The idea of learning centers has been around for a long time now. What was once a preschool only idea with dress-up and play kitchens, has evolved into more complex areas that encourage students to explore and reinforce basic skills. Finding ideas for new centers can be challenging, especially if working with a multi-grade class. The ideas below can be adapted to fit any skill level and grade and incorporate more than just one subject. This is especially important, because it takes the stigma out of one center being used for “lower level” students and makes it a fun, interactive experience for all.
Fun and Educational Learning Center Ideas
Official Office of Investigation and Exploration
Something strange is going on in the city and only the Secret Agents in the Official Office of Investigation and Exploration (aka OOIE, pronounced “ew-e”) can solve the mystery. They must navigate maps, winding through the city to arrive at their destination, based only on measurements in centimeters. Once there, they must explore the city’s Art Museum, searching for a particular painting. The painting holds the clue about where the treasure is hidden, but they only know the name of the painter and one small clue about the painting itself. Can they find it in time to beat the thief to the buried treasure?
Kids love a good mystery and there is no better way to get them involved than making learning fun. This classroom tried and kid-approved center idea incorporates math, science, art appreciation, reading, critical thinking, cooperative learning and, most importantly, fun. Create clues to guide the students through the skills you want to reinforce. If you are learning about the Civil War, have the mystery be based around a painting of Abraham Lincoln. If your class is early elementary students, create your own town map to fit the children’s skill level. Use pictures and recorded voice clues to make the experience more interactive and fun. You can also customize each child’s clues to match their ability level and the skills they need to work on. Do not forget the official badges; when students are working at the center they will need picture identification!
Ocean Explorers
Transform a corner of the classroom into an ocean adventure and make each student who visits it an underwater explorer. With their chosen sea creature in mind, students must research all of the significant facts and report back on them. Each explorer is tasked with creating an underwater adventure log that describes their daily findings. Pictures can also be added. Once their reports are complete, they must create a display that communicates all they have learned. Instead of a diorama or poster, you can also allow students to present their information in a Power Point presentation, a cartoon, a brochure or even a song. Once a child has written the words and performed a song about a giant octopus, the odds of him retaining that information are fairly good. In this center students will be exploring math, reading, science, language arts including writing, and critical thinking.
Where in the World?
Explore different cultures, solve mysteries and reinforce map and math skills with this fun center. Each child starts off with a passport that gives them their first clue. They must use the GPS coordinates to figure out where in the world they need to go. Once they know the location, students look in the special basket or bin that contains envelopes about each country. Working through the clues, worksheets and travel journal, they complete their stay in each country. Once their work has been checked, they receive a stamp in their passport and another GPS clue. Incorporate spelling, writing, reading, math, science and social studies into the activities for each country.
Do the center ideas above take time to create and plan? Absolutely. However, when you take the time to make learning more than just a book and a pencil, students respond. They become enthusiastic, behavior management issues decline and you wind up with a group of students who cannot wait to come to your class everyday. Learning becomes an adventure that they never want to end. And that is the most valuable lesson you can ever teach.
What are some of your favorite center ideas?
Jennifer Gorrell says
I have that globe…I am printing this off so I use it in the fall…what a neat idea….
Shanda j says
I teach second grade and have never done “centers” before. I’m wondering how much time is used for centers, and how do you do centers and still have time to teach your regular and necessary lessons. Experience? Ideas?
Cheryl s says
When I taught 3rd grade I would have the higher group create games based on the story and them teach it to someone in the lower group! The lower group would create a poster or create a cartoon that they would share with the high group. Then I would know that they understood the story and it would make them read the story over again to make sure their info was correct!
Elyse P. says
Last year we “traveled” around the world in my class. Every student made a passport that was almost a replica of the real thing with a photo and all. Each week we went to a new continenet. It was super fun and the kids loved getting their passports stamped as we went from country to country!
Penny says
Love the suggestions!
Cindy Berenter says
Those are great ideas-thanks for sharing! I’m just starting to get into centers for a certain portion of my day and these ideas will really help me along!
Lesley M says
I like your idea for the Where in the World? center. Only I am going to adapt it so students have to search the United States instead of the World. This will help to reinforce the regions of the United States as the students study them in social studies. Unfortunately, social studies is one of the classes I have to cut short in order to get the skills taught for the state test. This center will give students more social studies time without taking time away from math, reading, and science. Thanks for the great idea!!!
Laura says
I teach 3rd grade and I love centers and couldn’t imagine teaching without them!! I do centers a couple of ways. In the morning when students come in they have a Brain Breakfast question to answer. Once they answer it they have a choice of different centers to go to (i.e. Brain Games, Investigation Station, Computers, Read and Respond, Writing etc.) The students all have a lits of the centers for the week and once they have done a center they color in the box next to it with the color for that day. They can not visit that center again untill the following week. They can go get activities from these centers whenever they have completed work. This has eliminated the dreaded question “I’m done what can I do?” I also do centers during reading block daily. The kids rotate through out the room to the different stations and complete literacy activities corresponding to what we are studying. And finally, I also do math stations every Friday. They rotate through 3 stations, math games, computation station, and work with the teacher. This allows me to assess and reteach or extend what I have taught that week.
Colleen says
My class participates in a Mascot exchange with about 8 other classes around the USA. I plan to set up a center about the state each visiting mascot is from so that my first graders can learn a little about states other than North Dakota.
Bobbie says
I really like the investigation and exploration station. I feel like all of the kids would really enjoy it. They would have so much fun being little detectives.
Jill says
Very imaginative ideas! I think my students would love these ideas. I’ll work on ways to incorporate this student directed learning into my mandated curriculum.
Jessica Bergren says
In the county where I work, Literacy Centers is a must. We are also required to have an Inquiry Center that coordinates with our Science Topic. One Center which my 1st graders love is the Is it Hot? Or Not? center. It’s cheap and easy to make. All you need is magazines and pictures of objects, any will do. You need picutres of candles, fireplaces, warm clothes, hot-air balloons etc for the Hot side, and basically anything else for the not. I glued them to construction paper and laminated them to last longer. Since I teach 1st grade I also wrote the name of each item on the back, for the Literacy component. After students sort the pictures, the can flip over each card and write the list of items that are HOT and NOT!
Susan says
It took my daughter, a first year teacher, to help me (a 32 yr. veteran teacher)to resolve exactly how to institute and manage the timing of centers…something I wanted to do for years! I set aside a 40 minute period four times a week and prepare four different centers each week. One center is always a listening center with strategic questions to answer after each story. The other three are varied and related to skills reinforcement, concept introduction, and/ or theme related classroom activities. One center is visited by one group (class randomly divided into four groups of three or four students each week)each day so every child experiences each center by week’s end. It helps tremendously if another adult is available to assist during centers time but is still doable without help once the routine is established.
Also Friday’s math period is always divided into “stations” where small groups rotate through 3 or 4 different games or activities by the end of class.
Stacey says
I have been doing reading centers for years. It is a requirement for our district where we do Balanced Literacy. We have an hour and a half reading block. During this reading block we have 30 minutes of whole group instruction. The last hour is center rotation. I have three groups. One group goes to a designated center, one group does a must do activity either at their desk or with their group, and one group meets with me for small group instruction. The groups rotate every 15 to 18 minutes. I like this because I get to meet with all my students and they always have something to do. It worked out so well I started Math Centers the last couple years.
Heather says
I do a passport for my ancient civilizations text and the kids love it. Being able to include these aspects though will make it much more enjoyable! Thanks!
L Green says
I have been using centers for several years. I really like the OOIE suggestion. I find that I have to change centers often in kindergarten. Thanks for the good ideas.
Kirsten says
I love the ideas in this blog post. It’d be really great to read how other teachers set up centers in a kinder class, and what kinds of centers you use for that age group.
Tonya Coats says
Great Ideas! I’m trying to incorporate the daily 5 with our Houghton Mifflin program. Keep the suggestions coming. The new school is quickly approaching.
Sofia Dirkswager says
The center activity in my class is used more for when students are done with their work. I have not implemented them as a daily routine, but use them more as may-do. It takes care of the question what do I do next and they get to chose any activity they want. I would like to try more of the rotating centers, but I would have to see it done.
Pam says
This year I am trying a “menu” theme for centers that will center around a specific curricular unit. Students will be given the “menu” and have appro. 2 weeks to complete a specific number of activities. Many of the activities will be driven by the multiple intelligences and students will work in partners. I will also daily check student progress on activities and guide students who are struggling with the independence they are being given. I am really excited about this new approach to “centers” and I am hoping for student ownership in their learning.
Melissa M. says
I really like Debbie Diller’s literacy center ideas. I’ve adopted them for my fourth grade classroom in the past, and will be updating them for my middle school reading classroom. http://www.fcrr.org has some free centers, and they are ready to be printed!
Linda Downs says
We use centers with Guided Reading. Students who are not meeting with me for small group go to a center. I have three rotation times with a couple of minutes between each to recap or discuss anything that I think we need to discuss (what they learned, a rule that was broken, reinforcement of good behaviors, etc). Centers can also be set up for those students who finish work quickly. I always have something that reinforces skills being taught that week.
Barb J says
These are such great ideas! When I think of centers, I think of the more traditional type- reading, listening, fact practice, crafts. These are so much more engaging than traditional centers. I especially love the idea in the Ocean center, where kids have to keep a log of their daily findings, just like a real researcher would have to do!
Candace O. says
I love using centers in my classroom. I have ten different centers. Students go to one center a day, in addition to their seat work and visiting the “teacher” table. Having ten centers allows me to trade them out every two weeks. The one problem I do have with centers in my classroom, is that I have no walls, storage areas, unused table/counter tops, etc….(We are a school left over from the 70’s open school concept.) So I have to find center ideas that I can put into a basket or bag, and that students can take to their desk to complete.
Kristina O. says
I love centers…Our district is following a “literacy collaborative” model and I have centers for about 60 minutes a day. By the end of the year my first graders are moving independently to 9 different stations each week. I love all the organizational tools Really Good Stuff offers. They are key to having a well managed independent center learning time.
Kristin W. says
I love the ideas that were mentioned. It gives the kids a change that is much needed with centers. Sometimes students get used to doing the same thing over and over and this is when changes should be made. These are awesome ideas that kids will love and “buy” into.
I have also used a tic tac toe type menu or a point menu in my classroom where the students get to choose their center/s for the week. This allows for diffrentiation for all levels of learners. Remember, with centers, there is no right or wrong way to do them. Do it the way you feel comfortable and you will make the changes as you go.
Annie Davis says
‘OOIE’, ‘Ocean Explorers’ and ‘Where in the World?’ are great ideas that I can easily incorporate into my classroom. This year will be my first year, so I need all the ideas I can get. Thank you so much for sharing these wonderful ideas with the rest of us. I am going to bookmark these ideas so I can use them with my fourth grade class.
Maureen says
I really want to do more with centers this year. It is really challenging to manage with 25-27 first graders with no support. These ideas are really helpful.
Carla says
Something I always keep in mind when doing centers is that it’s OK to let them learn, discover and teach each other. I don’t always have to be the one “delivering the knowledge”. When I got over that hurdle, I felt free to use learning centers, and my students seemed happier. They are engaged, working at their own paces, and more relaxed. I love centers.
2nd Grade teacher
Kelly says
I highly recommend Debbie Diller’s Practice with Purpose. It’s full of practical, straightforward advice and examples of how to set up, manage, and assess literacy work stations for grades 3-6. Perhaps the best things about her work stations are they don’t have to be changed out every week and you use things you already have in your classroom. That = very little prep!! There are also choices built into each station. She also has a book for K-2 literacy work stations, but I can’t think of the title off the top of my head.
Maureen says
After teaching 20+ years, I still love centers! Each year I add to my collection and make some changes around whatever my start of the year them is. Last year I did “Third graders are happy campers!” I had 2 camp chairs in the corner with a sign “Camp out with a good book” After a week, I changed the chairs with a small pop up tent and let them read with flashlights. By continuously changing the centers slightly, there is renewed interest. This year I am doing an ocean theme. I will lay out beach towels for them to lay on when doing reading/math centers one week and then have sunglasses for them to wear the next. Using dollar store supplies, it is inexpensive to set up and these supplies will last for years.
Amy says
Thank you for these ideas. I especially like how you mentioned that centers are not only for pre K and K…I teach third grade and none of my colleagues use centers in their classrooms, and I can tell that sometimes they think it is just all fun and games in my classroom. Thanks for reinforcing what I already knew…that is important to address all learning styles and needs through a variety of activities!
Paulette Pattengill says
I currently use centers during reading and have really grown to love them. What I would like to do now is use them in a math block as well. I like the theme idea!
Lori says
I love using centers in my Kindergarten classroom. I use them for reading and math. I had not really thought about using them for socail studies or science. I love the ides in this article and plan to try a few at my students’ levels. Thanks!
Jane says
I use Centers daily for literacy and math. In Math we use the ECAM (early childhood assessment in math) at the beginning and end of the year which plots students on a continuum for counting, numeration, and addition and subtraction. Based on this data we are required to have a short, 15 min.session 5 days a week during which we do ECAM Centers. At the moment I am focusing on addition and subtraction and have students working at different centers each day based on their ECAM data. Some students are working on Stage B centers for addition and subtraction, and others on Stage C and D. It was a lot of work to prepare all the different Centers to begin with but it is worth it because all students are experiencing success and making good progress due to the centers being specific to each child’s need. Most of our activities come from the ECAM page at this site:
http://www.k-5mathteachingresources.com/ECAM.html
Clarisa Tomaski says
I really glad to find this internet site on bing, just what I was searching for : D likewise saved to my bookmarks .
Stefany says
I have never thought of setting up centers in this way! I have centers in my classroom, but turning them into some type of exploration or investigation would make them so much more exciting for my students!
aliciadonaji says
@Jane Hi, Jane! I am starting to implement these in my campus. But I was wondering if you have any data of the results that you have had at yours since you have implemented them? Maybe how many stages the students have grown in a period of time?
Thanks!
-Donaji