Other Learning Centers

Activities

· Pointing to words (one-to-one matching) at emergent reading levels.

· Reading in phrases at early to transitional reading levels.

· Using reading strategies modeled during shared reading.

· Read a non-fiction Big Book and finding important information.

· Talk about favorite parts of Big Books

· Read a fiction Big Book with character voices.

· Write a book review of a Big Book.

· Write personal connections or questions on sticky notes as you read the Big Book.

· Act out a Big Book with a partner.

· Find words you know in a Big Book.

· Find certain types of words (ex. words that end in -ing, nouns)

· Substitute words using sticky notes (ex. “said” to “shouted”)

Overhead

The overhead center is ma multi-purpose center.

Teachers need to model how to:

· Use and store the materials (including the overhead and markers)

Materials

Activities

· Read a poem

· Circle special words in a piece of writing

· Make words with transparent letters

· Make sentences with transparent words

· Read and complete a transparency that has been previously done in class

· Read and complete a morning message

· Practice handwriting

· Find a cute pig for a piggy bank and coins for them to place & count

· Write their spelling words on the overhead

· Put words in abc order

· Complete fill in blank worksheets

· Get pictures (toys & food) off the internet & put a price on them &

print them off for the overhead on a computer (using two columns). The students draw one & have to put that amount of money on the overhead. www.awesomeclipartforkids.com is a great site for the pictures.

· Give the students a sheet of overhead film & let them draw a picture and write three sentences about it.

· Make a blank calendar and they to fill in the month & dates. You can also give them a list of crazy holidays to put into it also.

· Make a blank world map and they have to name the continents and oceans.

· Make a wordsearch to do on the overhead.

· Make sentences that need corrections...capitals, punctuation.

· Have 4 to 6 pictures for sequencing. Then write a sentence about each picture.

· Print out contractions and a list of the words to make them & they have to match them.

· Make two columns and label them statements and questions (or command and exclamatory). Then make 10-15 sentences (Leave off periods and question marks). They have to put them in the correct column.

· For time, have the clocks that you buy for the overhead. Then make up a deck of cards with different times on them. They have to make the clock say the correct time written on the card.

Pocket Chart

Pocket charts allow for a variety of activities to occur.

Teachers need to model how to:

· Use and store materials

Materials

Activities

· Make words out of letters

· Make sentences out of words

· Match names and photos

· Match words and pictures

· Match words and definitions

· Match words with similar meanings (synonyms)

· Match words with opposite meanings (antonyms)

· Sort letters with different fonts

· Sort words

· Put words in ABC order

· Put poems in correct order (cut out lines and students put the lines back into order)

· Put directions in order

· Put events in a story in order

Fine Motor Skills

Materials

· Materials depend on the center

Activities

· Hiding small objects in Silly Putty hide a couple of coins in 2 or 3 globs of Silly Putty. Students use their thumb and first finger (pincher grip) to locate the coins. Then they hide the coins for the teacher/parent to find.

· Creating pictures on a pegboard, this is at such an angle that it brings the wrist back into the correct position for writing. Students use their thumbs and first fingers to pick up the little plastic pegs and push them into the pegboard screen. Students may work in pairs or individually on these creations. (Lite Bright)

· Pick up and sort objects such as blocks, spools, coins, beans, marbles, cotton balls, pins, buttons, straws, nails, nuts, bolts, popcorn, and place them into containers of varying sizes i.e. egg cartons, cups, mugs, jars.

· Pick up objects (blocks, cotton balls, counters, etc.) using various sized tongs, transferring them between containers

· Stack objects (i.e. coins, cards, checkers, buttons, blocks, etc.)

· Screw and unscrew objects such as nuts and bolts, caps from jars, etc.

· String beads onto a shoelace

· Run a threaded needle through cloth

· Cut straight and curved lines/shapes drawn on paper with scissors.

· Play the piano

· Type

· Crumple paper in a small ball and then flick it with the finger (play "soccer" with the paper ball)

· Shuffle cards, deal cards one by one, turn cards over

· Roll a pencil between thumb and fingers without dropping it

· Knead dough

· Stick small objects into play dough for him/her to pull out

· Put rubber bands around various size containers and objects

· Use tweezers to pick up small objects

· Move spoonfuls of small objects from one bowl to another

· Do up buttons, zippers, hooks, etc. Tie shoelaces

· Trace and copy letters

· Do connect the dot puzzles and Solve mazes

· Manually sharpen pencils

· Tie a box with string or ribbon

· Put keys into locks to open doors

· Put paper clips onto paper

· Use a stapler and Remove staples with a staple remover

· Place clothespins on the edge of a box or container

· Use Wikki Stix to form shapes, letters, numbers, and other designs. You may use a template.

· Color using the flat side of a crayon. Put paper over leaves, stencils, and other objects so that the child gets sensory feedback as he colors.

· Put the clothespins on the rim of a can.

· Use sprayer bottles filled with water and sponges to have the child "clean" a desk or table, and then squeeze the excess water out.

· Lace various sized beads. Any activity involving the use of both hands is good to develop bilateral integration.

· Have a cutting center. Give the child a magazine and let and glue on pictures to make a poster.

· Fill a sensory table/bucket with colored pompoms and provide small tongs and baskets, the students fill their baskets.

· Use tweezers to pickup small items in egg cartons or something else.

· Older students may practice strengthening their fingers for cutting by using a rubber band to just stretch, release, etc.

· Play dough play with young students with the terms: poke, squeeze, pound, press, knead, etc. good for language too.

· Math: an activity for 1-4 students, each has a plastic ice cube tray and either small tongs or melon ballers

· One person rolls a dice and picks up the number of items to match the number on the dice. Dice passes to next person...play continues until tray is filled. This uses more than the pincers grip as a sideways motion is required and is good for one-to-one correspondence.

· Rice Table: have a mixture of rice and several kinds of beans. Child uses a large slotted spoon and picks up a spoonful of rice mixture. They are to carefully shake the spoon back and forth until the rice falls through the slots and only the beans are left. Pour the beans into a small container. Goal is to continue until the container is filled. Arm, wrist, and hand coordination are required to do this efficiently.