Math learning centers have always been a favored activity to review concepts learned in the classroom. Having taught 2nd grade for close to forty years, I’ve learned my students always look forward to “game time” with Math Learning Centers on Friday afternoons. It’s an opportunity for students to show all that they had learned and apply their skills competitively with their peers in a fun way. Over the years, I’ve spent countless hours creating games and cutting and laminating for classroom use. They were all well-used, but it’s so much easier to have them pre-made and ready to use. Using learning centers with students in the STEAM or any classroom allows them to experience first-hand the skills that they are acquiring, with immediate gratification. It’s always a fun activity! Here are a few both my students and I love:
Place Value Toss Games
Students love to toss bean bags, water balloons and let’s be honest, just about anything! Allowing students to be creative with practicing their place value skills by tossing an object towards a target is a win for everyone. The MathemActive Place Value Game or any bean bag toss activity can keep students engaged both indoors and outdoors. To make the activity more exciting in the warmer weather I have used water balloons rather than bean bags. The activity for practicing place value can be tailored in a few ways. If the board already comes with numbers at each target you can always change them by covering up the old numbers and adding numbers that are appropriate for the grade level. Students enjoy hitting their target and having a classmate challenge them by having them add or subtract by tens and hundreds. I usually have students take turns tallying up the responses too. If you are outdoors chalking responses works great!
Basketball Tower STEM Challenge
Years ago I learned about this challenge and I have always used it in March as part of celebrating March Madness with my sixth-grade students. I learned about it on Laura Candler’s blog.
The students enjoy planning for the building of the tower out of just newspaper and tape. The students plan accordingly using the engineering design process. Students then begin the process of the challenge by building a tower to support the weight of a basketball, with the constraints of only using newspaper and tape and finally finding success by finding out if their tower can support a basketball for 20 seconds. If they need to make improvements to their product, they have an opportunity to redesign and try again.
The MathemActive Slam Dunk Game is also an amazing tool to use with students in grades 1-5. It can be adapted for different grades by changing out flash cards. There are so many possibilities with this activity.
Incorporating interactive math activities into learning centers helps students apply their knowledge in creative ways. From tossing bean bags to reinforce place value to constructing newspaper towers as part of a STEM challenge, these activities promote engagement and critical thinking. By making math hands-on and enjoyable, educators can foster a love of learning while reinforcing key concepts in a meaningful way.
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