Math Tubs
Hands On Centers
My students work in math tubs at the end of each day. I teach math as my last subject because I love ending the day with play.
Normally, I teach the large group skill. Then we complete our Daily Math Journals. When we are finished the children go to their math tub. They have a rotation just like centers.
I have 10 tubs. I turn them over once every two weeks. For the beginning of the year I let the children explore all of the manipulatives they will be asked to work with. This lets the students get the "play" out so when it is teaching time they have been prepared to work.
Each tub has a skills based activity that reinforces something taught in class.
Some skills I have in tubs are:
Patterning
Graphing
Geometry
Measurement
Number Sense
Some questions I have been asked:
"Isn't this more work for you?"
Yes, it was the first year. Now I know what skills are reviewed when so I just pull the materials and go.
"Where do you get the different ideas every two weeks to change out just your math tubs?"
I looked at our Daily Math Journals and pulled skills that they children should continually review. Ex. patterning, counting, grouping, addition, subtraction, graphing, etc.
Practice makes perfect! Also, many months, the same skills are in a few different buckets.
For example, in May I think 5 of my 10 Tubs had some sort of addition activity. They all had different manipulative to use.
"How long do your students do math tubs?"
About 15 - 20 minutes. It depends on how much time I have left at the end of the day and how quickly the students complete and check their Daily Math Journals. I do not have free choice centers, so this is their "play".
"I noticed you said your students sometimes use a recording sheet. Did you come up with them on your own?"
Nah. That's too much work. I pull from workbooks, the Internet, and whatever else works.
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