In order to
keep the noise level down, teachers may want to limit the number of students
that are working at each center. Some
centers may have individual work (ex. DEAR), others may have pair work (ex.
buddy reading), yet some may have 3 or more people at a time (ex. art) (Diller 4).
Students have a menu each week (see Figure 2.1). They must complete the starred centers each week. Students work on their own time and are not required to move tot he next center if they need a bit more time. It is important to consider how many students can be at each center without it becoming too crowded. After they have completed each center, they color in the corresponding box on their menu. In some classrooms, teachers or volunteers may want to initial that the child is done with the center. Teachers may require the students complete a certain number of centers each day. After students are done with the starred centers, students may work at choice centers. Centers can either be kept in designated areas or students may go to the appropriate bucket for each center at one central location.
Teachers divide the class into groups of 3-6 students in each group. The teacher may decide to group students with similar levels or with varying levels. Teachers create workboards (see below) with the names of students and what they are to do each day with their group.
Scheduling
of Centers
Teachers many use many different types of management boards (both commercial and homemade). Pocket charts and rotation wheels are both commonly used. The most important things is for students to know where they are supposed to be, when they should be there, and what they should do while they are there (Diller, 16). A sample schedule can be seen in figure 2.2.
You can view a WORD document of my primary centers menu here and a WORD document of my daily chart here.
Figure 2.1 Centers Menu
|
|
Group A |
Group B |
Group C |
|
Monday |
Spelling |
Language
Arts |
Art |
|
|
Poetry |
Spelling |
Language
Arts |
|
Tuesday |
Writing |
Poetry |
Spelling |
|
|
Math |
Writing |
Poetry |
|
Wednesday |
Free |
Math |
Writing |
|
|
Science |
Free |
Math |
|
Thursday |
Social
Studies |
Science |
Free |
|
|
Listening |
Social
Studies |
Science |
|
Friday |
Art |
Listening |
Social
Studies |
|
|
Language
Arts |
Art |
Listening |
Figure 2.2 Sample Schedule for Centers
Storage
Centers
If you have enough space, you can keep things at their individually designated areas. These areas need to be organized and have enough materials to work with, but not so much that they overwhelm the students. Keep in mind that louder centers should be far away from quiet ones. The benefit of this is that you don not have to constantly move things around each day. The drawback is that it takes up a good deal of space. You can put desks or tables together and bring buckets (see below) to the area for centers each day.
Buckets
If you are short on space, this is a better option. There should be one bucket (dish pans work well, as well as shoe boxes) for each center. Some centers still require a designated area such as an art center that takes up a large amount of space.
Materials
Teacher
Created
Designing and making materials takes up a great deal of time. Try to make the materials work with many different activities and centers. Game boards can be used in multiple centers. Volunteers and students can help make the materials as well. A benefit of making your own is that you can customize them to fit your needs. A drawback is that it is very time consuming.
Store Bought
Store bought materials can save teachers a lot of time. They are not always as easy to customize though. Dollar stores may help when creating learning centers.