Setting up Stations in your Classroom

I’ve been doing station work in my classroom since I started teaching. I find it invaluable to be able to work with a small group of students who are grouped to suit their ability. It also gives the other children independence to work alone and I assign captains to each table. Here’s a step by step guide to introducing stations in your classroom.

1. Sit down, take out your notepad and begin with 5 groups. You may want to name these groups, I name mine after animals and this alternates every week so the children don’t see a particular animal as being the weak/strong group. The groups usually break down as follows; the brightest children in your class go into one group (usually 6 to a group), then the next 6 brightest in the second group, you will have 2 average groups who may more or less be on the same level and your weak group.

2. When you are happy with your groups, assign each one to a table. They will always sit at this table to begin their stations (some groups may vary for different subjects but they will pick this up). Explain what you are doing, that each group will be doing an activity related to maths for 10 minutes (1 group should be working with you on new material and the rest on material they already know, with one at least being revision from a previous topic).

3. Model how to move to the next table using your most reliable group (always have stations moving in the same direction so they won’t get confused). Practice this before handing any material out to the groups.

4. Next go over your station rules. Ours are 1. Using your inside voice 2. Listening to the captain 3.Clean up when the timer goes off 4. Work together 5. Everyone helps in the clean up 6. Sit quietly when the countdown reaches 0 (I usually count from 10-0 after the timer goes off to give them time to clean up.

5. Hand material out to the most reliable group and put 1minute on the timer. Model to the class how they work together, how they use their inside voice and how they clean up so well together and are sitting nice and quietly for 0.

6. Having a captain on each table is also a great help as it saves you having to intervene when you are trying to work with your small groups.

7. I also differentiate my stations. I have boxes of different activities with a picture of the animal that represents the group on it so that each group is challenged to their ability. I’m not going to lie, this is a lot of work but it is a lot more beneficial than having children sitting at tables doing activities that are too hard/easy for them. My DIP inspector wanted to see my stations differentiated so I’ve become accustomed to it at this stage.

8. For literacy I try and have a reading station with new material with me, a reading station with books they’ve previously read, a writing station, a phonics stations and a sight words station.

Hope that was a help everyone, stations take a lot of practice but they are very rewarding when the children become accustomed to it so give it a go 

Sarah x

My April Aims and Goals

Hey everyone! Sorry I’ve been so quiet on the blog front the past few months, life has been a bit hectic between moving house, creating product for Primary Teaching Ideas, answering FB messages and emails and of course, my usual prep for my class of 31 six and seven year olds. Coming into April I felt it was important for me to take the time to reassess and re-evaluate my hopes and goals for this coming month both as a teacher and outside of the classroom. I have shared these with you below and maybe you can take some inspo from them to create your own goals.



1. Teacher Aims.
As the year is winding down and with only April and May left (June is always a write-off) to get any content left to cover done, planning is very important for the next two months. I also have Drumcondras to do next month and I’m already feeling the pressure (hence why I didn’t become a secondary school teacher). After having a TP student in for March there is still content in maths left uncovered which will have to be squeezed in somewhere this month. Assessment and revision will be important for me this month and I feel it also should be for any teachers facing into Drumcondra’s in May. Where are the kids at? What do they remember? You will sometimes find there is a common area that most of your kids are finding difficult. It may have been December when you taught it or you may have been out sick for a week, either way spending 20 minutes revising it will be beneficial to your class. I also plan on spending time after school each day preparing properly for the next day. All too often I take work home with me or come in at a ridiculous hour in the morning because I’m so exhausted come half 2 I just want to get home and get out of the school environment. Taking work home is not a good idea, leave your school day at school and try to avoid taking work home if you can.
I am also planning on spending 2 hours after school each Thursday planning for the following week. It makes Sunday nights more bearable and means you can enjoy your weekend without worrying about prepping and planning. Any time I was this organised it saved a lot of time during my weekends doing school work. This planning involves roughly writing down what I will cover in each subject, page numbers etc, finding Powerpoints online or creating them and also any photocopying that needs done.


2. Health and Wellbeing
I don’t know about you guys but I often find myself feeling overwhelmed by the amount of things that go on during the school day. Education is the reason we are there but there are many more elements to it and I find myself at home worrying about the child that went home sick-did I send him home too late, about a meeting I have scheduled for tomorrow, mentally making notes on that child I think may have dyslexia/ADD-how can I help them, am I thinking too much into this, perhaps they are fine, perhaps I’m not taking it seriously enough. All of these thoughts are exhausting alone and I know I am not the only one who feels like this.
To help this I decided to take time in the evenings now that they are so much nicer and longer, pop in my head phones, stick on a playlist and go for a walk. If there is a park or a beach near you even better. I rent near Phoenix Park in Dublin so I am lucky enough to be able to walk there. I also signed up to the Park Runs each Saturday at half 9, yes it is a struggle to wake up at half 8 on a Saturday but it really does set you up for the day. Believe me, I was never into fitness or running or going to the gym. I’d get out of breath climbing a flight of stairs, but recently I’ve started getting into it and there are so many benefits. I try and run once each week now and do the Park Run on the Saturday. I’ve also started going to the gym once a week and it’s great to have that time out. It might not be for you but trust me it wasn’t for me either so give it a go and see how you feel.
Taking time to meet with friends and having nice things to look forward to is also very important. I’m planning a dinner date and cocktails with the girls Friday night and I am already looking into a beach holiday with my boyfriend for the May bank holiday weekend. Yes, we are educators but we also live a life outside of that as well.
Hope you took some inspo from this and I will try to post a sample of my workout and wellbeing schedule so you can take some ideas from it.

“You only live once but if you do it right, once is enough”

Sarah xx