Learning Centers

Providing a Wide Variety of Learning Activities

Learning centers can help meet the diverse needs and skill levels of young children. Children learn by doing. They actively construct knowledge by interacting with the world around them. Teachers can facilitate learning by providing organized centers that encourage independent activity. Learning centers enable the early childhood teacher to work with individual children or small groups of children on specific skills while the rest of the class are actively learning. Learning centers can be offered in all content areas, on a variety of levels. Students can work independently, or in small groups.

Learning centers can provide necessary review of basic skills such as creating word families, or practicing math facts. But learning centers can also be used to develop essential content vocabulary, provide opportunity for student research, and simultaneously enrich learning for every student. In classrooms that integrate content themes into dramatic play with six- to eight-year-olds, sophisticated productions of reading, writing, and oral language result. Learning centers do not need to be complex or expensive. They can be structured activities with a specific sequence of tasks, or open-ended materials that stimulate student creativity and oral vocabulary. Teachers introduce materials and how to use any tools. Materials should support learning from initial explorations to mastery levels. Centers are best organized not only to promote order and ease of cleanup, but more importantly, to support independent activity in content areas that will strengthen the students’ understanding of vital skills.

Teachers should assess the needs of the students and let those needs dictate the learning centers. Young children learn best when they are able to make real life connections and apply the skills they are learning in the classroom. Years ago, early childhood teachers recognized the importance of math tubs to explore numbers and operations. Learning centers can be equally successful in promoting literacy. Literacy centers increase the number of children participating in vocabulary development, functional writing and informational reading.

Student motivation is increased through activities that offer opportunities for collaboration. Children benefit from opportunities not only to work independently on a learning center, but also to work cooperatively with other students, and to talk with peers about the variety of ways a problem could be solved. Child-initiated learning activities seem to help children develop their social responsibility and interpersonal skills so they become more intellectually and socially competent. It is difficult to provide these rich learning experiences if all classroom teaching is group and teacher directed.

Teachers must be able to articulate key skills being learned at each center and to evaluate the success of that learning center in promoting key skill development. Center signs can help identify learning goals and pertinent questions for parent volunteers, classroom aids, and visitors. The pertinent questions can take students forward in their thinking, and provide scaffolding for students beginning to build their own understanding. As problems arise, students can participate in helping to write suggestions or rules for using a center. This helps all students learn to plan and implement solutions to problems.

It is helpful for teachers to share ideas and learning centers with other teachers on their grade level. It can save preparation time and promote quality learning centers. Students and parents can also contribute ideas and materials for learning centers. Collections of items found in nature, excess supplies from businesses, logos from the community, local maps etc., can all be collected at little or no cost.

Learning centers can facilitate learning by providing opportunities that challenge students to accept and share responsibility for their own learning. They can help students learn to focus and actively learn, share, and explore concepts at their own pace. Children need time and encouragement to reflect on and communicate their understanding. By writing, speaking, and drawing what they did and what they learned, students develop a deeper understanding of all content areas.

Pappas, C., Kiefer, B., & Levstick, L. (1995). An Integrated Language Perspective in the Elementary School Theory into Action. New York:
Longman.

Brandt, D. (1990). Literacy As Involvement: The Acts of Writers, Readers, and Texts. Carbondale, Illinois; Southern Illinois University Press.

Isbell, R. (1995). The Complete Learning Center Book. Beltsville, Maryland: Gryphon House, Inc.

Materials Lists

Learning Centers can provide real life application for skills acquired through direct instruction. Learning centers are most productive when designed to correlate with key skills being taught in a content area. Teachers must be able to articulate the skills and strategies taught at each learning center. It is helpful to post charts describing essential skills enhanced at each learning center, and pertinent questions that can enhance student learning. These charts provide parent volunteers, classroom aides, and even the classroom teacher with the focus for each learning center.

Math Centers
Recognizing, Reading, and Writing Numbers		Learning to Count and Compute
pocket chart and number cards plastic number tiles number stencils number books blank cards, blank books whiteboard and markers laminated numbers for tracing number path or numbered stepping stones number concentration cards overhead number boards magnetic numbers, magnetic board individual number lines number lines with slides to cover numbers	number/set cards class number line—large enough to step on number stamps, ink pads number word cards with numeral on back adding machine tape chalkboards sticky notes number templates 100’s chart blank number clubs—write to ten, twenty, etc.	dominoes counter tubs and bowls calculators buttons, beads, teddy bear counters dice bingo spinner cubes counting chips unifix cubes beads and laces abacas unifix cube stair grids Connect Four Phase 10 Go Fish, Old Maid, Crazy 8’s

Learning About Money		Investigating Measuring
magnetic coins, metal board paper money creative drama (ice cream store, pizzaria) menus, order signs overhead coins money stamps, ink pad plastic money cash register blank receipt books grocery ads, department store ads		measuring tape measuring spoons, cups height chart indoor and outdoor thermometers graduated cylinders barometer, anemometer rulers, yardsticks weights funnels large display timer retractable measuring tape	balance scales, junk to compare weight weight chart bath scales, digital scales rain gauge hem marker measuring cups trough with rice, water, etc. stacking cups graphs, weather charts, attendance charts, maps, number charts, lunch charts

Learning About Time		Exploring Geometric Shapes
geometric plastic forms shape templates (can cut shapes out of whip cream lids) shape sponges, paint fraction tiles geometric foam or wooden forms pattern block stamps fraction rubber stamps fraction pie circles polygon shapes fraction squares, circles compass, tangram puzzles color tiles	magnetic shapes geoboards, bands, and geoboard patterns pattern blocks attribute blocks 1/2 inch and one-inch graph paper	analog clock digital clock Judy clocks minute timers, oil timers, egg timers stopwatch clock stamp and ink pad free calendars from businesses blank calendars to fill in old clock to take apart with screw drivers blank clock sheets overhead clocks yearly calendars gears

Children’s Games Using Numbers		Block Center
playing cards Uno Go Fish Sorry Parcheesi Old Maid Crazy 8 dominoes Yahtzee Monopoly Chutes and Ladders Hi Ho Cherry O! Bingo		shape labels for blocks paper of various sizes masking tape picture album of previously constructed structures with labels graph paper to draft possible constructions graph paper to trace block shapes onto multicultural people animals mirrors, small, hinged, one large to build on	(at least 340 blocks) floor equipment (e.g., barn, dollhouse, etc.) shelving at the child’s level cars, trucks, ramps

Social Studies Centers
Creative Drama Center		Library Center
TV Guide, magazines daily newspapers, grocery ads recipe books or cards measuring spoons and cups catalogs play money food cans, boxes with labels typewriter phone, phonebook class addresses and phone number booklet doll bed kitchen set, cooking utensils paper, pencils small table and chairs plates, cups, silverware non-breakable mirror multicultural dolls and clothes	multicultural foods that fit the dishes prop boxes (doctor, menus, hats, restaurant, ice cream store, flower shop, mechanics garage, etc.) community helper dolls or puppets pictures of actual places in community logos of community shops, stores community play rug, toy cars, people compass maps (every kind you can get) globes	bookshelves for storing books with spines facing outward organizational system for shelving books (e.g., genre, reading level) an inviting area with comfortable seating five to eight books per child 20 new books on current thematic unit (circulated every two weeks) catalogs (early childhood equipment, clothing, toys, furniture, etc.) newspaper ads, coupons, scissors phonebooks field guides	fiction, Nursery Rhymes, Mother Goose biographies science books puppets, roll movie (story manipulatives) paper and pencils teaching pictures, magazines letter sets, sandpaper, magnets multicultural books listening center with tapes and books flannel-board and story characters (with related books) materials for making felt stories

Writing Center
message board word wall blank books topic dictionaries logo language chart tablet envelopes paper folded to make cards junk mail used stamps language games: rhyming,		opposites, spelling, bingo, lotto, matching magnetic trays and letters letter puzzles letter picture cards alphabet stamps alphabet books environmental print markers stencils, colored pencils topic dictionaries

Art Center
easel scissors, glue paint brushes washable paints water colors shaving cream aprons clay, play dough washable ink pads and stamps markers several types of paper collage materials		yarn tissue paper art books—Ed Emberly, Scholastic Art Center colored pencils large paper for murals frames, mat board scraps blank books colored water for color mixing, eye droppers scrap lumber, glue, paint, markers

Science Center
seasonal items (leaves, seeds, icicles) exploration tubs (see exploration tub descriptions) science books seashells insects, land snails ant farm class pets, visiting animals from Humane Society prisms gack microscope, magnifiers tweezers balance scales rulers, measuring tape collections (bones, pine cones, seeds, etc.) tree rings		animal skins binoculars growth charts weather charts scales, yardsticks science books on themes, science catalogs field guides life cycle charts pictures and photographs water exploration old appliances to take apart screw drivers, tools marbles and pipe insulation rocks leaves, branches, potted plants, spouts bones, books about skeletons, X-rays plastic animals plastic tablecloths illustrated with habitats life-size animal tracings

Learning Centers Questions

Art Center

Book Center

Students will:
Describe an event,
create symbols, and
put ideas on paper.

Develop fine motor
and visual motor
skills.

Engage in creative
expression.

Rules:
Wear a paint shirt.

Write your name on
your paper.

Mix paints only in
tray.

Hang up paintings
to dry.

Wipe up spills.

Questions:
What are you going
to make your picture
about?

How did you make
that color?

What is the largest
thing in your
picture?

Tell me about your
picture.

Students will:
Develop print
awareness, left to
right flow of print.

Develop
comprehension and
interpretation of
text.

Enhance story
telling and literature
appreciation.

Discover resources
for information
gathering.

Rules:
Take care of books.

Bring book with a
torn page to the
teacher.

Return book to
correct place.

Share books.

Questions:
What do you think
this book will be
about?

Have you ever felt
like the person in
the book?

What is your
favorite part of the
story?

What do you think
will happen next?

Block Center

Writing Center

Students will:
Describe spatial,
size, and weight
relationships.

Develop problem
solving and
measurement skills.

Develop balance,
sorting, and
cooperation skills

Rules:
When your structure
is as tall as your
chin, please stop
building.

Put away your own
blocks carefully
when your are
finished.

Only knock down
your own structures.

Questions:
Tell me about what
you are building.

Would you like to
make a sign about
what you made?

Which is bigger?
Smaller? Lighter?
Heavier?

Which blocks match
on both sides of
your building?

Students will:
Develop
understanding that
print is speech
written down.

Focus on letter
formation, sequence
of sounds in words.

Engage in book
making, journal
writing, and
labeling.

Relate sequence of
illustrations.

Rules:
Snap lids tightly on
markers.

Close stamp pads.
Return things to
their places.

Use only a dot of
glue at a time.

Clean up scraps.

Questions:
What is your book
going to be about?

What happens next
in your story?

You might want to
make a book about
that!

You might want to
write a letter about
that!

Trough Center

Math Center

Students will:
Develop fine motor
skills, tactile
awareness

Develop social
interaction

Strengthen problem
solving, weighing,
measuring, and
understanding of
capacity

Rules:
Keep water or sand
in trough.

Pour above the
trough.

Only use toys that
are in the trough.

Sweep up sand with
broom and dustpan.

Questions:
Which container do
you think will hold
the most? How can
you find out?

How many little
cups does it take to
fill the big cup?

Have you seen
measuring cups at
home? What are
they used for?

Students will:
Practice grouping,
classifying,
ordering, patterning,
weighing,
measuring, and
counting one to one

Connect real life
story problems to
numeration and
equations

Rules:
Put back all game
pieces.

Take turns.

Don’t dump out
everything at once,
just take out the
pieces you need one
at a time.

Put stray pieces in
the lost and found
tub.

Questions:
How many do you
think you need?

Which do you think
will weigh the most?

Who has more?

Less?

How long did it take
you to make that?

Science Center

Drama Center

Students will:
Develop skills in
observation,
exploration,
description, making
comparisons, and
classifying.
Investigate
relationships, using
resources. Use
problem solving
strategies.

Rules:
Observe and explore
carefully.
Take care of tools.
Return things when
you are finished.
Share what you have
learned (e.g., orally,
pictorially, written).

Questions:
What do you wonder
about?
What is interesting
to you?
What do you know
about _____?
About what do you
want to learn more?

Students will:
Develop social
interaction, role
identification.
Apply numbers,
words, job skills,
and real life
vocabulary.

Rules:
Take turns.
Hang up dress-ups
when finished.
Take care of
equipment.
Leave props at
school.
Don’t pretend to be
a robber, bad guy,
etc.

Questions:
Have you ever seen
a real ____ (fire
station)?
What do real
______ do?
What things do they
write down? Read?
Count? Say?
What job do you
want when you are a
grownup?

Learning Center Printouts

Exploration Tubs: Enhancing Essential Vocabulary through Student Investigation

I tried to teach my child from books. He only gave me puzzled looks.
I tried to teach my child from words. They passed him by, oft unheard.
Despairingly, I turned aside. “How shall I teach this child?” I cried.
Then, into my hand he placed the key “Come” he said, “play with me.”

Investigation is a key to student motivation. As teachers provide unhurried time for active student exploration, students develop a sense of curiosity and wonder. As children explore, they discuss their observations and enjoy recording what they have observed. Students love to share prior experiences with their classmates, talk about things that fascinate them and ask questions about subjects they would like to investigate. As students share insights with others, essential vocabulary emerges that facilitates both expressive language skills and reading
comprehension.

Exploration tubs become natural ties to content vocabulary and to writing activities. As students investigate a tub and discuss their experiences with other students, the content vocabulary and integrated concepts become part of their background knowledge. For example, a
second grade teacher might encourage students to explore a “Fall Exploration Tub” that contains pumpkins, Indian corn, colorful leaves, seeds, apples, gourds, etc. As students discuss their observations and prior knowledge with partners, the basic vocabulary for the science unit is strengthened and reinforced. Students with limited background knowledge or vocabulary are introduced to the essential vocabulary
associated with the science topic, thus familiarizing them with the words they will be asked to read or write.

Care should be taken to provide every child with the opportunity to use exploration tubs. Teachers should avoid using tubs as a filler activity upon completion of seat work. Students who need the most vocabulary development are the students least likely to finish their work. Tubs can be used for individual students groups, or during whole class discussions.

Exploration tubs provide a magical time where every student is actively involved in their own learning. Occasionally a student may drift off task or become meddlesome for another student. If a student is having a behavior problem during exploration tubs, the teacher should invite him to watch how the other students use their tubs. When the child has identified his own problem and formulates a solution he is willing to implement, he can once again use an exploration tub.

Exploration Tubs