As a math coach, I am always trying to simplify the math classroom set up because I know there are a million other things to think about. This is especially true if you don’t only teach math. The beginning of the year is always a crazy time with trying to set up your classroom in addition to all the meetings about new initiatives and curriculum changes. It never seems like there is enough time for it all.
☀Download this BONUS Guide with everything you need to create a growth mindset classroom.
➕Includes definitions, lesson ideas, mindset surveys for students and teachers, and printable posters.
🧠💪Research shows a link between a growth mindset and math success. Kids with a growth mindset about their abilities perform better and are more engaged in the classroom.
👉Includes everything you need to start cultivating a more positive math classroom and students who love math. Download and get started today! Click here to download the Mindset Guide & Survey.
This coming school year, we are departmentalizing grades 3-5, so I was thinking about my top tips for math classroom setup. Teachers need to think about setting up their desks to encourage mathematical discourse, ways to make their math tools accessible, and promote a growth mindset in mathematics. What do I want to make sure all the math classrooms have?
Math Classroom Setup
I always like to start brainstorming and drawing a diagram of how I want to set up my classroom before I set foot into my classroom. This way, I can ensure I include some essential areas in my room.
Students need opportunities to work in whole groups, small groups, and independently. So thinking about the arrangement of the classroom is essential. This is where drawing a classroom setup diagram comes in handy.
I like to think about the best place to put my table to pull small groups, an area for a rug to have our mathematical discussions, and places to store our math manipulatives and centers. First, add in these elements. Then, decide on your classroom table setup.
You also want to make sure materials are easily accessible and in a place where students can help put them away. Keeping your organization system simple is essential because otherwise, you will spend too much time cleaning up the materials, or worse, your classroom will be a mess!
Growth Mindset in Mathematics
Research shows a link between a growth mindset and math success. Kids with a growth mindset about their abilities perform better and are more engaged in the classroom. People with growth mindsets believe they can develop their skills, talents, and abilities over time with hard work, effort, and perseverance.
Teaching students the concept of a growth mindset and how they can harness its power can positively impact student achievement. They need to learn that they can achieve in all areas and that struggling is part of the process. We need to help them understand the connection between effort and improvement.
Creating a Positive Classroom Culture
When setting up your classroom, think about how you will create a positive learning space that fosters a love of mathematics. Students need to feel safe to take risks and make mistakes.
Introducing students to these ideas by reading books, showing videos, and having discussions throughout the year will foster a growth mindset classroom. Over time, students will start using the language of someone with a growth mindset.
Creating a Positive Classroom
Check out my BONUS Guide with everything you need to create a growth mindset classroom.
Includes definitions, lesson ideas, mindset surveys for students and teachers, and printable posters.
Research shows a link between a growth mindset and math success. Kids with a growth mindset about their abilities perform better and are more engaged in the classroom. This guide includes everything you need to cultivate a more positive math classroom and students who love math. Download the Ultimate Guide for a Growth Mindset Classroom and Students Who Love Math, and start today!
Ideas for Classroom Setup for Developing a Growth Mindset
In addition to teaching lessons and using positive language, think of ways to embed these messages around the classroom.
Creating a bulletin board with positive messages and ideas left up all year reminds students to choose a growth mindset over a fixed mindset. Here are some Posters and Visuals with Growth Mindset terminology to hang around the Classroom- Click Here for 6 Growth Mindset Classroom Display Free Posters.
Another way to make math fun and engaging is by displaying math puzzles or the 24 Game on a bulletin board. Grab 71 Math Puzzles HERE. that can be printed and displayed in the classroom.
Other ideas:
- Inspirational Quotes
- Pictures of People who exemplify a Growth Mindset
- Pictures from Videos and Movies showing Failures and Perseverance
- Growth Mindset Lesson Plans
- 6 Growth Mindset Classroom Display Free Posters
- Student Work showing off their Hard Work and Showcasing Mistakes.
Growth Mindset Classroom Resources
Student work from lessons about having a growth mindset also makes an excellent display for the classroom. Check out these 5 Ready-Made Lessons that help to define growth mindset.
Or check out this lesson on Why is it important to Never Give Up. This lesson uses the book Brave Irene by William Steig but can be used with other books. It teaches students why positive self-talk is important and helps to cultivate a growth mindset classroom.
In addition, check out this Power of Yet Read Aloud and Lesson. This lesson uses the book The Thing Lou Couldn’t Do by Ashley Spires but can be used with other books. It can be used with goal-setting activities for elementary students or as a test-taking lesson.
I like to give this Math Mindset Survey for students as a starting point before I start talking about growth mindset. Then again, at the year’s end, see how their mindset changed through practice and effort.
To read more about this, you can also check out:
- 5 Powerful Ideas to Help Students Develop a Growth Mindset in Mathematics.
- 3 Powerful and Easy Ideas for Setting up a Classroom to Foster a Growth Mindset
Math Organization
Finding ways to store all your materials and supplies so they are easily accessible can eliminate delays, disruptions and encourage students to use them. In poorly arranged classrooms, students spend a lot of time waiting for materials.
Try focusing on finding creative ways to take your storage vertical. For example, instead of getting a low shelf to the ground, find a taller one and use the top shelves to store things that students don’t need to reach every day.
Instead of having every activity and tool available for students from the beginning of the year through the end, try rotating supplies based on the taught skills. Different tools can bring some new life into the math classroom.
Classroom Organization Examples
I like to have all my math supplies stored in clear plastic bins with labels in a cabinet in my classroom. This way, I can easily find what we need and am more likely to use the materials.
I like to have my students sit in groups with a 3 or 4-drawer plastic storage cabinet in the middle. Then, I place math tools within these drawers, saving time and students on what they need. You can also put a bucket on top of materials for the day’s lessons or other materials.
Routines
Routines are essential for a smooth-running classroom, not just for math time. They are how things are going to happen in the classroom. Therefore, it’s crucial to teach and practice these routines. For example, during math class, teaching how to use the math tools, how to clean up the math tools, and how to use and clean up the math centers is so important.
You need to take the time to teach routines so the materials will be used and put away correctly. As a result, time will have to be taken to clean them up correctly. Instead, by teaching routines, the materials will be used and cleaned up correctly and ready to be used again. Think about what routines you need to have in your classroom to make it run smoothly.
Engaging Students to Learn
The more students are engaged in the learning process; the more motivated they are to learn and, therefore, the more successful they are.
What is Student Engagement?
Student engagement “refers to the degree of attention, curiosity, interest, optimism, and passion that students show when they are learning or being taught, which extends to the level of motivation, they have to learn and progress in their education,” according to The Glossary of Education Reform.
Why is Student Engagement Important?
Student engagement is essential if we want students to learn and love math. So how do we achieve this?
Students need to be writing and talking about math every day. They need to explain their steps to solve a problem and share their different strategies.
Mathematical Discourse
A math talk is one way to get students to talk more. It is a 10-minute activity designed to elicit multiple strategies and provide opportunities for students to reason about the relationships in the numbers and make connections in mathematics. Read more about Math Talks here.
Math Talk provides students an opportunity for deeper understanding through communication. Students articulate and defend their ideas and analyze the reasoning of others. These discussions work best sitting on a large rug so students feel safe and share their strategies.
Journals and White Boards
Students need a place to solve problems and share their strategies. Students can quickly pull out their journals or whiteboards to demonstrate their understanding. Whiteboards are great because you can ask a question, have every student respond on their whiteboards, and then hold them up for a quick formative assessment.
Having journals allows you to see their growth throughout the school year. I like to store both of these in the vertical organizer so students can grab them, and there is no time wasted on passing them out.
math-classroom-technology by Andrea ByrneMath Center Organization & Math Classroom Technology
Classroom centers and their success comes down to careful planning and proper organization. First, a central place to store these materials is needed. Second, depending on the grade level you teach, you may want to limit how many are available to students at a time. Finally, you may just want to put out a few games and centers at a time.
The math center often requires several manipulatives, which makes organization very important. Students need to clean up these games and centers independently, so having a system is vital.
To keep supplies from being lost or put away in the wrong places, there should be clear instructions for how students must clean up when they are done.
It might mean having a laminated picture of which supplies go in which places or some modeling time at the beginning of the day to walk through clean-up procedures for younger students. Color coding materials can also help.
Math Learning Centers
Students need math games and centers for them to practice skills. These could be store-bought, teacher-made, or using technology. Games and centers are a great way to show that math is fun and social. Activities you have done as a whole class can also be moved to a center. The main goal is to practice math skills so these centers can change based on the classroom’s needs.
First in Math, iReady, or Dreambox are technology resources I have used as centers in my classroom.
Bulletin Board Ideas for Math
When setting up your classroom, it’s essential to ensure you have a numeracy- and literacy-rich environment. For example, we must include both subject areas’ word walls, anchor charts, number lines, and reference charts to support students. In addition, your classroom should be a happy and positive space for students to learn and grow.
Math Word Wall Bulletin Board
Throughout the school year, you should have a space to write or hang up math words after you teach them. Words can be organized alphabetically, by domain, or by topic. This provides students with a reference when talking or writing about math. The more we encourage students to use the word wall, the more students will be able to use precise language when talking about
In addition, using a space in the classroom to write the daily math talk encourages students to use math vocabulary. This could be a whiteboard or chart paper. Throughout the lesson, a student could record the math words.
During lesson planning, you must know what words you want students to understand for each math standard. So here is one place to look…Common Core Math Glossary.
Read more…Top 7 Must Have Best Beginning of The Year Bulletin Board Ideas For Math
Additional Resources for Your Math Classroom:
- Classroom Organization: The Physical Environment
- 50 Organization Tricks
- 5 Powerful Ideas to Help Students Develop a Growth Mindset in Mathematics.
- 5 Best Strategies for Engaging Students to Learn in Mathematics Class
- 7 Easy and Inspiring Ideas for classroom setup of Your Math Classroom
Setting up a Classroom
Taking a few minutes to make a plan will help you stay focused, less stressed, and have a beautiful and productive classroom.
Download my BONUS Guide with everything you need to create a growth mindset classroom.
Includes definitions, lesson ideas, mindset surveys for students and teachers, and printable posters. Research shows a link between a growth mindset and math success. Kids with a growth mindset about their abilities perform better and are more engaged in the classroom. Includes everything you need to cultivate a more positive math classroom and students who love math. Download the Ultimate Guide for a Growth Mindset Classroom and Students Who Love Math, and get started today!
First, think about the areas of the classroom and the supplies you need accessible. Then, get started on your math classroom set up today!
