Station Activities

At the end of each year I like to think about what worked and what didn't work for my students so I can improve for next year.  Since I'm the only Special Education Math and Science teacher for my building/district, I have the same kids for 3-4 years.  So reflecting back really helps because I can see the improvement in my students and myself from one year to the next.

So what I have found out about this past school year is that my students absolutely LOVE their ISN and Station Activities.  There are many things they enjoyed about this year but those are their most favorite, and are the most effective.  

Here is how I create my station activities.  At the end of each day I give my students an exit ticket, and the exit tickets are based on the current unit objectives.  Sometimes if I know my students will need to use a previously taught skills I will incorporate that into the exit tickets as well.  These formative assessments allow me to see where each of my students are at; what they know and what they don't know.  Based off of that information I create my station activities.  

For this example we were just starting to work on writing equations in slope intercept form and some of objectives were:

I can calculate the slope given a graph, table, or two points.  

I can determine the slope and y-intercept of a line given the graph of a line.

I can write an equation in slope intercept form given the slope and y-intercept.

My students were given the exit ticket after we went over the ISN pages and did some whole group practice.  When they were finished I checked them to see which problems they got right/wrong.  For this class I had students who got problems incorrect from each objective, so I created stations based on each objective.  

This time I assigned them specific stations they had to complete based on the problems they got wrong from the exit ticket.  If there was time they could go back and do the other stations for practice.  Other times I have had stations for a test review and each table had an activity based on each of the unit objectives.  When I do this they are expected to finish all of the stations.

The main reasons why I like stations is because they get the students up and moving around the room, it allows me to work with individual students, and lastly they get excited because it isn't just a boring worksheet.

**I used Expo Neon Dry Erase Markers on my black lab tables, they wipe away easily with a wet rag. If you don't have black tables you can use regular colored Expo Dry Erase Markers on tables or student desks.**