center management

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Home : 2001 : October : 3

center management
By Julianne

I have first grade, but some of the principles are the same.

I started out with open ended center activities that really weren't particularly "educational" just to get the kids used to the rotation and the idea of how
centers work. We had four centers. One center was a jigsaw puzzle (a good choice for you since they are cheap, easy to monitor, engaging and educationally defendable). One center is spelling word study on white boards. One center is art activities. One center is a math game. At first students could rotate to any center they liked so long as there was room for them there. I use yarn

necklaces to regulate how many students could be there. You could use name cards in a holder or a certain number of chairs.

Anyway, once students got the idea of work that had to be done I set up a rotation board. Ours is a small square bulletin board with a wheel in the center. In our room we have four groups with five students in each group. In a larger room you might want six groups with four or five in a group. Each center contains a main activity and an alternate (open ended) activity for early finishers. At the beginning of center time I briefly describe any new information students might need to complete the tasks and they begin. We are stay in these centers for about 30 minutes. We rotate to a different center on the next day. In an older grade you could do two rotations a day. Later in the year this is what we will do.

Tubs work well for centers. I fill them at the beginning of the week and move them to tables or the floor at the beginning of center time. I am able to dedicate one table to stuff that needs to stay out. You could possibly get an inexpensive set of shelves to leave some things out.

For tracking you can use a check off sheet that the students mark themselves or a helper signs when they have completed the appropriate work. Ideally, center activities are review and practice, not new material. This gives you the freedom to work with a guided reading group, tutor individual students, do assessments or other one on one activities while centers are operating. A great teacher I observed had a list of reasons a student could interrupt her during center times: If you are - dead, dying, bleeding, broken arm or leg, throwing up. That was it. Anything else you were supposed to figure it out for yourself, ask a friend or "student expert" or move on and ask the question at the end of the centers time. I loved her method and it really worked for first graders.

Lots of good independent learning takes place with well-planned centers. As to the cost of setting them up, well, nearly every teacher I know spends some money on materials and supplies. After a while you get good at finding cheap or free stuff that makes great centers.

Some ideas for some cheap, easy to set up centers:
The regular drill and practice photocopies you would use as a whole class can be done as a group activity in a center.
Card games that require math skills
Buddy reading from familiar books
Small group answers the questions at the end of the social studies chapter we just discussed in class.
Study spelling words using small whiteboards, chalkboards or just paper and pencil.
Art center. Put your scraps in a tub along with a suggestion - Make something you can wear - or whatever. See what they come up with.
Math practice. Have students complete a single math assignment together as a cooperative learning activity.
Math play. Give the group a logic problem and see if they can figure it out. Have them CREATE a logic problem.
Social studies discussion group. Give group an open ended question pertaining to your latest work in class and have them formulate a response.

Good luck and have fun.