Math Centers

These past few weeks our second graders have loved getting involved in math centers! Every once in a while for something extra engaging, we have math centers. This is so students have a chance to practice things we have learned, as well as participate in activities that will make them more fluent with certain math concepts.

One math center that students have really enjoyed is “fly swatter math”. Throughout this activity, I read off addition or subtraction problems, such as 9 + 3 or 10 – 6. After hearing the problem, students have to solve quickly and use their fly swatter to “swat” the right answer that is written on a piece of poster board. This activity promotes memorizing, rather than counting on their fingers to solve so that they can be the first one to “swat” the correct answer. Students have been doing an amazing job with becoming more fluent and faster at swatting the correct answers while memorizing these addition and subtraction problems.

Another math center that students have come to love is “popcorn math”. Throughout this activity students draw three pieces of paper out of a cup of popcorn. Students draw two pieces of white paper (the numbers) and one piece of yellow paper (the addition or subtraction symbol). Once they draw these three pieces of paper, students write down the problem and solve it. For example, if they drew 22, 35, and + they would be responsible for adding 22 and 35 together on their “popcorn math” worksheet. This activity allows students to differentiate between addition and subtraction as they use those two math concepts.

The last two math centers students participated in were addition and subtraction flash cards and using the computer to look through different math games. Through all of these math center activities students have become engaged in becoming more fluent with certain math concepts. Encourage your second grader at home by practicing these math concepts to further increase their fluency.