The Problem With Many Math Centers
Even the cutest math centers get old. Students go through the same rotations a few times, and next thing you know the excitement is over. Soon, dry-erasers don’t work, laminated game pieces get damaged, and items go missing.
The time it takes us to find materials for, prepare, and repair these centers year-round is unsustainable! What’s worse, once kids realize a center “doesn’t work”, they disengage and learning stops.
My Thoughts
For Math Centers to work well, they need to be teacher friendly AND keep students highly engaged. To me, a few things make this happen:
A Solution
Have you ever tried Math Crossword Puzzles? Oh my goodness! Students love them!
Engaging
- Crossword puzzles don’t look like “real work”!
- Students can answer in the order they want!
- Writing letters in grids that criss-cross is exciting!
- Each puzzle is completely different from the next!
The feedback I’ve received from teachers is that their students ask for these all the time. You can verify that on my TPT store!
Effective Learning Tools
- Each puzzle reviews 10 different Math Standards.
- Crossword puzzles are self-checking activities. There’s only one possible answer for each clue.
- The 10 answers are spelled out correctly in the word box for spelling reinforcement.
- Students practice writing numerals, number words, and math vocabulary words each time.
- The puzzles become more challenging as the year goes on. The activities match the new content and increased ability of your students.
High Engagement in Math Centers and Beyond
These puzzles work beautifully in Math Centers and they are versatile enough to be used in other ways. There is a generous amount of puzzles in each packet, so you can use them pretty much anywhere!
- Add puzzles to your math homework
- Use them as Morning work
- Address many topics in Small Groups
- Use as filler activities for early finishers
- Add extra pages to your Sub Binder
Besides being a fun and different activity, Math Crossword Puzzles increase math vocabulary, and expose students to logic and critical thinking! They are highly appealing and may be a powerful way to engage students who lack motivation.
Try them with your students.
Available for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Grades.
I’d love to send you a sample!
Related Posts
Here are other low-maintenance Math Centers you can create with materials you already have in your class!
