How to Incorporate Learning Centers in the Classroom

Teachers struggle with different ways to enhance their student's education. Incorporating learning centers into a classroom is a great way to supplement classes with fun activities. Centers provide educational activities in addition to classroom instruction. In a learning center, students work in groups or by themselves. Centers add important educational tools into the classroom.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Dominoes
• Peg boards
• Cash register
• Play money
• Computers
• Software for math and reading
• Paint
• Crayons and markers
• Easels
• CD or tape player
• CDs and tapes
• Puzzles
• Blocks
• Lego's
• Books

1. Set rules for the learning centers. Set specific time limits. Decide how many centers you need and how many students are allowed in each center. Make a list of how the students need to behave and how they need to clean up their learning centers. Post the lists in the classroom where the students can see them.
2. Alternate the lessons related to the centers. This allows students to move between learning centers without missing any classroom instruction.
3. Make a math center. Include math activities with patterns, dominoes and peg boards. For older kids, include cash registers with play money.
4. Incorporate a computer center. Load learning software to help the students with reading and math skills. Help students keep their time limits on the computers.
5. Create a comfortable area on the floor with a mat or rug. Place a bookshelf near the mat with books appropriate to your students' reading levels. Students use this center to improve their reading skills.
6. Build an art center. Include paint, colors, markers paper and easels into the center. Guide them through activities but also give them free time to create and use their imaginations.
7. Set up a CD player or tape player with headphones. Have school-approved music available as an audio center. Focus on music and dance from around the world or go back in time and focus on music through the ages. Have musical instruments for the students to experiment with.
8. Place a storage bin with puzzles, blocks and Lego's. A building center allows students to work on puzzles or create objects with the block and Lego's.

Tips & Warnings

• Encourage students to choose a learning center to start in.
• Watch the students while they are in centers to see what they enjoy doing.