2. Planning
When in the unit to do centers?
How much time for each center?
• A whole class period
• Half a period
• One-third
• One-fourth
• One-fifth
Challenge: Making centers that take
about the same amount of time.
3. Planning
How will you name centers and
move students between them?
• numbered – go in order
• move clockwise
• teacher consultation format
• other fun way?
HINT: Centers CANNOT be sequential
such that they have to complete one
center before they can go to the next.
• timer
• clock
• other?
4. Watching
a video about
the book topic
and answering
questions
Listening to a podcast interview with the
author and writing about how her life
influenced her work.
Teacher Table
Discussing a
chapter of the
book
Creating drawings to represent various quotes
from the book OR, if there are laptops, create
a “Pinterest” pin to go with the quote. Write
about why you chose that photo to go with
the quote.
Academic
Vocabulary
Games
on the
Smart
Board
in Teams
5 Centers
5. Watching
a video about
the book topic
and answering
questions
Listening to a podcast interview with the
author and writing about how her life
influenced her work.
Teacher Table
Meeting with
individual
students
Creating drawings to represent various
quotes from the book OR, if there are
laptops, create a “Pinterest” pin to go
with the quote. Write about why you
chose that photo to go with the quote.
Academic
Vocabular
y
Games
on the
Smart
Board
in Teams
4 Centers
and teacher consultation
table (when you need to
meet one-on-one with
students.
6. Planning Grouping Students
• Depends on your objectives
• heterogeneous groups
• homogeneous groups (certain assessments)
• behavior issues
• Ways of Keeping Track of Groups
– class list highlighted by groups, keep track of
who has done which centers
– construction paper list-up or group folder
• If a particular center is an assessment, keep track
of who is absent for that center each day so that
you can send them to it the next class.
8. The Teacher Table
What could you do...
if you had 20 minutes
with 3-5 of your students
around a table?
9. Examples from MBA World
Languages Teachers
• free-style conversation
• scaffolded conversation (with vocabulary)
• situation cards – student choice
• pictures to discuss
11. Student Centers - Examples
• watch a video(s) and respond to a prompt (or claim)
• listen to a podcast and respond to a prompt (or claim)
• do a simple experiment and write about it
• write poetry based on a variety of photos
• interview each other and write about the other person
• read many articles about a topic and synthesize or
respond to questions
• conquer a set of difficult math problems as a group
• draw a representation of math problems, academic
vocabulary, etc.
• cell phone center (!) where they have to text you or email
you about a prompt or other topic.
• watch a PPT that brings them through a topic
12. Centers during Projects…
• laptop/iPad center for research
• reading center with books related to topics
• writing center at laptops
• “I’m stuck” center with creativity-boosting
photos, quotes, manipulatives
• Teacher consultation area
• Peer consultation area (?)
13. Planning
The Best Centers
• can be used independently
• can be used by all, but also
differentiated
• have accountability (students
complete something)
• are not too hard to make, change, or
set-up
14. Giving Directions
for Centers
• Written directions at each center
• Give instructions on a PPT
• Go over on first day of centers
and/or previous class
• Tell them how long at each center
• Walk them through transitions the
first time
16. Accountability during Centers
• Group accountability
– Group checklist
– Lead student collects finished papers
– Group behavior system – gain/lose points, money,
etc.
– Group performance task(?)
• Individual student
– Checklist for each student as they go through
centers (objectives, can do statements, or activities)
– Completing a packet as they go
– Correcting their own papers as they go, inserting in
folder
– Test on content at end
– Behavior system for good work/problems
– DAILY Exit Pass
17. Students correct their
own work
• Keep answer papers in a separate
area, near you, to hand out when
they are ready
• Correct with their peers
• OR, correct as a class after last
center (whole group)
18. Work you need to score
• Collect in “Finished Work” folder or box
for later grading
• Students can email, GoogleDoc you
texts (or recordings/videos) to be
scored.
Teacher table:
• Clipboard with you at the teacher table,
or
• you can have your computer in front of
you to enter scores
• and you can have a rubric in front of
you to score as they speak
19. For Early finishers...
• Have other work available and/or
silent reading tasks.
• Finish any current missing
assignments.
• Type up something to email/text to
teacher.
• Continue work on larger project.
• Send a sentence to “polleverywhere”
• Help others
20. A final note...
• Let unit goals drive center activities
• Do your best to have every activity
be a language activity
• Don’t spend TOO much time
making centers
• Use centers, whole group, and
partner activities to maximize
learning
• Enjoy!
