I thrive on organization, especially when it comes to my students and math rotations! What I have learned over the years is that organizing your math rotations and all the materials can be overwhelming. I like to say that I was organized from the first day I started using math rotations, but if I am being honest, I was NOT. Today, I am going to share with you some tips about that I wish I would have done from the beginning to keep my math rotations organized. Whether you are just starting to use math rotations, or you have been using them for awhile, I hope that you find at least one tip that can help you.
Tip #1: Color Code EVERYTHING
For paper organization, the BEST thing I did was assign each of my math rotation’s groups a color. If you read my post on structuring math rotations, you read about how I use shapes to determine my groups, but what I found was that just telling students to look for shapes on their paper was not enough. So, I started to give each shape a color, too.
For example, my triangle group may be green. I would tell that group that ALL green papers were the ones that they used. I had a lot less students ask me where to find their paper for each rotation or get confused on what papers were theirs. This made it easy to differentiate, too!
TIP: Ask parents to donate colored paper for your math rotations at the beginning of the year!
Tip #2: Designate an Area in Your Room, the “Math Rotations” Area.
“Where do I find the activity for Hand’s On today” or “Where do I put the dice?” Do you receive questions like this during math rotations? I don’t anymore because we have a place in our room that everything with math rotations is located. After the first month of school, my students know where everything goes and understand how to put away their math rotations. Think about a place in your room that would work for this. It could be a book shelf, counter, drawers or even a designated cart. Find what works for you, but having a designated space will save you a lot of questions!
Tip #3: Have a Small Group Math Rotations Binder Ready to Go
One question I receive often is, ” How do you keep my small group notes and information organized?” I have a separate binder just for this! I do not include this information in my main math rotations binder, because when I am working with a small group, I want to have everything easy to find and in one place. In my math rotations guide, I go more in depth about what this binder looks like and how ALL of my small group papers, data, word problems and everything I need is kept in this binder.
Tip #4: Set up a Student Organization System
Make sure you have a system of what your students for what they do with papers they are not finished with or papers they have completed! In my class, we had turn in trays with papers that were for completed papers and a folder for unfinished work. One year, I even had a designated exit slips turn in area (I talk about this more in my math rotations guide). It took about a month for my students to understand this system, but once they did, there were a LOT less missing papers and a LOT less questions about where to put papers. It makes a big difference when you create and teach your students the system for finished and unfinished work from day one!
Later this summer, I will be releasing my Upper El. Teacher’s Guide to Math Rotations and in this guide, go into more depth on how you can stay organized with your math rotations. Organization in math rotations will save you a lot of stress and TIME. You will no longer spend as much time finding what you need for math rotations or helping your students find what they need. Trust me, if you use these tips, you will be a much happier teacher and find more success with your math rotations! Click the yellow button below to sign up to be notified when this math rotations guide is released.
