September is an exciting time! Some of us are just beginning the school year while others are really getting into the swing of things. Either way, we have some great math centers for back-to-school. The September math centers are focused on skills your students learned in the previous grade.

What Skills Are Included?

September Math Center Skills for 1st & 2nd Grade

Math Skill	1st Grade	2nd Grade
Comparing Values	1-12	2-Digit Numbers
Addition	Addition to 10	Addition to 18
Subtraction	Subtraction within 10	Subtraction within 18
Number Words	1-20	2-Digit Numbers
Odd or Even	1-20	2-Digit Numbers
Counting	Counting to 20	x
Part Part Whole	0-12	0 – 18
Adding on a Number Line	Number Line: 0-20	x
Number Representation	1-20	x
Fact Families	1-6	4-9
Story Problems	x	Addition & Subtraction Within 18
Graphing	x	bar graph

Let’s dig into September center activities to practice each of these beginning of the year math skills!

Comparing Values 

If your students used the August math center then this math center will flow right from the inequality centers of last month. For 1st graders, they will use inequalities to compare numbers on dominoes. Second graders will be asked to compare 2-digit numbers.

Addition & Subtraction

Your students will continue mastering their addition and subtraction skills with our fun crayon and apple puzzles. The centers are the same for both grades. First grade works with numbers within 10 and second grade works with numbers within 18.

Odd & Even 

Using counters your students will be asked to prove whether a number is odd or even. Pro tip- If you need some individual printable counters in this “no sharing” world check out our Lucky Little Toolkit. For this center, 1st grade will work with numbers 1-20 and 2nd grade will be working with larger 2-digit numbers.

Part Part Whole

If your students used the August centers, they can take the skills they mastered in the missing addend activities and use them in these part part whole centers. For 1st grade students, we have a center that uses dominoes to help your students visualize the numbers. The center becomes a bit more complex for 2nd graders who will use standard form numbers.

Number Words

Reading number words is an important skill for your learners, especially when they start working with word problems. Your students will play Match ‘Em Up to practice connecting the standard form to the written form of numbers (1-20 for 1st & 0-99 for 2nd).

Fact Families

Both grades will have the opportunity to practice creating fact families. Students will be asked to complete the Roll-A-Family activity. The second-grade center will use larger numbers to increase the difficulty.

Counting, Number Lines, & Number Representation

For first graders, there are a few more fun centers to mention. First graders will work on counting to 20 in Apple Fun. They will work on adding using a number line with cute frog counters. Finally, they will practice representing numbers in four different ways.

Story Problems & Graphing

Second graders have two more skills to practice in September’s centers. In two separate centers, they will have addition and subtraction within 18 task cards to work on. In another center, they will be asked to graph school supplies.

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Math Centers All Year

Math centers make targeting specific skills and differentiation so much easier. It allows you time to work with a small group of students while the rest of your students are working productively and independently. If you want to know more about how to use math centers in your classroom check out our post with everything you need to know about math centers. We have centers for every month of the year and then some!

• August
• October
• November
• December (Winter & Christmas)
• January
• February
• March
• April
• May

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