Managing Learning Centers
Posted by Debra Liverman on 03 Nov 2008 | Posted in: Classroom Management, Grade 1, Grades 2-3, Intermediate, Kindergarten, Preschool, The Mailbox
If I could peek into all the elementary school classrooms around the country, I’m sure I would find some sort of learning center in every one. Whether it was a traditional center set up in a particular area of the classroom, a collection of file folder centers in a file box, or a pair of students playing a partner game on the floor, almost every classroom would have one. And why not? Learning centers encourage children to work independently (or with a small group) while they practice skills and provide a variety of activities to keep them engaged. They offer a great way to differentiate for your students’ individual ability levels or interests, and, if managed properly, can provide you the time to pull a few students to work with you in a small group.
So, if I peeked into your classroom, would I see learning centers? If so, what kind? Do you have any tricks for making the most of centers with your students? Share with us!
Here are a few ideas from The Mailbox for using learning centers in your classroom.
Personal Passport
Guide students through their learning centers journey with these simple organizers. Have each child fold a sheet of 12″ x 18″ blue construction paper in half and label it “Centers Passport.” If desired, have him add a photo of himself to the cover. Laminate the folder for durability. Program a copy of the “Places to Go” form with the name of each center activity and place a copy in each student’s passport folder. After completing each center, the student stamps the box next to the center’s name and places his work in the folder.
Cleanup Captains
Here’s a tip to put your students in charge of keeping centers in order. After signaling students to begin cleanup, select a hardworking child from each center to be the captain. Have her inspect the center and dismiss her group to the next activity when she thinks the center is neat and tidy. Remind students that if the captain excuses a group with a messy center, the captain must finish the work herself.
Color-Coded Centers
To prevent overcrowding at centers, color-code them and obtain matching inexpensive plastic bracelets. Have each student choose a bracelet and go to the corresponding center. When all of the bracelets of one color have been taken, the students know that center is full.
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22 Responses to “Managing Learning Centers”
More Comments Pages: « 1 [2] Show All Comments
More Comments Pages: « 1 [2] Show All Comments
To andrea - I used to do centers the same way you described and I too had many that never made it to centers so I have a set center time. I do not grade my center work but it really helps me check for understanding.
It took me 5 years to feel comfortable with centers/learning stations and how to get my mind around how to make them most effective. I visited several teachers rooms who were successful with learning stations and stole ideas from each one and then combined them with my ideas. I have five centers a week -groups do one each day and it last about 45 min. Each center will have something that has to be turned in so I can monitor work and then I take about 15 min to go over each activity with each child and let them explain what they did and what they learned. It also helps a great deal that I have a teacher assistant in my room during that time so she monitors while i do guided reading groups.
I have centers in my kindergarten classroom and I have 45 minutes a day(the time between lunch and recess) designated for this. My students come to school all day/every day. I have five centers and they are color-coded in the following way: Green-games for math & reading, & the occasional puzzle or two; Orange - writing center; Yellow - computers, plus a backup activity or two if the computers are temperamental that day; Blue - Books that are leveled, books we’ve read together, seasonal, & audiotapes, and usually a quick comprehension activity for the audiotape; Red - Art, with a special art project & a backup activity or two such as pattern blocks with pictures to cover, playdoh, etc. The centers always reinforce concepts that we have been working on. Center management is accomplished with a pocket chart with each child’s name on a card. The groups are mixed ability and they stay with the same group of kids for 5-6 weeks. On the left in each pocket is a colored tag and the kids’ name cards. At the end of each day I move the colored cards down one row on the pocket chart while the kids’ names stay in the same place. On the sixth day I allow them to go to the center of their choice as long as there are never more than 4 kids at that center. I began this the first week of school and it has worked well for me. At first, they were all anxious to get to every center on the first day and it was a challenge to keep them in one place. I spent the most time managing kids and teaching them the procedures. It paid off because now they are working independently enough to allow me to do quick one-on-one coaching or assessments. The yellow and green center activities stay the same for two weeks - with occasional addition of a game or two if needed. The activities in the orange, red, and blue centers change weekly. At least that way I usually do not need to change everything at the same time. I’ve done my centers this way for three years now.
I would like to know what state Andrea M. is from. You are lucky to have the state provide resources.
I use a silent timer from Time Timer to let students know when time is up., since centers take different amounts of time.
I teach special ed. preschool. My class is structured for those children who need it. Each child has a schedule that tells them what is next. That way, they go to a center when it is on their schedule. This includes 1:1 time with me and independant work at a table by themselves. We only keep them at a center for no more than 10 minutes or until they begin to get “antsy”. They have a different schedule every day, and I coordinate them so that not too many are in one center at one time, or that two children who don’t get along don’t spend too much time together. This way, they learn to follow a schedule and still go to each center all week.
How I managed having centers for Pre-k with special ed students and I did the same for a kind. class too. I had a sign that sat on the table with the kids pictures and names. When the kids traveled to the next center the group stayed together and went to the next center taking the sign with them. I had one person each day in charge of carrying the sign to the next place. I have used small plungers that when pressed down on a surface would stick. I glued a wooden clothespin on one side and that held the sign with names on it. I have also took the plungers and put them in flowerpots and made them look like potted flowers and under the flower was the clothespin. I have seen color coded systems used where you have a master posted on display of names and what color they are for the day and then the tables are coded with the color and the order of where you go say today student is to visit table yellow, red, blue, and then purple - in that order. Next to the child’s name on the master you would have squares of colors in that order next to their name. On the tables you would have colors in the center of the table to display which table is what, or hang the colors from the ceiling in you can. Either way I personally like to color code my groups and that helps me stay organized.
This is a response for the person who teaches special ed kindergarten. I also teach in a special ed classroom and one thing that we do is have children pick a center with their “buddies”. We have matching necklaces for the buddies to wear and then they have to stay in that center with their buddy until the timer goes off (usually about 15 minutes) and then they can move around the room as they wish. The buddy system helps them with their verbal and social skills…you can assign buddies or let them choose, whichever you prefer. I also think it helps them have more purposeful play in their centers because they have to discuss what they are going to do together. Hope that helps!
I have come up with what I think is a great idea for math learning centers. I always want to review the skills that I have already taught and found it difficult to manage that. I decided to create a center for each of the strands in my state math curriculum. The center activities are the really fun activities and ideas that my state supplies as additional math resources. I keep each center for a week and assign my students to the center that they will visit each day. I feel so much better knowing that my students are continually reviewing their previous learning, and actually solving problems on a daily basis.
I teach special ed kindergarten. Centers are mandatory for kindergarten at my school. I think it’s great but my students are having difficulty understanding that they must go to an assigned center and remain there the entire centers time. Does anyone have any suggestions?
I use centers all the time in my classroom. I only grade student participation and behavior. Most of my centers are self correcting. In order to avoid cheating - I have my student of the day as the keeper of the answers. I have a box of file folder activities for early finishers. I also use centers for skills that I want my students to practice while I am working in small group. This way all of the students have an opportunity to participate in learning activities. Some of my students favorite activities are using a deck of cards to practice math facts. They play war and the first person to state the product gets to keep the cards. I write on the Jacks -10, Queen - 11, and King -12 with a permanent marker so the students can practice these facts also. I use Jenga to practice grammar skills. They draw a sentence and must identify the key skill we are working on (Parts of speech, subject, predicate, punctuation, etc). If the student gets it correct - they get to remove a Jenga tile and place it on top. I have gotten donations of cards and Jenga from my parents. Centers are a great motivator in my classroom. They are actually practicing a skill and working towards mastery and the kids just think they are playing a game. Little do they know that they are actually learning.
I teach 5th grade and have had unofficial centers. However, i am trying to set up more official centers. I am unsure if I want or have time to have center time - but i was thinking when students end their work early, they can go get something from the centers (if we just did spelling and they got it done, then possibly go to the spelling center, etc.) But then i am trying to decide, do i need center time officially set aside instead of just when they finish their work early—some kids will never get to centers who are slower workers. Another question i have is do you grade the work done in the centers or not? Any ideas or thoughts for me would be much appreciated.