I have 8 students that I provide math instruction to, I found it easiest to split my class into 2 groups. While one group is with me for the lesson, the other is with my assistant for a center rotation. My idea was to keep this time a true math block by only having my students work on numbers and simple math operations.
Although the rotation with me worked well, I quickly realized that without specific guidance, my assistant was struggling to keep the students engaged and on task with math materials. I didn’t set the station up for success. I saw her biggest struggle was keeping the students at the table while grabbing what she needed, so I set up math center bins at the front of the room. Now, she can grab her bins and sit at the whole group table with her students. It allows them to be more successful. See below to see what I include in the math center bins.
I store my math bin materials in tw0 book bins at the front of the classroom.. Clothespins and dry erase markers are also stored in the bins to ensure my assistant has everything she needs to make the centers run easily.
I love the dry erase skill books from Simply Special Ed. It helps me provide more variety in the way my students are working on basic number skills and they are super easy to prep. I also use file folders from the Autism Helper to reinforce some basic math concepts.
These count to add books are one of my favorite TPT purchases that I have ever made. I snagged them from Tools for Busy Hands. This is such a perfect way to work on addition. The visuals help my students be more independent and with only 3 problems to a page, they are less likely to get overwhelmed by the amount of work they need to do.
My Special Learners has awesome count it out books. Her books come in a variety of themes and work on concepts of 1-10 and 11-20. I like to give these books to a pair of students who are working together. It is a good way to get more practice with counting and one to one correspondence in.
I snagged the Basic Skills grab bags on an impulse from Exceptional Learners and I’m so glad I did! These number boards are just one of the many awesome skills she targets in this product! I have all of the different cards from her set stored in different places in my room.
My number centers pack provides an opportunity for my students working at the number identification level. The large and small sorting cards are just a few of the many tasks provided in the centers. These activities mirror the ones in the letters pack.
I store a couple of the task boxes from Especially Education’s basic set and math set in the center. I would tell you that I like to rotate the manipulatives to make them seasonally appropriate, but the truth is I put penguins in the bin last winter and forgot to take them out!
For my students that have higher math skills, task cards from Sped Adulting are a perfect choice. She has real-life applications and her cards are easy to prep. This allows me to merge very diverse math skills into one center for all of my students.
Teaching Special Thinkers has awesome Let’s Count Adapted Books in her TPT store. I use her back to school theme. She has more themes in her store but we will probably continue to use this set for the rest of the school year. As long as you have materials that work for your students, don’t stress out about updating themes!
These textured cards are perfect for students who benefit from tactile learning. I have had this set for years-I always have students who love running their fingers over the cards and feeling the slight input from the texture. Grab the set here!
I made you all this quantity to number freebie use in your math center as a way to say thank you! The students will pick up a card, count the number of paw prints, find the number on their sheet and color it! Enjoy!!