Multiplication Stations...Oh My!

The school year is finally getting under way....and by that I mean all the students are finally settling into the routine and getting used to switching classes four times!  It's such a big adjustment for them (in 4th grade at my school they only switch twice a day) and it can take a while for them to realize how they have to come into class ready to work because we have limited time.  I love this time of year because we have time to actually complete all the fun activities that I have!

All the students have multiplied three-digit by two-digit numbers before, so we just have to review (basically reteach :) ) the concept.  Instead of just doing examples in their ISN and worksheets, stations are my favorite way to have students work together to review any concept....expecially multiplication!

My students work in groups of four, and they complete each station.

I make sure to emphasize that they all have to do the work!  Sometimes students want to assign a problem to each student and just copy the answers the others get.  No ma'am!  They need to check they answers against the ones their groupmates get.  That way they can help each other correct mistakes in their solving.

They love working together, and my students are really good at helping each other out.

I put the stations on file folders so that it is easy for the students to stand up on their desks.  That way all the students in the group can see the problems they need to solve.  All of the stations that I make have skills problems and one word problem.

Stations are just such a great way for students to work in cooperative groups.  They also make it easy for me to see which students may be having difficulty with either skills or deciphering word problems.  Sometimes, I make myself a station so I can work with each student in a small group, depending on the content.

If you want to try out the Multiplication Stations, just click on the picture below.

Now that the year is getting going, I will be much better at blogging!  Until next time!