How to Set Up the Teacher Center of Math Workshop
What is a normal structure when it comes to math centers in the 6th grade math classroom? A good starting point would be to check out my Math Workshop page, which gives an idea of the general structure of math workshop in middle school. I’ll give you a brief summary here, but then dive into the benefits of the teacher center specifically. The Teacher Center of math workshop is your chance to connect and meet the needs of your students in a small group on a daily basis. My Making Math Workshop Work online course is also now open for registration.
A QUICK math workshop overview
After doing a brief warm-up and introduction to the new lesson, students travel in groups to four different centers each day. In my experience, each math center is about 10-12 minutes, but this will depend on your class sizes and lengths. At the end of class we do a brief wrap-up or exit slip to check for understanding. Today, let's focus on the Teacher Center.
Setting up the teacher center of math wokshop
In my opinion, the 10-12 minutes that students have each day at the Teacher Center is the most important and effective part of math workshop - for ALL students! Struggling students can get help individually to learn the concepts and advanced students can be challenged to extend their understanding. I also like how it holds students accountable for understanding what they are learning that day. They know they will be meeting with the teacher in a small group, which helps them focus on learning the new concepts as they are taught in the brief introduction to the lesson.
I usually group students based on how well they are understanding the current concepts, switching up groups every unit. You can start each group by having them work on math task cards, or any other problems, for the specific concept you are covering. I currently have a full year set of 5th Grade Math Task Cards, 6th Grade Math Task Cards, 7th Grade Math Task Cards, and 8th Grade Math Task Cards available. I used to have students work on their own individual white board, but later converted my entire front table into a giant dry-erase work space for students. I would definitely recommend this! Students love using the white board table! For students who don't get it yet, or are still a little unsure, these math task cards are a good starting point. The great part about meeting in such small groups (4-6 students each) is that if two kids breeze through these three problems and two are stuck, the teacher can easily differentiate instruction. The two kids that breezed through them start on enrichment problems (which I'll talk about later), while the teacher can focus on helping the two kids who aren't understanding it.
In each class, there will often be a couple of groups that are in the middle somewhere. Maybe some of the students really get the new lesson and some are still a little bit unsure. In the small group setting, you can quickly see if they need more practice with more basic problems or if they are ready for a challenge. Sometimes, once you get to know your students, you can even give them the choice of starting with the regular task cards or starting right away on the enrichment problems. It's amazing to see how well they can gauge their own understanding of a new concept!
Here is a picture of the task cards I am talking about! For the enrichment problems, I also have a full year set of 5th Grade Math Enrichment Task Cards, 6th Grade Math Enrichment Task Cards, 7th Grade Math Enrichment Task Cards, and 8th Grade Math Enrichment Task Cards available. As you can see, there is some printing, cutting, and laminating involved, but once you've done this they are all ready to go! I usually can't resist the fun colors of cardstock! All of the task card bundles above have one free unit if would like to try them out first.
The last couple of groups to come to the Teacher Center are sometimes the more advanced students. If you feel like it is a tough concept, or maybe they aren't understanding it the greatest, you could have them start with a few of the regular task card problems. That way you can double check and be sure that they've got it down before starting the enrichment problems. However, usually with these groups, they can start right away on the enrichment - and wow, do they LOVE these problems! I swear, just by adding the word challenge to something, it adds extra motivation! This center is great, because you can sit back and enjoy watching them try to problem solve on these difficult questions. It is amazing to see the different strategies and thinking that goes on. I recommend letting them work together in their small groups if they choose. Quite honestly though, a lot of times they want to try them out on their own.
Hopefully I have shed some more light on how the "Teacher Center" works in the math workshop classroom! For a complete, in depth look at how I have implemented math workshop, be sure to check out my book, Making Math Workshop Work on Amazon or join me for my online, self-paced, Making Math Workshop Work course.
