I am in my 4th week of student teaching and I want to implement learning centers in the afternoon. My only problem is that I only have about 15-20 minutes each day for them. My critic teacher does not allow time for centers. I need centers for reading, grammar, social studies, science, math, writing.
My students will only be going to one center a day so they will get to all 5 by Friday. My social studies and science rotate after every chapter. If you have any creative hands on ideas for my centers please help!!!!
I am a sped teacher for grades K-5. I have a reading center that includes:
- books on tape
- magnet alphabet letters for word work on reading words
- a written worksheet for write the room (where they write the words
they see around the room these are always being added too.
- they have browsing boxes which have copies of the books they are
reading either independently or from reading instruction time which
they practice reading
- we introduce 5 new words every week as words to know - I have 5
lunch bags with 8 film canisters in each. Inside each canister is a
picture or clue to one of these words. They write down their
answers to the clues on a piece of paper. This can be done
individually or with a partner. I change these about every two
weeks because it takes that long for every student to have a turn
with this activitiy. There are some old words with the new words.
- they can choose to do buddy reading
- they also have a reading response journal, which could be writing also,
they have a list of possible choices like the connections they may
have to this story, predictions, what questions they have, ect. and
they write about a book they have read independently or during
reading instruction
My writing center has:
- different sizes of paper stapled into blank books
- Letter books which are capital letters cut out of construction paper
and more cut out of plain paper and then stapled together. They use
these to write words that start with the letter of the book they choose
- I have a selection of ink stamps that they can use to stamp into
a book or on a single page and then they write a story, poem, ect.
about the picture they created
- There is colored paper cut into several sizes for making a card it could
be a thank you, thinking of you, holiday, etc.
- I have gathered a variety of stationary type paper that they use to
write letters
- One of their favorites is movie/TV time. They write a story of their
own or retell a favorite story. They edit their story and then write it
on paper portrait style. They use several sheets, writing on the
bottom like subtitles in a movie. They illustrate the upper portion of
the page then they tape the piece together, We put them on the
cardboard from paper towel. I have a box created to be the TV/movie
screen and they show their creation to the class. I have been using
a supply of old computer paper that is a continous piece that is
perforated at the end of each page
Hope these some of these ideas are something you can use!
I think you should assign your students to create a poof-book ( small book) and draw pictures and try to explain or tell a story about the pictures.
for instand, the picture of a dog, and bird on the tree, and the cheese.
[I am basically in the same boat as Hannie. I am currently completig my final internship in second grade. I want to implement centers during our reading block so I can pull small groups to work on specific skills. I want my centers to be "reading centered" because they will be taking place during our reading block. I have 19 children in my class so I will have 4 to 5 groups of 4 to 5 students...
My ideas as of now are:
Writing - Daily prompt
A Word knowledge Center -
- Spelling Word sort - which would only be one time a week. If students are rotating daily, I would need a replacement center.
Teacher led Small Group - reading groups (work to improve specific skills)
AR Center - students read on their reading levels and take test on classroom computers.
????
I need more ideas.... Any suggestions will be GREATLY appreciated!!!
Thanks,
JNWE52
I do centers in my room during my reading block. Here are some of the things I do.
1. Teacher-small group
2. Computer-starfall, only for below level readers
3. Independent Reading-students read leveled readers at their level that go along with the story we are doing during the week.
4. Listening Center-listen to a story on tape-all students do this center during the week
5. Recipe Center-students have pre-made recipes that they use to answer questions
6. Word Work-below level readers do ABC order during the week using their spelling words for that week.
7. Vocabulary-illustrate spelling words and vocabulary words, below level does two spelling, and two vocab words. On level and above level do all the words
8. Writing Center-students write in composition books.
9. Fluency-students work with a partner timing each other for one minute and count the words they read when they are done.
They do three centers every day when they meet with me, otherwise they do four centers every day.
I am a second grade teacher and I use centers the last 30 minutes of the day. My students love them. Over the summer I set up a monthly chart so that the centers would also reflect the seasons. I change the centers weekly. I always have 5 centers. Mine are pretty simple and easy to change. Students are in groups like group 1, group 2, group 3 etc.
1. This week I had computer center, and the students use mathisfun.com.
2. I also have a listening center. In it I have a set of easy Biographies (this set has copies of each book) like Betsy Ross, Johnny Appleseed etc. that we taped over the summer. The students read and listen to the stories and then complete an activity for that book. For example, after reading/listening to Betsy Ross the students color an American Flag. For Johnny Appleseed, they color and cut out an apple. I change the book every week.
3. I also have a spelling center. This week students used magnetic letters to spell their spelling words on hand held white boards. Other weeks the students will form current spelling words with Play Dough, or write them on the white board or on each other's backs, on a transparency with the overhead etc.
4. Another center I have is a puzzle center that will have a puzzle of the week. The puzzles are very large and easy to assemble. I have a map of the United States, dinosaurs, and the solar system. I just change them from week to week.
5. I also have a math center. One week it will be tangrams, the next week memory match games, and then the next week an estimation station etc. The estimation station could be as simple as estimated candy corn in a jar during October. The memory match game could be as easy as printing a page of numbers and corresponding hundreds, tens and ones frame. I print them at school on card stock and cut them into little squares and put them in a baggy. The students first match them face up, then they turn them over and play memory match. It reinforces something I have taught that week. But that game can be used in other centers as homophones, synomyms, short vowel words etc.
I have one shelp in my classroom that has that week's center items. They are labeled with a yellow label like Puzzle Center, Math Center, Spelling Center....so the students know where they are every time. I walk around the room and make sure they are on task and understand what they are doing. They love it and look forward to it everyday!!
I am a second grade teacher and I use centers the last 30 minutes of the day. My students love them. Over the summer I set up a monthly chart so that the centers would also reflect the seasons. I change the centers weekly. I always have 5 centers. Mine are pretty simple and easy to change. Students are in groups like group 1, group 2, group 3 etc.
1. This week I had computer center, and the students use mathisfun.com.
2. I also have a listening center. In it I have a set of easy Biographies (this set has multiple copies of each book) like Betsy Ross, Johnny Appleseed etc. that we taped over the summer. The students read and listen to the stories and then complete an activity for that book. For example, after reading/listening to Betsy Ross the students color an American Flag. For Johnny Appleseed, they color and cut out an apple. I change the book every week.
3. I also have a spelling center. This week students used magnetic letters to spell their spelling words on hand held white boards. Other weeks the students will form current spelling words with Play Dough, or write them on the white board or on each other's backs, on a transparency with the overhead etc.
4. Another center I have is a puzzle center that will have a puzzle of the week. The puzzles are very large and easy to assemble. I have a map of the United States, dinosaurs, and the solar system. I just change them from week to week.
5. I also have a math center. One week it will be tangrams, the next week memory match games, and then the next week an estimation station etc. The estimation station could be as simple as estimating candy corn in a jar for a week during October. The memory match game could be as easy as printing a page of numbers and corresponding hundreds, tens and ones frame. I print them at school on card stock and cut them into little squares and put them in a baggy. The students first match them face up, then they turn them over and play memory match. It reinforces something I have taught that week. But that game can be used in other centers as homophones, synomyms, short vowel words etc.
I have one shelf in my classroom that has that week's center items. They are labeled with a yellow label like Puzzle Center, Math Center, Spelling Center....so the students know where they are every time. I walk around the room and make sure they are on task and understand what they are doing. They love it and look forward to it everyday!!
This is my first year teaching, but I have lots of ideas (some I've seen, some I did during student teaching, some i'm going to try this year)
Student teaching year, my teacher had 9 centers, 2 kids per a center at a max..
centers were:
words (all word work stuff)
abc (alphabetical order things)
felt board (sometimes it would be retelling a story/sequencing/matching/etc.... word work still)
pocket charts (mostly sequence and word work)
magnets (all kinds of things, mostly word work, matching with animals, making words out of magnetic letters)
puzzles (matching, homemade wordwork puzzles)
writing (stamps, stamp a stamp on blank writing paper and write about what is on the stamp)
science (life cycles, adult/baby name match/parts of a plant)
big books (kids would read big books and fill out a main idea and what happened first, second, and last) piece of paper about thier books.
in my class (2nd grade) next year...
science = magnets, life cycles, adult&baby match, where animals live (herds, flocks, packs), parts of plants
word work = felt board activities, abc order, big books, make words with magnets, word work
puzzles = puzzles, sequence events
math = math games (about 8 of them), memory game with math words.. i.e. "sum" matches "the answer when you add two numbers", estimation station,
listening = audio books, students can record themself then listen to it
writing = writing with stamps, cards, writing letters to pen pals, movie on paper
02-03-2007, 12:17 PM
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