How+to+Get+Started

=Where to Begin?=

Organization ideas - How do I set up organize all of the materials? [|Organizing Work Stations] Go to the tab for Chapters 1-2 at the top of the binder.

Here are some more ideas for organizing the materials and rotation charts. (Pinterest is a great source for ideas!)

How do you store the stations that students are no longer working with? Check out this clever idea! [|Math Work Stations Organization]

Management Ideas [|Chapter 3: Getting Started and Managing the Stations] Go to the tab for Chapter 3 at the top of the binder.

Some aha's to keep in mind...
 * Be sure that you can see **all** students when you are working with a small group.
 * Model, Model, Model... "Think clearly about how you want students to work in each station before you even begin them." (Debbie Diller)
 * Have students work in pairs. Each student has to do a bigger share of the work and the thinking.
 * Introduce one station at a time. Do not rush this!
 * Set up a user friendly management system. (Think...Could someone do this if I were absent for a few days?)
 * Label everything.
 * Create an anchor chart of expected work station behaviors with your students. "Work stations should sound like... look like...feel like..."
 * Create "I Can..." menus for each work station. This allows for controlled academic choice
 * Work stations do not have to be changed every week. It is time to change the station when students have mastered the concepts in it.

Manipulative Management Tips: (p. 39)
 * Limit the amount of manipulatives you give to students. (If they only need ten counters to do the work, only put ten counters in the station.)
 * Let children explore the manipulatives when they are first introduced.
 * Be explicit about your expectations for how to handle math manipulatives. Show children what they may do with the manipulatives, and make it very clear what they may not do.
 * Be consistent. Once you've established how to use the materials, hold children accountable. Students who choose to play with the materials, loose the privilege of working with them at that station for the day. These students can sit at a chair placed next to the small group instruction table.
 * Use math mats to create boundaries for the games. Solid colored foam shelf liner is great for this.
 * Set the purpose. Let children know why they are using a type of manipulative and how it will help them learn a concept in math.
 * Don't take away manipulatives because you feel they are a "crutch". Provide a new more efficent strategy and ask the child to try it. Keep trying until you find a scaffold that will move the child to thinking more abstractly over time.