My math teaching coach sent me this link about having problem solving mats for students to work on. I am planning on trying this as some of my students have difficulty staying organized.
They can keep their extra items off of the mat and only use the items needed to solve the problem on the mat.
I'm always looking for new engagement and assessment ideas and this this one is easy to put together and will be very helpful for my students.
Here is a picture example from the article.