Teaching Tip of the Month

This month's Teaching Tip comes from TCR3075 Year-Round Classroom Tips.

Tips for Centers

Pretend Center: Playhouse

For your playhouse center, the table in the center can be decorated with place mats that you make yourself. All you need is some scrap oilcloth and cut away! Primary students can practice setting a table along with their other chores.

Gardening Center

A gardening center can be a great learning experience for all children. Use two-liter drink bottles. The bottom black part makes a good planter. Or empty milk cartons also make good containers. Get permission from your principal and begin an outdoor flower garden. Students will love seeing the results of their efforts. At the end of the unit, the students can take home their plants.

Poetry Center

You may wish to set up a poetry center. You will want to have a book of rhyming words for students to use. Loose-leaf paper should be included. One fun way to introduce poetry to students is to rhyme their own names. Some names are too difficult to be rhymes, so allow the students to pick another name or to use their middle or last name.

Reading Center

A reading center is like a library center. You should have an inviting place to read. Be sure that your center has a good collection of books. You do not really need to have a bookcase. You can put books in colorful boxes or baskets!

Have a magazine corner. Magazines can be a good source of many activities. If you do not have access to a display rack, make your own. Using a piece of pegboard or tagboard, make pockets to hold magazines. Use a clear plastic front so students can see the covers. Covers will draw interest. Magazines can be used for cutting out pictures, words, advertisements; finding headlines; and many other kinds of activities.

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