Satinder Hawkins started the ball rolling on this listserv conversation
about the effective use of classroom "centers."
Has anyone on the list set up their classroom with centers? I have a group
of 20 8th grade students in my US History class, grouped together because
they had the lowest reading scores in our school. A few are non-readers.
I would like to set up two to three centers in my class differentiating
instruction based on their different levels. We are currently on our US
Constitution Unit. Does anyone have ideas or resources on centers?
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While the list didn't offer specific suggestions for Satinder's 8th grade
history group, general ideas about centers quickly began to flow. Myrna
offered this caution:
I have found that Middle School students needed training in center and group
work.
Working in pairs, triads and groups means tons of preparation for the teacher.
The role of each person needs to be defined and the job done evaluated.
Many students allow the most vocal or most able students to complete all
of the work. I would suggest beginning with small, timed opportunities for
group work that include a feedback session about the process. In science
class perhaps a lab can be designed so that it is dependent upon the total
participation of the group.
Myrna Rubel
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Some teachers have had difficulty managing centers in their classroom.
They turned to MiddleWeb list for direction:
My principal is also a big advocate of center-based classrooms. When I tried
centers, the kids felt like they had all the time in the world to complete
the activities. Without my immediate presence in their center, they could
not be persuaded to complete the tasks in a reasonable length of time.
We have Academic Standards that MUST be finished (or the students don't
pass to the next grade level) for every class, so I gave up on trying to
get them to do centers. I also found that some kids are not meticulous at
reading instructions, and if they started something when I was working with
another group of kids they didn't do the task as well as I expected them
to.
Every group member had a defined role. It worked well. But what my principal
wants to see (and what some language arts teachers are having good success
with in our building) is instructional unit activities set up around the
room so that students can move from one to the next, working independently
and moving on only when they have completed one center's activity. Great
concept, but I don't know how to keep the kids moving. Any ideas?
-Nancy
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And Charles Norman wrote:
I was really taken with the idea of implementing centers in Middle School
and I am certain that if you can get engagement in all of the centers that
your students participate in, it is in the end the best format for checking
for understanding, monitoring and adjusting and developing instructional
conversation with students in order to tap into higher levels of critical
thinking. My problem is getting and maintaining engagements and managing
the kids.
What specifically do you do to stabilize your groups. For myself, what I
thought would be heaven in the classroom and a delightful innovative approach
failed miserably, leaving everyone involved hideously disillusioned. What
do you do?
-Charles
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Avis addresses the concern about how to make the best use of class time
while using a centers approach:
Without my immediate presence in their center, my students couldn't be persuaded
to complete the tasks in a reasonable time. I rotate and stop at each group
for 5-10 minutes to check what is going on in the group. I've also found
that some kids are not meticulous at reading instructions, and if they started
something when I was working with another group of kids they didn't do the
task as well as I expected them to.This I believe is because they cannot
read on grade level (JMHO) as the ones who goof off are really behind...
so how can they always read the directions
A couple of thoughts... would be to have some centers on tapes where they
can listen and follow the directions. I had taped a story and the directions
for the story mapping on the tape. 2 boys had read the story.. and then
didn't want to figure out how to do the story mapping... I said.. the directions
on are on the tape... or are your groups mixed with 1 high, 2 med and 1
low person?
Then Avis (who teaches 5/6) added:
Ok.. after I read both of your posts.. I see the difference in how your
centers would be set up to be worked. Racking my brain to see what might
work for the MS type students. So if I read you right, you have centers
set up around the room and they are to move from station to station. Do
you have students of different levels traveling together???? I would think
that that would work for some centers and not others.....
I think this would be hard to set up... but probably set centers up in different
manners to cover different areas ??? Get some help!
1) listening center for those who are behind... taped at a slightly lower
speed
2) worksheet and reading centers for those highly analytical students
3) a hands on center for kinesthetic students
What types of materials are in your centers? I know some of the review types
I use.. but not sure they would be for the older students...
- Avis
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Anne Jolly offered some ideas about using centers in Science class:
In response to Nancy's message about managing centers in the classroom,
I have the same problem when I have kids rotating from one lab activity
to another. I have a few simple ideas that have helped me with this.
Depending on the circumstances and the tasks to be accomplished in the centers,
I set a timer. When the timer goes off, the kids have five minutes to finish
up the activity. (Different centers may have different timers.) I've also
use job aids such as checklists with a time frame -- for example, "At
the end of 30 minutes you should have reached this point in the checklist."
This is also a good opportunity to train students in some meta-cognitive
strategies - help them learn to monitor their own progress and concentration.
After going over strategies with them for staying on track during centers,
use an agreed upon signal to remind them to ask themselves, "Am I on
track?" This can be anything from a verbal question to a symbol of
some sort that you place at the center at times as they work.
Also, providing incentives for center completion (is there some sort of
assessment for each center?) might help. My kids like "free" passes
to get at the front of the lunch line, be first to line up to go home, to
carry messages to the office or other classes, etc.
- Anne
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Juli, a teacher experienced in the use of centers, commented:
After six years of doing centers in Reading/Language Arts/ESL in middle
school I have found a few things that work very well for me. All revolve
around being "clear on the concept" - both for my students and
myself. I spend as much time teaching the rules as the task. Example: when
I want students to read independently for 20-30 minutes as one of their
centers, I teach
1. expectations (rules)
2. how to choose a book
3. what to do if the book does not work for you
4. how to record what you are reading
5. where to sit
6. what to do if someone is keeping you from doing your reading
7. that reading is a quiet activity
8. that "wandering around" (bathroom breaks, visiting with friends
in other centers, choosing at book, etc.) is not, absolutely not, reading
9. how to use the "Reading Counts" software program that we use
in my class to keep track of the points we earn for the quizzes we take
on the books that we read (accountability)
10. and anything else that appears to be a problem (like no sunflower seeds,
etc.)
From here, I develop a scoring guide or rubric based on "student work,"
which in this case is observing good readers and those who are not proficient.
I base it on at least one of our reading standards. If you want to see the
scoring guide, John has posted it on Middleweb.
Here's the URL:
http://www.middleweb.com/MWLresources/juli.html
The rubric is enlarged and posted in the Independent Reading Center so that
I can use it for teaching. It also serves as a helpful reminder of what
the expectations are for Independent Reading. For the week after I introduce
the center and teach everything listed above, I monitor their reading work
every time they come to the teacher directed center. Then I can mediate
if we run into difficulties.
After that I check once a week and we "score" each other and the
other members of our group. Their score is recorded as part of their grade
for the class. This system works very well for my students and myself -
a must if centers are to function smoothly and help promote a rigorous learning
environment. I have followed this same process for each of the four centers
that we have in our classroom. In addition, the work we do in my teacher
directed center has additional scoring guides that match the reading comprehension
strategies we are learning.
-Juli Kendall
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Greta Heady shared an idea:
I use centers during one of the spring grading periods to evaluate their
mastery of core concept skills (8th grade math). After 3 or 4 grading periods
with me, students understand my expectations of in-class work. To manage
& assess what is happening in class, I use a class list with a column
for each concept and sub-columns that allow me to "check off"
Bloom's Taxonomy levels of understanding.
The kids see me walking around to each station, highlighting skills and
usually stay on task well. Students rotate to a different concept station
each day for 2 - 3 weeks, depending on their levels of understanding.
- Greta
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Charles, a new teacher, shared some routines that have worked for him:
In my Exploring Spanish class, we do a lot of the other kind of group/collaborative
activities where I give the input, they process in groups with the actual
work product, we come back together and check for understanding and closure.
It's in my reading classes that I need to implement the centers like Nancy
is talking about: Students move from one station to the next while I facilitate
a small group of my own.
In this model, I have taught the students specifically what to do, and then
watch full of anxiety while the groups who are working independently begin
to deteriorate and get nothing accomplished. Sure, I have really high-end
kids who would lay down and die for me, but the numbers here unfortunately
aren't high enough to troubleshoot the rest of the class and it really makes
me nervous.
Where I'm at now, is everybody has an assigned seat and after our sponge
activity, I've been pulling groups so that the only people who are up and
around are the ones I've called over to me. I'm experimenting with combinations
of kids who work well together with me, and have set aside time for SSR
at the end of the class where I go around the room and check the work that
needs to be completed. However I just wish it was different. If I reflect
on what needs to change in me, I would have to say that the real issues
are:
1. Being sure that I have at least ninety five percent of the kids who know
what they are supposed to be doing.
2. Having a clear system of accountability.
3. Knowing how and when to positively reinforce the students when they are
doing the behavior I want.
I think I'm okay with number 1, 2 and3 are a little dodgy. I'd like to hear
more on this.
- Charles
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Juli's comments on independence prompt Deb to join the discussion:
I think Juli's comments about learning independence are right on the mark.
If students go from a chalk and talk environment to a self-monitored one
overnight, they don't know how to pace themselves. New teachers or teachers
new to the idea of student empowerment will often err in the direction of
too little structure or scaffolding.
I know that earlier in my career, I embraced whole language and inquiry
based science and the kids enjoyed my classes and activities, but didn't
get as much of the content as I had hoped. Rather than drop the student
independence, I went back and built in student supports and checkpoints
along the way.
It's easier to make these mistakes and retreat to the "sage on the
stage" routine than to refine your teaching to support the varied learning
styles and levels of your students.
I taught in a diverse urban school setting and I often heard comments from
visitors that my students were different and that their kids could never
handle the independence etc. I maintain that all children respond well to
a respectful, supportive environment. At first glance such an environment
may look as if the teacher is not teaching, but in reality my preparation
and number of interventions more than doubled as my lecture and discipline
responsibilities diminished.
- Deb Bambino
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Avis, who has a great deal of experience using centers in the classroom,
posted a series of practical ideas:
I can tell you in short what I have tried and what is working for my
hooligans right now. (I say that lovingly) ;-)
I have tried 5 groups... 5 different areas...
Group 1 - Concentration
Group 2 - Alphabetizing
Group 3 - Vocabulary
Group 4 - Rounding
Group 5 - Worksheet
20 minutes -30 minutes each day.. rotation once. They cover all 5 during
the week. This was kind of the break in rotation. I also grade the group
on behavior.( a 1-10 as part of the grade) If a group acts up... they return
to their desk to work on something else
This week: I went to 4 groups, as we block on Friday morning and I never
get Friday's rotation finished. So the 4 groups have 5 in a group. I went
to a choice of three for each group, rotating 4 days not 5.
The agenda looks like this:
[Avis included a chart that didn't reproduce well in email. If you'd like
to see it, contact her at: abreding@imagicomm.com]
Within their groups of 5 they can split up... if 2 prefer one center 3 can
work on another. Mine vary... one always works together.. others split up.
It seems with a choice... it works well.. even with the substitute today...
we had a full day inservice on McCrell (sp) and working on our state standards.
Our 6th grade math scores.. are really down.. more centers.. more work!
Some hints.... 1) They have to have the center set for them... 2) Do you
pick your groups? 3) Set them to work on a weak area 4) If they goof off,
they lose the center and have to do something nasty like an extra worksheet,
or write a theme! 5) Gear it to their level....
Completed centers count as a part of their grade....always.
Our schedule is centers 3 days a week from 9:30 to 10:00... beyond that
they get restless unless I have them switch centers. This I do if I want
every one to cycle through certain centers, but otherwise we do just the
one setting.
I also have a problem with a certain number of students in a group....I
don't like 4, too many. not enough action for all. 3... usually leaves one
out and I really like 2!! How you use your centers depends upon the room
you have or don't have. We have an area outside of our rooms where we can
spread out if we need to.... in one corner we also have bean bags.. and
some use those to sit in a corner while they do centers. We also have a
few canvas chairs used for the same reason. The reason for this is every
one has a different style of learning. I like reading in a soft chair or
a booth in a quiet restaurant.. so we try to accommodate these thoughts
in some ways. We also use tables, and the floor!
I also have mine record the answers to their centers and turn them in...
so I know what they did... and also in hopes that it will sink in a bit
more. They get points for doing centers but they are not a grade.
Social Studies and Science is my lowest area for centers:
Task cards 3 x 5's... used like concentration... can be matched with important
dates vocabulary words putting events into sequence cause and effect people
and contributions formulas facts
I keep sets in zip lock bags-sandwich size for a small set.
Flash cards: Regular size fact and opinion fill in the missing word matching
formulas
Type out and laminate matching quizzes, worksheets (they use overhead pens)
these can be practice exercises. Self checking.
Using electroboards one on sheet have students match
For instance Which are true about mammals?
0 backbones
0 warm blooded
0 cold blooded
0 lay eggs
0 live birth
By touching the tinfoil hole by mammals, and the correct tinfoil answers
on the list.. it would cause the bulb to light up. You could also punch
holes, and poke pencils through the correct answers which would be marked
on the back of the card. They should be laminated. Maybe you have some other
neat easy of doing task cards.....
If there is any way of using pictures to reinforce any ideas.... it is great
for your visual learners. We don't have a lot of storage.. so I have purchased
a few colored crates or baskets to use to store the centers in... I put
a lot of my centers in folders, or clear plastic containers about the size
of a shoe box and label them with permanent markers. They stack quite nicely.
English: (clear plastic boxes) 1) Quotation Marks: on strips of light
poster or tag-board.. write sentences with out the quotation marks. Our
students place clothespins on the card where they think the quotation marks
should be. They flip it over as on the back it is marked. All of these are
self check. Some have the split quotes on the cards as well.
2) Commas: Same as above
3) Identifying Nouns: Using strips like in 1), again use sentences. (make
copy of same sentences)? punch holes over 3-4 of the words. on the back
put a smiley face by the hole if it is a noun.... when they put their pencil
through the hole.. they flip it over to see if it is correct. They could
list the nouns they discovered.
4) Nouns./Proper nouns... on construction or tag-board.. glue several pictures
of different items. For these I use hot-dots from NRSI and the hot-dot wand.
When they touch a correct answer it gives a happy sound and if not.. in
gives a bonk. If you work 2 students... one could read the word and poke
a pencil and the other could verify if it were correct.
5) Funbrain.Com... you can put your own tests on.. going to work this in
as a center.
6) Compound sentences: Cut sentences in parts, and have students put them
in order creating compound sentences. They could have a recorder write the
sentence they created.
7) Flash cards or task card: On one side write a ? Proper noun on the back
tell what it is... or play like concentration. They turn up the word McDonalds
Restaurant and have to find a match of a proper noun. The two cars when
turned over have an identical mark for self-checking.
Further Ideas: 1) Word searches, crossword puzzles 2) Q Tips: students
dip the q-tip in water and practice the words on a chalk board.. stays clean!
3) Tile Spelling: If you have old spelling tiles put them in a bucket or
container. Students give each other words to spell. They could work it like
a crossword puzzle as well. 4) Swat: Using a plastic sheet, divide into
squares and with a magic marker print all the letters of the alphabet and
a few extra! One student reads the words... an other swats and spells it
out with a feather duster or fly swatter. 5) Hop It: Some of my boys asked
to make this.. so I let them. Using a large shower curtain, divide it into
squares. Again print the letters of the alphabet. This time they have to
hop or walk the word as they spell it. (great for your kinesthetic students!)
6) Scramble: Scramble the letters for them (if you have time!) and have
them unscramble them. 7) I also have matching for meanings with the hot-dots.
8) Concentration: Print or write the words on flash card strips. I use 3
X 5's. They have to say the word as they turn it up, and find the match
or they can do definitions and the word. A sticker on the front of the cards
can identify which is a correct match. 9) Another teacher also recommended
magnetic letters for the black board or a magnetic board. (all these ideas
are not mine! Some are from RSI Some are from friends.)
10) Printing the words on cards, have students alphabetize them and then
write the order they have them listed. They can also then divide them into
syllables...or put them in syllable columns.
*I do not give oral spelling tests ;-) I put mine on Master Spell which
is a program on the computer... you can put your own list on, and a voice
pronounces the word through an owl ;-) they can adjust the voice through
preferences. They type in the word, after they hear it. They can choose
10, 15, 20 words. If they choose 10 words out of the lesson, they type in
skip for the word they are not spelling, then it is not counted wrong. I
think it cost $4.
http://www.macinmind.com/MasterSpell/index.html
if you are interested.
Neat thing.. it corrects them, gives them a second chance at spelling misspelled
words, and prints off the test so you can put it in your record or conference
folder!
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Mary Anne and Georgiean offered favorite center ideas:
One of my favorite centers is patterned after a technique used in elementary
schools called "Making Words." It was first developed by Patricia
Cunningham from Wake Forest University.
Basically, you start with one word that identifies the skill you want the
kids to have--adding endings, -ion versus -tion, -ie versus -ei. Each letter
in the word is put on index cards (one letter per card) and mixed up.
Kids get a sheet of paper that is broken up into columns with the headings
"three-letter words" "four-letter words". The bonus
is putting all the cards together to make one word. They can manipulate
the letter cards to as make as many new words as they can. In elementary
school, my daughter's teacher used this to form their spelling lists. After
seeing it, I went to a workshop specifically to learn about the technique
and it is great at any level by simply varying the length or complexity
of the word. My eighth graders love it. It is like a puzzle, but it is reinforcing
spelling and phonetic skills they missed or have forgotten.
- MaryAnne
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I use this activity once a week as an opener for the day with my 6th grade
students. After a few weeks, the students developed strategies of identifying
suffixes, prefixes, or word parts to use. Students opened dictionaries for
their own purposes of checking an exact spelling. Students who don't always
like to write were actively involved in finding words. After a while, many
of the students focused on larger words than the three letter words. When
we list the words as a class at the end, some students question how another
student knew an unusual word. Usually the reply is, "I read it in a
book!" Great activity.
-Georgiean
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Avis shared some of her favorite math centers:
I can not remember all the math centers ,but will mention the ones I can
remember. As before, many are in folders... and can be moved to a spot where
they can work. The folders are color coded, like yellow is all math, blue
is spelling etc.
1) Factor Roll folder game,students roll die and put markers on the factors
of that number. (students like this one) 2) Flash Cards...multiplication
and division 3) Timed test cards.. just for practice 4) Multiplication Bingo
5) Tang ram Fun 6) Clothes line Math (print whole numbers and decimals and
mixed numbers on cards, students have to put them in numerical order) key
is on back...
7) Probability Center (save a soap-box with a handle, about 6 small juice
cans (cover both with contact) Put Dice in one can, plastic markers in another,
coins in another etc. Type worksheets so students can experiment with the
probability of what will happen when they toss the articles so many times.
9) Measurement Center (another box)... need tape measures students use tapes
to find perimeter and area of different objects in room. 10) Measurement
#2 Center... fill with different size of containers.. prepare worksheet
on estimation....ie: How many containers of the empty juice can do you think
will fill a pint? quart? gallon? Then students go to sink to measure their
containers and check their estimated guess.
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Diane has a question about Math Centers and assessment:
Obviously just playing the game can be fun, but does not insure that students
know any math. How do you find out if the kids playing Factor Roll or working
in the Probability or Measurement Centers really understand what they are
doing? What do you do for the assessment?
- Diane
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To which Avis responds:
Remember that learning can be fun.... and these are some of the things that
I do. I always circulate when they are working centers. Today I stopped
at Factor Roll in which 2 of my girls were *playing* it. I was amazed at
how well they handled it. I had them explain it to me and they said... we
just rolled a 3 and 5. It can either be 53 or 35. We look on our cards and
see if there are any factors.. look... she said to the other girl.. you
have a factor... and she put the marker on her card that said a 7. I asked
the first girl... do you have any factors? She said no and she was right.
Assessment can be oral, sometimes before lunch to kill 5 minutes I will
have them say the 6's or 7's mentally all the way around the room. I can
assess them by putting 3 problems on the board, or on a piece of paper and
say... see if you can find all the factors... or reverse it and say... these
are factors of what number? Sometimes we always give them the one way street
and don't give them the back alley to figure another way out.
Probability is the same thing. Sometimes I just take a dice, or a coin,
and ask certain people... if I flip the coin 5 times... what would the probability
be it would always be heads? Tails? Sometimes the centers are to give them
a little knowledge before we get to the chapter....
If I have time, I love to put the quizzes on FunBrain.... my LD students
need lists to choose from... so I would also put a factor quiz on for them
to take after I check to make sure all students have been through that center.
(Self checking...Yea!)
There are many ways to take assessments, 10 minutes one on one will tell
me a lot, Fun Brain quiz, paper quiz, demonstration.... have them teach
one to the class!
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Brenda Dyck approached the center question from a parent point of view.
She shared her son's experiences in a classroom that makes use of Math Centers:
I've watched the dialogue regarding centers with great interest. I am a
Grade Six teacher and although I have used a certain amount of centers work
in my classroom, I would never suggest that I was an expert or even a strong
advocate of this approach to teaching.
As a mom of a Grade Five boy (John) I thought I'd share my son's recent
experience with Math centers and ask for your feedback. I teach at the same
school that John attends. John is an average student, easily distracted,
and loves to visit in class. He has had some difficulty in Grade 4 Math.
This year, his Grade 5 teacher decided to use a centers approach to teaching
math.
This was her first try at using centers for a whole unit of study .The unit
was on factoring/multiples/multiplication/division. About three weeks into
the five-week unit, it became evident to me that John was in trouble. (The
teacher didn't tell me -- it became evident due to the increase in John's
Math homework.)
The class was supposed to be on Activity 3 (of 4) and John was only starting
Activity 2. He was having difficulty pacing himself (he felt like he had
forever to complete the various steps) and was also finding several of the
centers too chaotic (I'm sure he was part of the chattiness as well!!) to
get work done. What transpired was two weeks of working every night at home
in an effort to catch up.
We spent 30-40 minutes every night and when the due date came for John to
be done the last activity he was still behind by at least 6 pages. It didn't
make for a very positive mom/son time because we were rushing to get through
the work and it was clear his understanding was sketchy. It was about this
time that I noticed that his activities were not being marked (12-16 pages
worth).
Upon inquiry, I was told that it was John's job to do this and he was supposed
to do it as he went along. Obviously he didn't and so here we were, the
day AFTER the final unit exam, marking his pages together at the end of
the day in his classroom. Probably 35% of his work was incorrect and his
score on his final exam was 52% (not a surprise to me...) and 3/4 of the
class did not meet the standard of excellence that the teacher required.
These students will do a rework of the exam next week (or earlier if they
are ready).
The teacher shared that while the students were moving through their centers
she frequently did her LA base-line testing with her students and therefore
was not always available to monitor their progress. I asked to meet with
his teacher. I had asked her many questions through the above process but
at the meeting I shared my frustration about her math program.
I saw several weaknesses: 1) Children will get behind. What indicators are
in place so that this can be picked up quickly (before it gets to be a overwhelming
burden)? 2) Why wasn't there formative testing going on throughout the process
in an effort to pick up skill weaknesses before the final exam? 3) If students
are responsible for marking their work, were there checkpoints in place
so that the teacher could idenntify students who weren't keeping up, weren't
marking accurately or weren't understanding the concepts? 4) Should a final
assessment be done even when students are not yet through the material?
She didn't have much to say other than voicing her frustration with the
inability of the students to work independently. She plans to change the
next unit by taking students like John back into a structured program and
leaving centers for students that are able to work independently.
After reading the many responses from teachers who clearly see the value
in using centers it makes me wonder if it is the method or the delivery
that is the problem here. In traditional approaches, organization and gradual
movement to independence is imperative. I see a even larger need for this
when using a centers approach. Without it, kids get lost.
I am a believer of providing scaffolding for children so that they can successfully
meet our learning objectives for them. The scaffolding is not only related
to curriculum, in many cases it is more elemental than that. The scaffolding
can be about the very steps they take on the way to learning the prescribed
curriculum. Any thoughts?
-Brenda
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In response to Brenda's concerns, Mary Anne clarifies basic procedures
that need to be present in a centers based program:
I have used centers for a very long time in English/Language Arts. One of
the basic rules I teach my student teachers about centers is that they do
not take the place of instruction. Even the most independent learners need
to be taught an approach to a skill. They also must be taught the procedures
for using centers and it is my job as teacher to monitor their use.
Actually, I am always one of the centers, so I do my monitoring via a reflection
journal that my kids keep as well as a periodic check of their progress.
I, too, use some self-monitoring, but I don't rely on it as the sole assessment.
There are times when centers get too rowdy or I am aware that certain students
are not staying on task. I have done a group reflection on those days. These
ask the kids to evaluate their work as a group. I usually end up with some
humble faces! In a program like mine, kids are reading various novels, then,
completing centers on setting, character etc so kids can all be reading
books and then completing the same centers.
In LA, centers reinforce skills after a mini lesson has been taught. For
example, if I have a group of kids who just can't get quotation marks. I
will use a center to give them extra practice. I have done a whole class
center time with kids assigned to centers on various punctuation marks.
There is no sense in a child who has mastered the art of using commas to
complete a center practicing a skill they have already mastered.
There is a great book called "Classrooms that Work" by Patricia
Cunningham. It is about a balanced reading program, but in it she has a
chapter on the use of centers that is straightforward and to the point.
I hope this helps!
- MaryAnne
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Avis and Juli added to Maryanne's advice:
Brenda... I am by no means an expert, but I would never trust centers to
teach a whole unit in any subject. All students are not going to learn the
concepts. My understanding is that centers are to be used for reinforcement
of areas, or for information, and areas in that line.
The centers I have for math are for enforcing concepts but not necessarily
to teach new ones. I think it would be wonderful if it would work... but
I would have some that could not grasp the concept by themselves. Currently
I am using Individualized Contracts and that takes work...but it does work
;-).... but I could imagine some of my students trying to figure out concepts
on their own through centers ...just from working with them individually.
She must have worked hard to prepare the centers... but personally I have
a problem with the centers trying to teach all students... Just my humble
opinion !
- Avis
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One word of caution, "independence in learning" is something that
must be taught, not assumed. It is something that many students have to
learn, just like they learn other skills. In addition, the "continued
release of responsibility" is very important.
At the beginning of the year, I spend weeks teaching students the "rules
of the road" just as I spend weeks teaching the content. Teach, I think,
is the operative word. I am always teaching.
Then at the end of the school year people who visit comment on what independent
learners my students are. I am always tempted to comment that the skill
of independence has been taught just like all the other "stuff."
Nothing seems to happen by magic in my classroom. Whenever I get to my doctoral
dissertation, I think I will focus on the topic of co-dependent learners.
My favorite classroom rule is - "Ask 3 and then me."
- Juli