Running the Math Block ~ Part 4: Organizing

This is the last part of how I run my math block. You can catch up with part 1, part 2, or part 3.

This is all about how I organize it all!

(Although, to be honest, some days I'm more on top of it than others! :)

One of the key pieces of my math rotations is task cards.

Some of the task cards I get off of Teachers Pay Teachers (Teaching with a Mountain View, The Primary Gal, and Jennifer Findley to name a few), and some I make myself.

When I make them myself, I make them in PowerPoint, and I use papers from I Teach! What's Your Superpower? and clipart from Melonheadz (when I can add them in! :)

Right now, I'm storing my task cards (all of them-literacy included) in a shoe box, but I forsee them being divided into chapters/skills and stored in Sterilite latching containers (with pretty labels, of course!)

 When I'm prepping for the week, (and I'm actually prepped ahead-which doesn't always happen because I like to take it day by day), I store everything in a bucket on my desk-exit slips and task cards.

This way, it's easy for me to access and find, and I can quickly set up.

For rotations, I store the task cards in another bucket, with the recording sheets underneath.

If we are working on more than one set (and we do, since some of our skills build upon one another, I'll leave the cards out for most of the chapter-this also allows kids to work on what they need to throughout, and they don't feel rushed), I just add another bucket!

Sometimes the kids will need manipulatives to work, and they can easily pull what they need from my new and beautifully fixed shelves ;), since I've made toolkits for the major sections (here and here)

Just in case, you missed a look at my new, beautiful shelves ;) (ICYMI, they fell off the wall last year-and needed to be reanchored-it took some time, but they look so pretty now!)

When we do an exit slip, I don't have the kids turn it into my in-bin - since sometimes I leave things in there for awhile (plus, I don't want them to get lost!), I have them turn it into a bucket.

They fit nicely into the bucket, and it is easy for me to grab and sort through to see what I need to address.

Hopefully/Eventually, I hope to get some iPads or Chromebooks (we have both in my district-but in limited amounts), and work them into our Math block as well (and find some nice storage for them!)-but they're not quite ready for us (plus, I don't know how many we'll be getting for the school)

So that's my revamped Math block! I'm definitely happier with the way it is going, and how I'm reaching more kids. It's taken a few years, and a lot of thought, but I got it to a happy place. :)

Smiles and Sunshine,
Kaitlyn