How do you feel about small group center organization? Are you a rock star at the beginning of the year and notice systems start to slip by the middle of the year? Maybe you’re in need of a revamp because your system just isn’t working. Possibly you’re wondering how in the world teachers even get ALL that small group stuff organized! No matter how you’re feeling, this quick and easy post will help you get organized, and most importantly – stay that way!
The Setup
Step one is to create a great set up. When getting ready to set up your small group area, there are a few things I like to consider. Below is a comprehensive list to help you place your small group area.
- A spot in the room that has access to a lot of shelf space and/or counter space
- A blank wall behind the area to hang reference posters for students.
- A place where you can easily see the entire room, including the front door, students working, visuals, etc.
- A big enough space for 5-6 students to fit comfortably.
- Room for carts, bins, and baskets.
Below are a few past small group setup areas that have worked well for me personally. These areas house everything for literacy and math centers.
Lesson Organizers
Step two is to organize your lessons. I hear a lot from teachers about how to keep all lesson plans, observation notes, decodables, and more organized. I’m going to show you a few ways I do this so that not only is it organized for the week, but it also stays organized for the year in case you need to reference past plans, and notes about students. As you’ll see below, I like to use a variety of bins and binders to keep everything neatly organized.
Each week, student materials are prepped and placed into their bins. This includes any decodables or graphic organizers that will be used for the week. 
Supply Labels for Small Group Organization
When it comes to small group center organization, each group also has its own binder with lesson plans for the week and observation notes needed for group tweaks. You’ll see an organizer above for grouping students. I like to use post-it notes so that groups can flex and move as needed to fit student needs.
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Group Materials
Step three is to organize your materials. There are A LOT of group materials to get and stay organized. I’ve learned that a 3-tier cart for organizing is a great home! This cart, full of materials, sits behind the group table so that I can easily pull out whatever manipulatives students need when working on different literacy or math skills. THESE baskets from Amazon help keep things organized inside the cart.
Materials I keep on hand for groups are:
Pencils
Dry Erase Markers and Erasers
Letter Boards
Playdoh
Pop its
Sand Trays
Highlighter Tape
Secret Stories
Number Lines
Double-Sided Counters
Ten Frames
Graphic Organizers
Word Mapping Mats
Pointers
Highlighters
Students’ Individual Materials
Step four is to think about students’ individual materials. As you can see from above, I try to keep as many things on hand as students will need to limit interruptions. This is key when it comes to small group center organization. However, students sometimes have to store their own materials. After we finish with a decodable, I like students to take and keep it so they can continue reading it during center time to practice fluency. Each student gets their own bag for all their books and can pull it out as needed for practice. THESE mesh bags work great and last forever!
The One Tool You Need
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Centers Management Ultimate Kit
These first weeks of practice are crucial to how the whole year will run. Just remember, I want to be there to support you! Centers are beautiful when done right; you will LOVE this time in your day. Let me help you through every step of the way! I HIGHLY recommend you enroll in the course that will allow you to say goodbye to the hassles of classroom chaos and hello to confident, effective centers—Mastering Centers for Good!
I really hope you enjoyed learning all about small group center organization and how to create a system that works all year long! Be sure to check out all the other tools included to support you in your centers setup journey. And believe me, it is a journey worth taking! Don’t forget to subscribe to my email list! Not only will you get the most up to date tips, tricks, and classroom projects… and of course more fun FREEBIES including the Mastering Classroom Centers For Good: Turning Chaos into Calm Guide FREEBIE! You will also have exclusive access to tons of digital how-to videos! If you would like to learn about this and other things happening in my classroom follow me @sweetnsauerfirsties on Instagram.
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