The beginning of the school year is always a special time. For teachers, it is a fresh beginning, with new students and new ideas to try. Going into your classroom before school starts to prepare everything is fun and possibly, the only time you have the luxury of thinking ahead to how you want your classroom arranged to best support the learning of students. Here are 5 tips to ready your classroom for math.
Before we get started with the nitty-gritty teacher talk, if you are working on transforming your math classroom into a space where students actively engage in their learning to practice fluency and math concepts, grab my 10 Free Math Activities. No gimmicks, no sales, no nonsense with this freebie- just one way I can help with making math hour the favorite part of the day for every student!
Make It Easy To Find And Use Supplies
Create an area in your classroom where students can find all the supplies and tools they will need. From rulers, to protractors, to blank paper, students should be able to find and grab what they need to get the math done. Teach students where all of the supplies are, and the expectations of how group supplies should be used and returned. I always used a fun scavenger hunt on the first day of school to help students learn where all the materials, supplies and reference materials were kept in the classroom.
As we release ownership of learning to students, the last thing we want to do is to pass out what tools we think they will need before the lesson. Rather, we want students to make decisions and self-select the supplies they will need. This could mean that students are using different items at different times. Keeping supplies easily accessible puts the students in the “driver’s seat”.
Organize Your Manipulatives
You probably have tons of manipulatives in your cabinets. Some, like base ten blocks, or counting cubes, are used often while others may only be used once or twice a year. If you haven’t used a set of manipulatives in a few years, it may be time to find a new home for them.
Some manipulatives you want to store in a large quantity and some you may want to create individual kits for each student. Dollar store containers are perfect for this. The easier it is to find what you need, the more likely these tools will get used. Grab these free organizing labels. Labels for Math Supplies .
You may want to keep the commonly used manipulatives like tiles or base ten blocks with your supplies so students who need the extra support can get them without having to ask. Make sure you have a clean-up plan. It may be a good idea to assign a student to oversee that tools get put back into place.
Think About Seating Arrangements
Flexible seating arrangements are an important feature of a classroom designed for optimum learning. Sometimes you want students to be able to work independently, have a hard surface to write on and the noise level to be fairly quiet. Other times, you want students to be grouped together for collaborative work sessions. You may also want to design a space for a small group that needs teacher support.
How do you create flexible seating arrangements when you have rows of standard, single person desks? Try grouping three or four desks around the room, while leaving some single desks. Invite students to use the floor for groups or to work with a partner. I’ve purchased inexpensive stools and clipboards that are easy to set anywhere a student wants to work. The key to flexible seating is to create a variety of seating arrangements around the room.
Prepare Your Math Centers
Another tip to ready your classroom for math is to organize your math centers. If you use math centers often, it is important to think about how you are going to store materials, what centers you need for each month and when you will rotate and change out centers. Get students involved in the initial set-up, and the clean-up afterwards.
Organization is key. Storage tubs, zip lock bags, sheet protectors and binders are great tools to help you stay organized and provide the right center, at the right time, to the right student. Use a Planning sheet to map out your math centers for the whole year.
Classroom Decor
Get your classroom ready for math with classroom decor that supports your math instruction. At the beginning of the year a blank bulletin board can inspire your creativity. Think about messages you want to send to students, and maybe a theme that you would like to carry throughout the year. If you plan on dedicating a bulletin board or wall area to math, think about creating a useful resource that students can use again and again, like a number line, or a fraction chart.
One of my favorite uses of a math bulletin board was to create an interesting problem of the week that students could work on if they finished early. Another idea is to display colorful posters with positive messages. Grab a free one here from my TPT store.
Next Steps to Ready Your Classroom For Math
As you plan for the year, think about how you will make your classroom a great place to learn and engage in math. From supplies to seating to students taking an active role in their learning, it’s important to create a great learning environment right from the start.
More Resources
For more tips and pictures on organizing your math centers, check out Mr. Elementary Math’s Blog Post about organizing math centers in the classroom.
Need help with flexible seating arrangements? Check out this blog post from Holly at Teach Starter. Read about accommodation all learners using different seating arrangements in the classroom.
Looking for an fun and engaging beginning of the year activity to amaze and delight students? Check out my recent blog post about the Magic Problem at Sweet-Life-Learning.com.
