Teaching · For Teachers

Learning Station Rotation Planner

Plan a rotation where every group reaches every station, transitions stay short and the teacher table gets the group that needs it.

Start a planWhat you get
$12one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $12

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the For Teachers toolkit, $79 for 92 items.

Plans

Each plan keeps the stations, the groups and a timed lesson. Load the worked example to see a 60-minute math rotation.

Loading the rotation plan form. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Teaching · For Teachers$12 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A rotation plan with the stations, their kind and task, the number of groups, how they were formed and the signal; a timeline of launch, rounds, transitions and close that adds up against the lesson, checks rounds against stations and shows station time; seven checks marked ready, not yet or not needed; and a run sheet with the stations to print.
Who it is for
Elementary and middle school teachers running station rotations, and specialists who run them with small classes.
Format
Browser tool with a saved record per rotation plan. Prints a run sheet with clock times, the full rotation plan, every rotation plan in a table or a blank form; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$12 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the For Teachers toolkit ($79) and the Teaching Suite pass ($199), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The For Teachers space in Caveat Teaching.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. List the stations and their tasks.
  2. Set the groups and the signal.
  3. Lay out launch, rounds and transitions.
  4. Mark the checks.
  5. Print the run sheet for the board.

Start a plan

Rotations that actually rotate

One rotation round: every group at a different stationRoundGroup AGroup BGroup CRound 1Teacher tablePractice setPartner gameRound 2Partner gameTeacher tablePractice setRound 3Practice setPartner gameTeacher tableOne rotation round: every group at a different stationRound 1Group A: Teacher tableGroup B: Practice setGroup C: Partner gameRound 2Group A: Partner gameGroup B: Teacher tableGroup C: Practice setRound 3Group A: Practice setGroup B: Partner gameGroup C: Teacher table
Three groups need three rounds to reach every station. The planner counts the rounds against the stations and warns when they do not match.

Why the teacher table matters

The main reason to rotate is the small group at the teacher table: a few students get direct teaching and feedback while the others practice. That only works if the other stations run without the teacher, so the checks ask for tasks students can finish alone and a routine for questions.

Counting rounds and moves

The planner compares the rounds with the stations and the groups, adds up the transition minutes and shows the share of the lesson spent at stations.

Sources

  1. Tomlinson, C. A. (2014). The Differentiated Classroom: Responding to the Needs of All Learners (2nd ed.). ASCD.
  2. Staker, H., and Horn, M. B. (2012). Classifying K-12 Blended Learning. Innosight Institute.
  3. Kounin, J. S. (1970). Discipline and Group Management in Classrooms. Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
  4. Rosenshine, B. (2012). Principles of instruction: research-based strategies that all teachers should know. American Educator, 36(1), 12-19.

The worked examples are made up. The 65 percent and 20-minute flags are planning rules of thumb. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.