My first graders always looked forward to learning-center time. I did too! There’s something refreshing about the variety of activities and the freedom of movement. Often it was a challenge for me to find enough fun ideas for the skills I was teaching, though. It was even more challenging to find the time to come up with quick and easy activities on my own. Do you sometimes face the same challenges? What skills are you looking for in center-time activities? I’d love to know if there are some skill areas we can help you with.
And speaking of quick-and-easy ideas, have you had a chance to check out the step-by-step center activities in the grade 1 edition of The Mailbox® magazine? If not, take a look at these recent activity cards. The activities take nearly no time to prepare. Just remove the colorful activity card from a magazine and set out the materials. No copying, coloring, or cutting out patterns!

from The Mailbox® magazine, Apr/May, grade 1	from The Mailbox magazine, Feb/Mar, grade 1	from The Mailbox magazine, Dec/Jan, grade 1

7 Comments | Subscribe |  Email This

7 Responses to “Simply, Centers!”

1. 30 May 2009 at 6:49 pm # 7.  Aimee
   
   

   Wow, I teach 5th grade and I need all the centers Fran needs. With all the buzz about differentiated instruction anything I can add to my choice board is a plus.

2. 06 Apr 2009 at 3:32 pm # 6.  Becky
   
   

   Debra - I have some activities which I created that I have used in my Math classroom at the middle school level. Surprisingly, my overage students enjoyed them more than my sixth graders. If you would like to see some of them you can email me at: bnissen@cox.net and I’ll send some of them to you.

3. 19 Mar 2009 at 8:18 am # 5.  Teresa
   
   

   What Fran noted is exactly what we need for students during “universal access” time. High interest formats that teachers might be able to personalize for the week’s lessons would also be helpful. Keep it fun!

4. 11 Mar 2009 at 7:16 pm # 4.  Lesa
   
   

   My 1st graders love the Mailbox ideas I’ve used for centers.
   We need to expand our math centers and would like to add some science centers for next year.

   Keep up the good work!

5. 11 Mar 2009 at 5:34 pm # 3.  Ellen
   
   

   I teach 1st grade and we are reading first. Our centers are based around the five components of reading: phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. Any type of activity that fits any of these categories is what teachers at my school need in our centers.

6. 11 Mar 2009 at 2:51 pm # 2.  Fran
   
   

   We have extended Reading First to grade 6, soon to add 7th and 8th. We need reading center ideas to reinforce comprehension skills, for struggling readers as well as the advanced readers.
   compare/contrast
   cause/effect
   problem/solution
   character’s judgements
   author’s point of view
   author’s purpose
   predicting outcomes
   forming generalizations
   help build summaries
   analyzing details
   comparing two pieces of text
   using various graphic organizers

   also vocabulary:
   figurative language
   prefixes/suffixes
   chunking larger words
   word roots

   We like the centers that are preprinted and premade, but when the pieces are small they are lost too easily. Keep the pieces “hand” size with a recording # or activity name on the back. This helps us to place lost pieces back where they belong. Thanks for all you do!

7. 11 Mar 2009 at 12:28 pm # 1.  Debra
   
   

   I teach 8th grade algebra and physical science and would love to incorporate centers but find it difficult to
   a) manage 30 large bodies in a more free-flowing environment
   b) come up with age-appropriate and content-related ideas
   c) have accountability for students and what they accomplish.

   Any suggestions, tips, or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Leave a Reply