How Centers Transformed My Fourth Grade Classroom.

There was never a time when I didn't use centers.  Using centers in the classroom made sense to me from pre-k to kindergarten and then on to first and finally second grades.  There were so many benefits to using centers in the classroom!  One day, my principal then told me that she was moving me to fourth grade.  WH-A-A-A-A-T??????

I was very happy and content in the primary grades.  I had plenty of reasons to try and convince her that I didn't belong in upper elementary.  

• I rarely used worksheets.
• I taught whole lessons that were short and to the point.
• I taught to my students' needs in small groups.
• I used centers All. Day. Long!!

(I thought for sure that the last one would change her mind!!)

She just smiled at me and said, "That's EXACTLY why I am moving you!  I want the fourth graders to have just as much fun as your second grade students do!"

I spent the summer worrying. HOW could I replicate what I had always done in the lower grades for older students?

It turned out that it wasn't hard at all.

In fact, it was magical!

Grab FREE math and literacy centers by clicking HERE!

No Prep Centers

I don't enjoy spending tons of time planning and writing lesson plans for someone else.  Teachers know what we are doing, right?

I studied the standards for 4th grade in both math and literacy and created a curriculum map and planned out my year.  (YES!  I loosely planned the entire year, and it saved me SO. MUCH. TIME!)

After I had my lesson plan calendar for the entire year in hand, I created centers that I could just print and go.

The students loved them, and they were sooooooo easy for me!

I planned out five literacy stations and five math stations I would use each week ALL YEAR LONG!

Instead of constantly coming up with new centers, I only had to change the activities.

It was SO easy!!  

Daily Math Spirals

Each day before our daily focus in math, we completed five questions in a spiral.  These five questions covered the five big domains in Common Core.  By focusing on just these five, students were getting a review, present learning, and a preview of things to come.

By adding the preview component, I was able to do a mini lesson on the same standard/concept for 20 days.  By the time we actually reached that concept in our curriculum map, the students had been exposed to it so many times that it was a breeze to tighten down the learning!

I projected this math spiral on my big screen at the beginning of math class, and students completed the questions in a spiral notebook.  Again, there was no prep on my part with BIG results for the students.

We kept it fresh by sometimes working through the questions as a whole group, in small groups, with partners, or independently.

It was easy for me to print one page of questions and use in small groups when needed.

Using the daily math spirals allowed me to add a variety of activities to my math centers because I knew the students had already had exposure to the concepts.

You can find daily math spirals in my TpT store for second grade, third grade, and fourth grade.  

Centers, Centers, Centers

Instead of planning elaborate centers, I kept things very easy.  I used my NO PREP math centers and my NO PREP literacy centers and then filled in with things I already had in my classroom!

When the school became 1:1 in technology with Chromebooks, I added digital activities to the mix.

My classroom was mostly a full day of centers.

For early finishers, I had them go to a center activity.

For small groups,  I pulled a center activity that students had already used from my no prep activities or they played a game that was used during center time.

For whole group, I used a center activity for the entire class as a teaching tool.  Turn it into a game, and change the entire dynamics!

These center activities were an important part of our day.

The Magic of Centers

There are so many benefits to using math and literacy centers during center time and throughout the day in many different ways!

1)  I was able to quickly utilize planning and writing in lesson plans.

2)  I wasn't constantly searching for new material to use.  I used the same activities over and over in my classroom.

3)  The center activities could be used over and over throughout the year in many different ways!

4)  While students were enjoying and learning during center time, I was able to fill in the gaps by utilizing small group teaching. 

Do you want to try out a few NO PREP math and literacy centers?  Click here to grab a few samples for FREE!

If you aren't using centers and center activities, you are missing out on one of the most fun and effective ways to teach and learn in your classroom!

If you want to return to this post later, just save this pin!

Using centers is just...

My Kind of Teaching

How to Teach Beginning Research for Elementary Students

It's time for elementary students to begin learning how to research topics, but how do you teach them where to begin?

Learning how to research can be very tricky for students.  They don't know the basics, so breaking it down into small steps is best.

Beginning Research with a Simple Topic

Students as young as first and second grades can begin to research when given this step-by-step guide to follow.  

WEEK ONE:

Begin by spending a week teaching the skills as you research together.  Chose a topic that all students love or a timely topic for your classroom.  A great topic is any animal.

DAY ONE:

Students will break down the beginning research into four areas:

1)  the physical appearance of the animal (color, size, # of legs)

2)  what the animal eats

3)  the animal's habitat

4)  the animal's enemies

Divide a large piece of paper into those four areas.  Give your students books or a video about the animal.  Ask the students to write one fact that fits each of the areas onto sticky notes and place the sticky notes into the correct squares.

DAY TWO:

Read the sticky notes with the students, and discuss the information.  Is it clear?  Does it fit the topic heading?  What kind of information should be added?

Brainstorm together with students to make sure that you have enough information.

DAY THREE:

Use the information from the sticky notes to complete the sentences you have prepared on chart paper.

DAY FOUR:

Give students their own copies, and have them copy the information you wrote together yesterday on the chart paper.

DAY FIVE:

Each student can use the information gathered and completed yesterday to write a paragraph (or more) in his or her neatest handwriting on another piece of paper.

WEEK TWO:

Have students work together in small groups or with partners to repeat the steps from last week.  Assign groups different animals.  You can have the materials ready for them, or take a trip to the library for students to check out books. 

(For younger students and for the first time we did this in my classroom, I checked out all library books from the library ahead of time.)

As students spend the week working together, your job is to move around the room to check in to help with questions, guide students to find the information, and ensure that students are remaining on task and using their time wisely.

On the last day, you might wish to incorporate speaking and listening standards by having students stand up together and read their reports to the class.

WEEK THREE:

If you feel that students have a good grasp on beginning research, have them repeat the above independently.  Week two can be repeated with new topics and new groups if needed.

This unit has a list of topics, graphic forms, beginning (rough) draft, and completed drafts in differentiated levels to make beginning research easy for your elementary students if you are interested.

Click here to see it in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Save this pin to refer back to this post as needed.

I would love to have you join my email.  Click below to sign up and grab this freebie also.

Helping you teach your students beginning research is just...

MY KIND OF TEACHING.