Wow!
Posted by Diane Badden on 15 Jun 2010 | Posted in: Classroom Management, The Mailbox Books
Wow again! Y’all are awesome! Your responses to “Scoop Alert!” and “Paperwork SOS” are so fantastic. Teachers are the BEST! I hope you’re enjoying the comments as much as I am. And if you didn’t get a chance to respond yet, please still do!
I kept trying to post yesterday, and I declare it just didn’t happen. But it’s happenin’ today! Speaking of happenin’, it’s June 15, and you know what that means: the 15 new books I told you about last week are now on TheMailbox.com for your viewing pleasure. And, of course, you’re probably wondering about today’s blog topic (since a response before June 20 earns you an entry into our drawing for a free book). So read on!
This weekend, as I was meandering between booths at a local farmers’ market, I was reminded of classroom learning centers. I imagine it takes a lot of effort to set up and maintain a booth at the farmers’ market. I know this is true for learning centers, no matter what grade you teach. When I taught third grade, I had free-time centers for early finishers, which I changed out monthly. I also had daily center work, which students were required to complete. The prep was challenging but the benefits were tremendous: lots of skill practice took place, the kids loved going to centers (yes, even in third grade!), and I had very few behavior problems.
So let’s talk classroom centers! What types of learning centers do you have? What set up and management tips do you have for teachers who are just getting started with learning centers? What types of centers do your students like the most?
Waiting to hear from y’all,
Diane
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22 Responses to “Wow!”
More Comments Pages: « 1 [2] Show All Comments
More Comments Pages: « 1 [2] Show All Comments
I have used centers in both 4th grade and then kinder when I moved down.
I have a space issue in kinder, so I had to really work with the students to clean up and put things back so that we had space to work when center time was over.
I use a timer to remind everyone when it is time to move to the next center that way I can totally focus on the group I am with.
I know next year I will continue to refine all my center time in kinder to ensure I meeting the needs of the students and myself.
Teaching is a never ending life of learning what works and what needs changed depending on the group of students from year to year.
I have centers each day in my first grade classroom. I use a center chart that I bought but you can also make one that has the students names and which center they are to begin in. I set my classroom up so that students rotate clockwise with their group. I use a rainstick once to signal cleanup and again for moving to the next center. This is incorporated in my reading/literacy block so I have a reading group, library, computer/leapfrog, listening and word study. I sometimes have themed centers in the afternoon(maybe once a month) if I want to incorporate a theme like apples, Dr. Seuss, seasons etc… I switch out activities for my morning centers weekly based on the reading skill. For example short a-listening to a book on tape with short or or short vowels phonics activities, playing a short a game on starfall.com for computer, short a matching game in word study, finding short a words in stories for library. Some center activities are store brought, others I have my assistant make or sometimes I make, ideas from The Mailbox of course and the reading series. hardly any behavior problems, make sure to go over the center before placing students at that center and hold them accountable for the work done. Once you get them established it’a just a matter of switiching out the activities.Also I rotate every 10-20 minutes.
I haven’t tried centers yet. I look forward to reading everyone’s comments. Maybe they’ll give me the courage to try.
When starting work stations (centers), it’s best to go slowly and practice procedure. In the beginning, I walk around and monitor students. Afterwards, we have a group meeting and discuss things that went well and things that didn’t go well.
I use a listening station, computer station, writing station, independent/buddy reading station, teacher station, math station, and games/puzzles station. The games/puzzle station could be something like Scrabble, Upwards or some other game where the children can work on spelling. The children really love going to the computer station. Each week they have a new activity to complete. They also like going to the listening station. There, they listen to a book and complete some kind of follow up activity.
I teach third grade. Instead of calling the activities, I call them work stations.
I love the concept of centers and even put forth a great effort to create centers but I have to be honest I am horrible at center management. This year I want to give my 4th graders time to use and learn from the centers I setup in my classroom. My biggest concerns are motivating my students to use the centers and manage their behavior. If anyone has any suggestions as to how to successfully manage centers I am all ears.
I have taught both kindergarten and 4th grade and have done centers in both. I have found that when you start centers it is super important that your directions are very clear. I would agree that if you are starting them for the first time it is best to start with a few and work your way up. I have always had a center dedicated to reading, math, and working with words. The others differed depending on the grade in kindergarten it was usually either a craft or play center. In 4th grade I had a social studies/science center and writing. My students seem to really enjoy centers, especially those that are hands-on activities, as opposed to just completing papers. I also try to incorporate collaboration skills when I can. To minimize behavior problems I used a cooperation chart in 4th grade. This chart was grouped by station and each station at sub headings for staying on task, noise level and collaboration. For each station the student would evaluate themselves (using 1-5) and have 2 other people from their group evaluate them as well. It seemed to work really well.
i teach a 3 to 4 year old class and although i would like to use centers more i have a problem with class space.i am wondering if portable centers can work with that age..ie in a box and moved to different parts of the table or floor…any suggestions?
I haven’t used centers in a few years due to either the young or mixed age group I have. But when I did what I remember was using a audible timer that the kids could hear, they knew after a few days they only had a certain amount of time in a center and that was it, they got right to work/play, and again after a few days there were no complaints about having to leave to move into a new center, and having a timer they could hear they started to monitor themselves or each other and left me time for other important/fun tasks.
I teach prekinder, and I am a participant in the Texas State Ready! grant. We are required to have 7 centers: Pretend & Learn, Construction, Math & Science, Creative Corner, Writing, ABC, & Library. (I also have a computer center.)
I have had very few behavior problems with my centers. Each child has a name/picture tag with a piece of Velcro on the back. There are anywhere from 3 to 6 places for the children at each center. They must stick their name/picture tag on one of the the open slots at a center in order to be there. If a center is full, then they must find a center that is open. I make sure that every center is filled with planned, purposeful, playful activities.
The most popular center is usually Math & Science. I always thought Pretend & Learn or Construction would be the most popular, but I was wrong.
The name/picture tags are placed in what I call the Name Basket at the end of center time, and each day it’s a different student’s job to collect the tags. They love that job!
When I began using centers, I began with too many and it got overwhelming! I suggest starting with fewer centers and working your way up to more centers. AND I started with too long of a time, plan for a shorter time because it’s easy to extend. AND I try to have a good mix of centers, some academic and structured and some fun and unstructured, but don’t make one way more fun than another! ; ) In the end I believe centers are hard, but are beneficial and it just takes time and practice to get the hang of it (as is with most things in life).