We also created some references materials that students could bring with them to their center. We made a board that showed which centers were independent, those that required a small group, and those that could be played either way. I put a bunch of them together and began introducing them to my students.

It turns out that there are LOADS of activities that were perfectly suited to my multiplication needs. I stared sifting through all of my first grade binders (I know we all still have our lesson plans from our student teaching, so letвЂ™s stop pretending to be surprised that I have my binders from last year! Haha!)

Were there any that I could possibly modify to use with multiplication? Even if I could, would my students turn their nose up at them because they were too babyish? I then thought back to my six years of teaching math centers in first grade. A few ideas came right to mind, but it wasnвЂ™t enough of a variety to engage all of my kiddos.

For other students, one worksheet is overwhelming and their confidence plummets when they see their peers running up to the finished work bin with three sheets in hand.Д®NOUGH! I needed my students to participate in more meaningful learning in a comparison-free environment, all while being differentiated enough to meet my wide range of learners. For some students, you can never have enough worksheets because they are finished before you even have a moment to put out the next. All of our students process the concept of multiplication differently, and therefore will build their fluency and understanding at different rates. If youвЂ™ve ever taught multiplication, you know how hard it can be to help students build fluency with their facts.

Games for multiplication tables