EVEN MORE Math Tubs- A fun new way to practice and assess math skills!!

Even worksheets can make great centers and math tubs!  The only problem is you must keep a supply of photocopies.  About once a month, put a center helper in charge of checking worksheet centers and math tubs to be sure they have enough copies.  The student can pull one copy of the sheets that are running low and place it in your file or basket of papers to take to the photocopier.  Also, some worksheets are simple enough that older students can copy the graphic organizer or framework onto their own paper.  This worksheet is an example of one simple enough that some students could make themselves, especially if you did not require that they copy the pictures of the die.




Many teachers have math bingo games, either store bought or handmade.  Pull a few bingo cards from your supply, along with extra chips/ place holders and photocopies of the fact problem cards and you're ready to go!  Students put the fact problem cards in a face-down stack and flip them over one at a time, covering the numbers on their boards as corresponding math problems are shown.  The first one with a completely full board wins.




This actually isn't commercial-made, but I included it here because you can adapt the materials I already created to make it.  If you go to FlashcardExchange.com and search for "Pasta Arrays", you can pull up the cards I made for this game.  The basis of the game is this:  students are given real-world division scenarios as if they owned an Italian restaurant.  They must divide up the dried pasta pieces (stored in the yogurt cups) to reflect the word problems on the cards.  Each player has different scenarios but should end up with the same amount of pasta at the end if they both play correctly.  The problems get progressively more difficult, and the answers are included (in the purple pouch).  It is a challenging activity I generally give my above-grade-level students.




This is where I store the math tub activities I am not using.  The green box holds games in plastic bags.  The round plastic container (which used to hold kettle korn from the beach) contains miniature playing card sets from the dollar store that the students use to play whole class games of Battle.  The Math Review box (which used to hold pasta in Walmart- I took it and covered it in white paper) holds math bingo games and flashcards.  Underneath are board games that were either designed to reinforce math skills, or contain altered rules I created to make them educational and appropriate for young children.  (I also use Scrabble, Scrabble Junior, Go For Broke, a version I made of Risk, and sometimes Monopoly.  You can see Rack-O in the picture- that's a cheap and wonderful game that provides number order/greater than/less than practice).  On the bottom shelf is a big blue mat divided into squares- I'm not sure where it came from, but I use it as a Jeopardy board with clues written on sticky note.  Misc. manipulatives are kept on the bottom, including dice, which are often used for whole class games, as well.
 

Tip:  Many Math Tub activities require only dice or playing cards.  If you get enough sets from the dollar store, you can play them as whole-class activities.  This is a great way to introduce the games to the class and make sure the know how to play before beginning Math Tub rotations. 


I’m totally redoing my centers for the 2004-2005 school year!
Click here to read about the changes.



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