Ep 34: 4 Easy Ways to Differentiate Your Math Centers

1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,560
Today we are talking about four easy ways to differentiate your math centers.

2
00:00:04,560 --> 00:00:10,040
Hello and welcome to Making Number Sense Make Sense, a podcast for elementary teachers,

3
00:00:10,040 --> 00:00:14,920
specifically early elementary teachers, looking to really make an impact in the number sense

4
00:00:14,920 --> 00:00:17,080
of their students.

5
00:00:17,080 --> 00:00:22,080
We've heard time and time again that differentiation is so important for our students to be able

6
00:00:22,080 --> 00:00:25,900
to meet them where they are and help them succeed and grow.

7
00:00:25,900 --> 00:00:31,940
But let's be honest, differentiation takes time and time is one thing that us as teachers

8
00:00:31,940 --> 00:00:33,720
do not have.

9
00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:38,940
Today I'm going to share with you some easy ways to differentiate your centers in no time.

10
00:00:38,940 --> 00:00:43,220
The first is to use number tracks with visual support.

11
00:00:43,220 --> 00:00:49,720
If you're not familiar with a number track, it's basically one long line of squares that

12
00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:54,800
kind of looks like a ladder but filled in and they have a number inside.

13
00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:56,120
So one, two, three.

14
00:00:56,120 --> 00:01:03,480
And why number tracks are helpful is kind of a precursor to a number line and more concrete.

15
00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:08,460
They can see all of the actual spaces that they're counting and that can be really helpful

16
00:01:08,460 --> 00:01:13,100
for students who are just learning to count or having trouble with one-to-one correspondence.

17
00:01:13,100 --> 00:01:18,640
And inside those number tracks, you can put a number as well as an image that shows the

18
00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:19,640
quantity.

19
00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:25,440
You can use dice, the die with one pip, two pips, three pips, and so on, ten frames, all

20
00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:30,940
of that so that kids start to associate a numeral with a value but are also starting

21
00:01:30,940 --> 00:01:35,760
to learn about one-to-one correspondence.

22
00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:38,460
And number tracks are really, really versatile.

23
00:01:38,460 --> 00:01:41,200
They are easy to make, easy to use.

24
00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:46,660
You can get one for free in the show notes and you can get to the show notes or to the

25
00:01:46,660 --> 00:01:53,500
description by going to the episode and then scrolling down, you'll see kind of a write-up

26
00:01:53,500 --> 00:01:55,560
of things that are in the episode.

27
00:01:55,560 --> 00:02:00,260
That's where all of the links are and you can find those there as well as a link to

28
00:02:00,260 --> 00:02:03,660
a blog post that has all of this written out so you can look at it later.

29
00:02:03,660 --> 00:02:08,660
Number tracks can support any center that you're doing that has dice or has numbers

30
00:02:08,660 --> 00:02:11,680
or ten frames if students aren't quite there with it yet.

31
00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:18,780
They can match the dice faces or the ten frame faces together so that you can make centers

32
00:02:18,780 --> 00:02:22,540
that were a little bit less accessible, more accessible to your students.

33
00:02:22,540 --> 00:02:27,040
The next easy way to differentiate your centers is to use more dice.

34
00:02:27,040 --> 00:02:33,660
What I mean by that, there are so many different dice that you can use and they're so versatile

35
00:02:33,660 --> 00:02:39,620
and it makes any worksheet more interactive if they're doing something along with practicing

36
00:02:39,620 --> 00:02:43,580
their numbers or finding a sum or subtracting.

37
00:02:43,580 --> 00:02:49,580
Whatever you're working on, using different dice can make a station more challenging or

38
00:02:49,580 --> 00:02:50,660
less challenging.

39
00:02:50,660 --> 00:02:55,100
You can start with the simple traditional six face die.

40
00:02:55,100 --> 00:03:00,700
You can also cover them up with little stickers and make it a zero to two dice, zero to three

41
00:03:00,700 --> 00:03:06,920
die if kids need that support, but also give a student two dice instead of just one and

42
00:03:06,920 --> 00:03:09,700
now they're working with numbers to 12.

43
00:03:09,700 --> 00:03:11,320
They're doing simple addition.

44
00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:17,900
You can use ten frame dice that have five frames, ten frames, 20 frames on them.

45
00:03:17,900 --> 00:03:22,920
Again, increasing that challenge because they're seeing higher numbers.

46
00:03:22,920 --> 00:03:26,780
And one of my favorites is really inexpensive on Amazon.

47
00:03:26,780 --> 00:03:31,900
You can get the Dungeons and Dragons dice and I like those for a lot of reasons.

48
00:03:31,900 --> 00:03:34,900
First of all, they have numerals on them instead of just the dots.

49
00:03:34,900 --> 00:03:37,940
So if you're working with numerals, you can see them there.

50
00:03:37,940 --> 00:03:43,640
They have the traditional die, but they also have eight sided dice, 12 sided, 20 sided.

51
00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:46,940
They have die that have only the tens on them.

52
00:03:46,940 --> 00:03:49,400
All available for usually pretty inexpensive.

53
00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:53,300
I can put a link down in the show notes as well to some of those die.

54
00:03:53,300 --> 00:03:58,100
And the thing that's super fun about those is a lot of times they come in different colors.

55
00:03:58,100 --> 00:04:03,420
At first I was a little concerned about kindergartners or first graders using a die with that many

56
00:04:03,420 --> 00:04:05,660
sides like would they get confused?

57
00:04:05,660 --> 00:04:09,580
And I don't think I've ever had a student who got confused about which number they were

58
00:04:09,580 --> 00:04:13,660
supposed to write down or which number they rolled.

59
00:04:13,660 --> 00:04:17,160
Even with the 20 sided dice, they realized the number that was on top was the number

60
00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:19,060
that they rolled and just moved on.

61
00:04:19,060 --> 00:04:21,940
So if you're concerned about that, I wouldn't be.

62
00:04:21,940 --> 00:04:26,060
Of my over 500 students that I've had at this point, I've never had a student who had trouble

63
00:04:26,060 --> 00:04:27,060
with that.

64
00:04:27,060 --> 00:04:28,740
They have sparkles.

65
00:04:28,740 --> 00:04:32,700
Anything that's new and different can just increase engagement and that is really easy

66
00:04:32,700 --> 00:04:33,700
to differentiate.

67
00:04:33,700 --> 00:04:37,420
Just give students die that are appropriate for the numbers that they're working on.

68
00:04:37,420 --> 00:04:39,820
Differentiation, easy peasy and you're good to go.

69
00:04:39,820 --> 00:04:44,660
In the show notes, I will also have a link to a dice game sampler freebie.

70
00:04:44,660 --> 00:04:50,060
So a lot of those games that I have linked, you can get one of each level, so to speak,

71
00:04:50,060 --> 00:04:51,900
that you can try out for free.

72
00:04:51,900 --> 00:04:56,860
Kind of along the same vein as being flexible are different kinds of spinners.

73
00:04:56,860 --> 00:04:59,420
Spinners are very easy to make.

74
00:04:59,420 --> 00:05:03,920
You can you can just hand draw the circle and put different numbers in it.

75
00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:07,660
You can make them on the computer or just print off blank ones and then write in the

76
00:05:07,660 --> 00:05:12,820
numbers that you need and works the same way as the dice, but instead with a spinner.

77
00:05:12,820 --> 00:05:17,540
And you can be very intentional about the numbers that you have on there even more so

78
00:05:17,540 --> 00:05:20,760
than you can be with the dice because you might be creating them yourself.

79
00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:27,540
Another easy way to differentiate your math centers is using five frame, 10 frame or 20

80
00:05:27,540 --> 00:05:28,540
frame.

81
00:05:28,540 --> 00:05:33,900
This automatically increases, decreases the range of numbers that students are working

82
00:05:33,900 --> 00:05:34,900
on.

83
00:05:34,900 --> 00:05:40,620
If you'd like some ideas of some 10 frame activities, head to episode 31 or 32, I believe,

84
00:05:40,620 --> 00:05:45,380
and I give you 10 plus 10 frame activities that you can use right away.

85
00:05:45,380 --> 00:05:52,820
So recap of my four ways is use numeral tracks, use more dice, spinners and 10 frames.

86
00:05:52,820 --> 00:05:58,500
Quick ways to differentiate any counting math center that you can use for students as appropriate

87
00:05:58,500 --> 00:06:00,020
you can also switch them out.

88
00:06:00,020 --> 00:06:03,740
So maybe your students start with five frames, but you see if they're ready, it's easy to

89
00:06:03,740 --> 00:06:08,580
move them on to 10 frames or 20 frames as they see fit.

90
00:06:08,580 --> 00:06:13,140
You can also let students choose if you feel like they would choose something appropriate.

91
00:06:13,140 --> 00:06:17,300
More often than not, they will try and choose something that works for them.

92
00:06:17,300 --> 00:06:20,820
They might start off with a number that's too high, but they'll realize that that might

93
00:06:20,820 --> 00:06:22,920
not be the number that's best for them.

94
00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:27,380
And you could give them the option of switching to a different one, which is good for them

95
00:06:27,380 --> 00:06:32,100
as well to know kind of what they're working on or what they're working towards.

96
00:06:32,100 --> 00:06:35,200
It can be helpful for students to have a goal to work towards.

97
00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:38,780
So maybe right now they're working with five frames, but you can have a conversation with

98
00:06:38,780 --> 00:06:43,940
students about maybe moving to a 10 frame or you're working towards that 10 frame and

99
00:06:43,940 --> 00:06:46,860
it's motivating for them having a goal to work towards.

100
00:06:46,860 --> 00:06:51,300
It's also helpful for them to hear that you believe in them, that you know that they will

101
00:06:51,300 --> 00:06:56,740
be able to get to the larger numbers with practice.

102
00:06:56,740 --> 00:07:00,620
Sometimes kids can get into negative self-talk, I can't do this.

103
00:07:00,620 --> 00:07:06,620
So hearing you say you actually can do this, I believe that you can, can be really helpful

104
00:07:06,620 --> 00:07:08,080
for students.

105
00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:09,740
So those were my tips.

106
00:07:09,740 --> 00:07:14,820
If you're looking for games that are already differentiated, I'll have a link to some of

107
00:07:14,820 --> 00:07:20,580
those below that use dice, 10 frames, spinners, and also rec and recs, which I didn't mention

108
00:07:20,580 --> 00:07:23,220
too much because those are a little bit trickier to differentiate.

109
00:07:23,220 --> 00:07:28,660
But again, you can work with only one rack of a number racks instead of having the 20

110
00:07:28,660 --> 00:07:32,180
beads you only have 10 and work up to 20.

111
00:07:32,180 --> 00:07:37,680
Let me know which differentiation strategy you're going to try first.

112
00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:40,940
And if you're enjoying the podcast, I would love it if you left a review.

113
00:07:40,940 --> 00:07:53,740
And until then, I'll catch you next time.