Making Learning Centers Work for You Paula Hagan Instructional Coordinator, Northside Elementary 2013 Professional Development Summit

This session will…  Present different ways to set up learning centers that will meet the needs of all students in your classroom  Show how to create learning centers from the IFD  Describe ways to differentiate learning centers for students with diverse educational needs  Cover ways to set up learning centers so they conquer the rigor of the curriculum

Why Use Learning Centers?  Teacher’s Role- The teacher’s role changes from one of passing on information to one of providing a variety of learning experiences for the students and guiding them in those activities.  Involvement- Students become eager participants, not just casual observers.  Choice- Children have the opportunity and responsibility to make choices within certain limits.  Variety- Each week brings something new.  Sharing- As students work in small groups, they learn to share and help each other.  Individualization- Students are able to work at their own pace. Teachers have time to give individual help and attention to students.

Center Simulation  Center descriptions/ model expectations  Time signal / expectations  Check for understanding  Begin simulation

Simulation follow-up  Review each center for content  Set up: choose two – when would this work in your class?  If you finish early activities  What worked / what didn’t?

Things to Remember…  Centers are an evolving process. No matter where you start, you won’t stay there.  Be flexible in designing and organizing centers.  Use every strategy available in getting children to learn. Not all children learn the same way.  Set high expectations. No one ever rises to low expectations.  Centers need to be in place before small group instruction begins.  Management of centers is KEY! If you don’t have control of the learning environment, reteach your expectations until the students get it!

The Setup Schedule: self-contained  You have more flexibility  I recommend to separate centers for Math and Literacy (am and pm)  Keep direct instruction brief (10-20 minute mini lessons each for word work, reading, and writing) and provide practice in centers (Daily 5) Schedule: departmentalized  You have a fixed amount of time for instruction- less flexibility  I recommend to provide direct instruction at the beginning of the period, and centers at the end  Even if you only have 15 minutes at the end – students can go to one center each day

The Setup Monday  Every Monday (or the beginning of a new cycle of centers) you will need to teach your center expectations for the week  Model each new center and check for understanding  The better the explanation on Monday, the smoother the week! Tuesday-Friday  Students rotate through the centers the rest of the week.  Students don’t have to go to every center every day – quantity is not always better than quality!  Be sure to balance instruction time with centers!  Don’t spend the entire instruction block on centers or direct instruction – balance!

The Setup How long should children be at centers?  This answer depends on:  Student age  Classroom management  Class stamina  Other time factors What about the children that finished fast/slow?  Be sure to plan ahead and have “cushion activities” that students can access any time they finish work early

The Setup  Classroom Considerations for Setting Up the Room  Create logical traffic patterns  Look for places to set up centers so you can leave them out  Use tubs/buckets to keep center supplies for easy setup/ cleanup  Separate quiet and noisy activities  Create a small area for small group instruction so teacher can see all work areas at a glance

Using CScope’s IFD  Set up multiple centers at the beginning of each unit  Use Specificity and Performance Indicators to get ideas  Centers are a great way to reinforce skills directly taught – practice!  Centers should support what you are learning  Don’t rely on store- bought centers!!!

Differentiation and Centers  Centers allow you to work with individual students or small groups  You can use center time to provide RTI interventions for specific students  You can level your centers high and low skill  You can have low level centers where students practice basic skills, or high level centers where students create!

Rigorous Centers  When you focus on the specificity of the TEKS in your centers, they become purposeful.  Again, don’t rely on store-bought centers!  If you put the extra time in to create centers that fully support the TEKS, your students will show growth!