[Dancer522]

I am having trouble creating science and social studies centers. I am a third grade teacher. Anyone have any good sites for any good center activities? Thanks in advance.

[substituteftw]

-I just posted about this one on my blog: a board game for studying endangered species. It's from the American Museum of Natural History.

The board is in pdf format, which you can print, laminate and tape together:http://www.amnh.org/ology/features/s...gered_need.php

Here are the instructions: http://www.amnh.org/ology/features/s...angered_do.php



-There are also tons of science websites with games or videos that you could use for a computer center. For videos, they could fill out a chart or answer questions.


-You can also set up some science equipment in different areas of the room and have students rotate to them and use the equipment to answer a question, or perform simple science experiments.

-Science related books and magazines could be a reading center during science. Same thing in social studies... if you have some biographies or social studies/news classroom magazines, they could be made into a reading center.

-Students could make flash cards with science or social studies terms, and then use them in various activities, like Bingo, Concentration or "Go Fish." They could also do sorts with their terms.

-Journal writing: students could respond to a question about their science or social studies unit, interesting science news articles (classroom magazines are great for this).

-Any time they can create a products and use hands-on materials could be a good thing. They could use a center to make visuals (models, pictures, crafts, foldables, maps, timelines or diagrams), newspaper articles, make flip books to review a concept, etc.


Just a few ideas.

[fourselfs]

Here are a few that I have created:

Measuring rice - I have them use different measuring cups to convert from cups, pints, quarts, and gallons. Then they have to convert those to comparable measurements in the metric system. I give them a recording sheet to write down all their measurements.

Mass center - They have a balance scale or triple beam and a bag of stuff. They must predict the mass then actually mass the object and record it.

I have several pictures sorts for things like living/nonliving, solid, liquids and gases, terrestial planets, gas planets, etc. You can make sorts for all kinds of things.

Volume center - Much like the mass center except they are using a graduated cylinder with water.

I also have a book with different science centers. I think it was Evan Moore.

Hope this helps a little.

[PGE]

I have trouble with this as well.When I cannot come up with a center actvity I use task cards. Go to the blue groups tab at the top of the page and then to taqsk groups. Unseen001 has a lot of great cards that review skills/concepts in all areas. If you can't find what you want she will make them for you.

My kids love these cards

[QuiltWoman]

How about a flip book? Put your science or social studies vocabulary in a table and make the font big; print them out, one per child. Make a flip book for each kid and let them glue the vocab word; illustrate it; and find the defintion for each word in their social st or science book.