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Organizing Math Centers

Do you use math centers or small math groups in your room? I have been using them for the past 5 years, and I don’t think I could teach math without them. I love teaching with math centers, and my students cheer when they know it is Math Center day. In order to use math centers effectively, you have to have a good organization system to organize the games and task cards that your students will use. I like to have mine set up from the start of the year, so I can just pull what I need as the year goes on. On this post, I want to share some tips I have for how to effectively organize and store your math centers for optimal use. For more tips for how to get started with math centers, click here.

Organizing Math Centers

 

Organizing Math Centers

1.  Store all of your materials in labeled tubs or bins.

I use the three drawer clear bins from Walmart. I store them under the marker board in my room for easy access. The students, as well as me, go in and out of them on a regular basis. Having them front and center in the room makes it so easy to use. As you can see from the picture, I have each drawer labeled with the domain (the fraction domain label fell off….hot glue gun just can’t win against a school that turns the air off each day).

 

Organizing Math Centers

2.  Store centers by domain or by skill.

As I mentioned above, I have my drawers labeled by Common Core Domain and then a 6th drawer labeled Seasonal Centers, where I store all of my holiday math centers and test prep centers. As you can see from the image, I have each item in the drawers labeled by standard. I have a variety of containers that I use to store each item in and each container is labeled with the specific standard it addresses. When I set up my math centers each week, I literally just pull out the specific standards from my drawer that I want my students to review that week.

3. Store task cards in labeled containers or photo albums.

I actually use both labeled containers and photo albums to store my task cards. I use the photo albums primarily for independent practice or partner work. The other plastic containers (Ziploc bags would work just fine, but I snagged these at Office Depot last summer) contain an additional set of task cards that I use when small groups are working on the skill. However you choose to store them is fine, but I suggest keeping the containers similar for easy access by you and the students.

 

4. Store “larger” center materials in gallon bags or other containers.

Larger centers can sometimes be a pain to organize and store. I bought these plastic containers (similar to my smaller ones from Tip 3) at Office Depot as well. They are perfect to store my Roll and Answer Math Centers. You can read more about my Roll and Answer math Centers by clicking here or clicking on the images below. I use gallon bags to store other larger math centers like my Halloween Math Centers seen in the image above.

I hope these tips have given you some suggestions for how to store your math center resources. I am not a super organized person by nature, but this system has worked well for me for the past two years. The part I love best about it is that I can easily train my fifth graders to access the materials and even set up my centers for me. If you would like to see more about the Roll and Answer Math Centers mentioned in this post, click on the images below.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Roll-and-Answer-Math-Centers-Bundle-for-4th-Grade-All-Standards-834207http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Roll-and-Answer-Math-Centers-Bundle-for-5th-Grade-All-Standards-834187

If you are interested in task cards for 5th Grade Common Core Math, click on the image below.

 https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/5th-Grade-Math-Common-Core-Task-Cards-Complete-Set-All-Standards-Bundle-295858

Now, stop by these blogs to read some more tips for organizing or starting your school year off on the right foot.

 

Reader Interactions

244 Comments

  37. I will be coming back to look at this post again. I really want to get centers going this year – last year my room was so small and we could barely move. Now that I have a larger room, I hope to do more of these! Thanks for the tips.

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  54. I haven't tried math centers in the upper grades yet and am anxious to see how they play out! I am bummed I sold my three drawer tubs to another teacher this year thinking I wouldn't need them- never even occurred to me to use them as you are!!

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  93. I love Math Centers and Math groups. I ALWAYS teach small groups during Math. No more than 15 minutes a day is whole group. It works great for me and the kids LOVE it! My high kids get the push they need and no one holds them back and my struggling kids get a lot of one on one attention!

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  131. I like the idea of putting the task cards in photo albums so they don't get lost. Last year I put them in binder pouches with the clear plastic window and hung them hooks on the back of a rolling cart. I don't have room for the large storage containers with drawers or to display the task cards on a counter. I can fit eight hooks/ pouches on the back of the rolling cart, which seems to work for the amount of choice.

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  145. I appreciate how you are organizngyournmath materials. I am in the process of doing this with my materials. I bought an organizer from Walmart and was going to start sorting and labeling. Now I feel more comfortable with the process I'm going through! Thank you for sharing!

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  146. Even though I don't teach math anymore, your organizational ideas are great for my classroom. And I love your enthusiasm and excitement! They are contagious as I switch from summer to school mode.

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  167. I love your organization tips and thanks for sharing how you run your math centers. I just started last year, and I was wondering how you keep students accountable when you are working with a group.

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  175. I appreciate the peek into how you organize your math centers materials. I have about a gazillion of them that I organized over the summer into the plastic envelopes or accordion file thingys (Dollar Spot at Target, anyone?) but I hadn't really worked out what I wanted to do with them once they made it back to school. Last year they lived haphazardly in their various ziplock baggies in random baskets and such, it was embarrassing. I am heading out to WalMart to get the drawers tomorrow! Such a simple but great storage solution. Thanks, have a great school year!

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  195. We will be using math centers this year and thinking about organizing everything is overwhelming. Thanks for the great ideas! Now I just need more time to get it all organized!!!

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  203. Oh My Gosh! or as our students would say OMG!! I have all my math games and activities that I have made from TPT in one big box and I was not looking forward to sorting them all out. Thanks to you I can't wait to get started because I have a place to put each game/activity. Then I will know where each one is and have easy access. Thank you so much!! Have a blessed year!!

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  219. FYI – I'm having difficulty posting comments on several of the blogs for this contest. This is my 2nd try for yours. Fingers crossed!

    My goal this year is to get my Task Cards organized.

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  220. I organize math materials similarly but with the small sterlite drawers. Then I typed up a list of what was in each drawer because I'd forget what was already printed. Thanks for the giveaway!

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  242. I love your blog! I must say I am really excited but super nervous to implement Math centers this year. I think it will be worth it and with blogs and support like yours, it seems much easier 🙂

    reply to comment

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I’m Jennifer Findley: a teacher, mother, and avid reader. I believe that with the right resources, mindset, and strategies, all students can achieve at high levels and learn to love learning. My goal is to provide resources and strategies to inspire you and help make this belief a reality for your students.

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