Math Tubs!

Hi everyone! I *finally* found the time to write a quick post! These ecards always seem to sum up my life perfectly:

Anyways, since I began this blog I have yet to write about how I run my math tubs...so let's get started!

I use a system similar to my literacy centres.

(click the pic below to link to my original post and download your FREE editable SmartBoard file!)

How it all works:

I use math tubs primarily as extra practice. It works particularly well for fast finishers and differentiation; after our daily math lesson (including whole group, small group, and independent work periods), I put up the SmartBoard file and students move to their assigned math tub activity as they finish their day's work. That way, whether students work fast, slow, need extra 1:1 assistance, etc., everyone is learning and DOING math for our entire math block. There is no.wasted.time. 

I run my math tubs so that there are never more than 3 students in one group (ideally, I like to have 2 students per group). I just find this minimizes "social" time and maximizes on-task learning time. Click the pic below to download a FREE editable copy of my math tubs SmartBoard file. 

To keep things interesting, I change the background every once in a while to match the season/holiday. (If you are unsure how to change the background once you've downloaded it, just Google it!)

As I mentioned above, the activities in the tubs are extra practice. There is no skill put into a math tub that students have not yet learned or had the chance to practice. Throughout the school year, as we move through the units and learn more concepts, the variety of activities in the math tubs widens. For example, we started with patterning at the beginning of the school year, so the majority of our math tubs were patterning activities with some basic number sense activities as review from kindergarden (you will see these activities in more detail below). Right now, I have one math tub that will always be a patterning math tub (not always the same activity, but always the same concept), I have a couple number sense tubs from the unit we just finished, and I have just added a time tub since we are currently learning about telling time. 

My 8 math tub bins are from a local dollar store:

(click HERE to download my FREE number labels!)

Here's a closer look at the hands-on activities in each of the math tubs...

(these activities were from the beginning of the school year)

1. Large Number Formation Mats using Play-Doh (FREE!)

2. Mini Number Formation Mats with assorted beans, peas, and corn (FREE!)

3. Number Order Game 

(students reach into a bag, pull out any 4 cards, read the cards, and put them in correct number order on the mat)

4. Number Word & Numeral Match

5. Sorting, Extending, & Creating Patterns

6. Number Sort & Match

(students find all the number word cards, numeral cards, and dot cards that represent the same number, and use the manipulatives to count and show that number)

7. Missing Number Cupcakes (FREE!)

8. Number Representation Match

(students match each numeral tree with the correct tally card, number representation picture card, and 10-frame representation)

How do you run your math tubs/centres/stations?!