Teachers know that a one-size-fits-all approach to math centers doesn’t work. Our classrooms are filled with diverse learners, which is why taking the steps to differentiate math centers can ensure students get the on-level practice they need. This week I am teaching addition concepts. Here’s a peek into a week in my life and how I prepare my differentiated centers.

The Week Before
On each Thursday and Friday, I spend a little time pulling out the centers for the upcoming week. (I prepped these centers one time, and reuse year after year!) This prep includes:
- Make copies of the recording sheets.
- Putting all tools & manipulatives needed in the center baggies. (Decide if your students will play with their entire group or in pairs. This will dictate how many copies of each center are needed.)

- Setting all centers in color coded bins. I use a different colored bin for each student group. This makes it so easy for students to grab the right center materials.

Math Center Setup
While I am working with small groups, the rest of the class is rotating through differentiated centers. I use the M.A.T.H. centers method:
- M: Meet with the Teacher-curriculum, reteaching, extending or games
- T: Technology: an online math game, quiz or sometimes a digital worksheet
- H: Hands-on: A partner game or activity that uses manipulatives
In this post, we are going to solely focus on the H-Hands-on Station. At this station I use our differentiated Math Centers. Quick note: Be sure to model, model, model these stations before releasing your students to complete them without your guidance.

Learn more about launching & managing centers here.
Quick Tips:
- Easily differentiate my math centers for my three levels of learners.
- Typically, students complete their centers with either a partner from their small group, or their entire small group.
- Model the centers for the week during Fun Friday, so these students have seen this activity before.
- Having them complete the center with a partner or group eliminates most, “How do I play this?” questions, as they can remind each other.
- Teach the centers for the upcoming week during Fun Friday! Pull each group back for a few minutes to model the game and play a couple practice turns.
A Note for the At Your Seat Station
On Mondays, I pass out the differentiated independent work packets I made the week before. Students know they will need to complete the packet before they can have Fun Friday. These packets are differentiated for each group's best fit level. I figured I would just show the whole packet for each learning level before we move into our centers.



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Math Centers for the Week
Here are the stations I am using each day this week! Students will use each center two times during the week. (With my centers being about 10 minutes, this system works perfectly.)
Monday & Tuesday
Below Level Group
Adding Corn Cubes: I love how this center includes hands-on number building and ten frames as tools for solving addition.

On Level Groups
Fishin' for Addition: Students place fish in the fish bowl to solve addition equations.

Above Level Group
Addition Story Problems: This center pushes my higher level learners to combine their math & reading skills…something they are very ready for!

Wednesday & Thursday
Below Level Group
Happy Harvest Count: Another hands-on gem of a center! Students can use the visual task cards and objects to add to 10.

On Level Groups
Roll & Add: Students roll two dice, putting their game piece on the sum. This continues until all numbers are covered. This center reinforces mental math.

Above Level Group
Adding Three Numbers: Let's push their brains a bit farther by having them add three numbers.

Any more ideas?
Thank you for joining me for a week of math center fun! Having centers prepped ALL year for Kindergarten, 1st grade and 2nd grade allows me to differentiate at the drop of a hat!
How do you perp, organize and manage the centers in your classroom? Let's work together to make learning as smooth as possible.
Happy teaching!

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