| Our Centers Philosophy |
The time spent in centers is a time for students to:
*strengthen skills/concepts learned in class,
*assess their own knowledge,
*share this knowledge with others by discussing it or showing how to use it,
*assess their own strengths and weaknesses,
*use this assessment to direct their choice of centers,
*develop responsibility for their learning, as well as class materials/supplies,
*develop good work habits,
*use time management skills, and
*learn how to solve problems independently and cooperatively.
If this sounds like a lot of freedom, responsibility, and
decision-making, it is! But we do LOTS of training and modeling at
the beginning of the year. By October, the students are working
independently in centers so that we may work with small groups
(for guided reading, letter/word study, phonemic awareness
activities, shared writing, etc.).
*strengthen skills/concepts learned in class,
*assess their own knowledge,
*share this knowledge with others by discussing it or showing how to use it,
*assess their own strengths and weaknesses,
*use this assessment to direct their choice of centers,
*develop responsibility for their learning, as well as class materials/supplies,
*develop good work habits,
*use time management skills, and
*learn how to solve problems independently and cooperatively.
If this sounds like a lot of freedom, responsibility, and
decision-making, it is! But we do LOTS of training and modeling at
the beginning of the year. By October, the students are working
independently in centers so that we may work with small groups
(for guided reading, letter/word study, phonemic awareness
activities, shared writing, etc.).
Centers Management
System
We have over 12 centers available at any
given time; most are permanent (ABC,
reading, writing, fine motor, art, sewing,
construction, listening, science &
observation, computer, storytelling, drama),
a few are added when the students are
ready for them (word, publishing place,
rhyme time ), and a few are removed when
they no longer need them (home and
playdough ).
Each center has a certain number of
center pins (determined by space and
teacher). To go to a center, the student
must clip the center pin to his/her collar (so
we can see at a glance which center a
child is working in).
Once a student has finished working in his
center, he cleans up and shows his work
(if there is a finished product) to the
teacher.
He then needs to record that he has
worked in that center by coloring the
appropriate icon on his center card.
If he has completed a "product center,"
(ABC, fine motor, writing, art) then he must
also record completion by coloring the
center's icon on the teacher's "check-off"
clipboard.
Then he can repeat this process with other
centers until center time is over.
This process allows students to work at
their own pace... not that of "the group."
Children are free to choose the centers
they work in, but each student MUST
complete the 4 "product" centers (art, fine
motor, writing, ABC) every week. This is
easy to "keep track" by using the
"check-off" clipboard.
System
We have over 12 centers available at any
given time; most are permanent (ABC,
reading, writing, fine motor, art, sewing,
construction, listening, science &
observation, computer, storytelling, drama),
a few are added when the students are
ready for them (word, publishing place,
rhyme time ), and a few are removed when
they no longer need them (home and
playdough ).
Each center has a certain number of
center pins (determined by space and
teacher). To go to a center, the student
must clip the center pin to his/her collar (so
we can see at a glance which center a
child is working in).
Once a student has finished working in his
center, he cleans up and shows his work
(if there is a finished product) to the
teacher.
He then needs to record that he has
worked in that center by coloring the
appropriate icon on his center card.
If he has completed a "product center,"
(ABC, fine motor, writing, art) then he must
also record completion by coloring the
center's icon on the teacher's "check-off"
clipboard.
Then he can repeat this process with other
centers until center time is over.
This process allows students to work at
their own pace... not that of "the group."
Children are free to choose the centers
they work in, but each student MUST
complete the 4 "product" centers (art, fine
motor, writing, ABC) every week. This is
easy to "keep track" by using the
"check-off" clipboard.
| These are our center pins. |
| These are the center cards kept by the students. |
| This is the teacher's "check-off" clipboard. |
Wondering how to keep track of
how many centers a student
completed on Tuesday? Students
use a color-code to show which
day they completed a certain
center. Each day, the calendar
helper moves the star to "today" as
a reminder for which color they'll
use to color their cards....
Monday -pink
Tuesday-orange
Wednesday-blue
Thursday-green
Friday-purple.
how many centers a student
completed on Tuesday? Students
use a color-code to show which
day they completed a certain
center. Each day, the calendar
helper moves the star to "today" as
a reminder for which color they'll
use to color their cards....
Monday -pink
Tuesday-orange
Wednesday-blue
Thursday-green
Friday-purple.