At the Center

This year I have tackled the business of centers.  I have failed miserably, but have also learned some valuable lessons.  In theory, centers are awesome.  In real life, they take a lot of planning.  They take scaffolding, they take time, and they require a lot of teacher release.  They are the essence of a student centered classroom, and I am slowly honing the craft.

Primary teachers have centers down to a science, and I am amazed at some of the lessons teachers are able to put together.  My centers are evolving, as is the structure.  This is the first year that I've done centers every day. But, thanks to the guidance of my partner in crime, I only have students go to one station per day.  I have four centers total: independent/reading, computer, teacher, and writing.  The day begins with the bell ringer, word of the day, some direct instruction, and then we break into our stations.  The first week I wanted to cry.  I wanted to QUIT doing them and go back to the safety of what I'd always done.  But I didn't, and I am so glad I decided to persevere through the growing pains.  I know that centers are what's best for my students, but implementing them takes time, a lot of teacher planning, and lots of resources.

Centers allow me to work with a small group of students, which has been great. I feel like I can finally give real feedback and can see the potential for student growth.  I just have to be patient with myself as I muddle through the messiness.  The teacher center is also a great way to check student writing, bell work, and anything else worth assessing.  The reading block allows me to give extended independent reading to my students and the reading journal provides some accountability.  Students have freedom to type, study vocab, and build schema on the computers and the writing center provides opportunities for students to be creative and to hone some writing skills.  I highly suggest setting up an area for writing resources such as paper, pens/pencils, prompts, options for the types of writing, and a place for students to keep track of their work.

I highly suggest centers to anyone who is interested in varying their instruction and getting more accomplished in a shorter amount of time.  I also suggest talking to other teachers who use centers.  Ask them everything they know! Pinterest is also a fantastic resource for activities.

I still have a lot to learn about the art of centers in the high school classroom, but I'm glad I took the leap!