud, write the 9, and then, show it in 4 more ways (of their choosing).

In this center, students are exposed to a variety of dot patterns and have the chance to explore numbers from several different fronts – tallies, ten frames, unfix cubes, number words, etc. How students represent the numbers tells me a lot about their math background and confidence.

Managing Math Center Rotations

We have our first 5 basic centers ‘down’, we’ve practiced rotating, and we have played the When-do-I-interrupt-teacher-table What-If Game…so tomorrow we will attempted guided math rotations in which I am teaching a small-group of students. I’ll be using this free editable rotation board and will keep my fingers crossed. If it doesn’t work tomorrow, that’s okay! We’ll reteach and try again on Tuesday. But for now friends, wish me luck!

FREE Math Center Starter Pack and Video

For more information about how I group students, level students, and manage center, make sure to check out this FREE VIDEO all about math centers in my classroom!