The thought of starting centers is always daunting. Maybe you have already started and it's chaos. Maybe you have been pushing it off. Let me help you get started in a strategic way that will not make you pull your hair out. Below are my classroom management tips to help you get rolling!
START SIMPLE
On day one of starting centers I have already given students their groups ( I usually divide the class into five different groups) They should be able to see a visual of their groups somewhere in the classroom. That, not only helps you, but the students.
When I say start simple I mean just practice going from the rug to each station. I literally had to keep practicing that until every student got it and was on the same page. I would ring the bell and say "blue group go to your center....red group....green group..." and so on. We would practice until my little angels were flawless.
DON'T STRESS ACADEMICS JUST YET
Once the class mastered the transition from rug to tables I would then set a timer and practice doing our work time. I didn't even worry about what the students were working on standards wise. It's okay to pause on academics until your students know routine and classroom expectations. This will allow for the academics to be taught. Once my class knew how to be seated and work for a set 10 minutes I started adding in the differentiated word work, phonics, and reading activities.
PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE
Be consistent and Practice! Especially on Mondays! my class would always come back from the weekend and need an extra practice run before we started centers. Once you keep up with the consistent practice then you can teach.
DIFFERENTIATE
When you have practiced and you feel your class is at a place to start differentiating their stations I promise it is magic! There are so many benefits to differentiating students work. It not only provides more productivity but it will help with any behavior struggles you might be facing.
here is an example of the word work I would differentiate for my write the room activity at my phonics center.
This worksheet would be for my Lowest group. They could feel successful in tracing the words. If they needed it to be cut in half that would help with any students who needed that.
This write the Room was for my middle students who could find the picture and write the words on their own after whole class practice. If students had difficulty with this level I would write in the first letter of each word to give them a little help.
This blank copy was for my highest students who were able to match the number to the picture on their own and spell the words independently.
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