Here are a few of the centers that my students work on. All of them are completed on a daily basis, except the first one, but may differ slightly from day to day. It took some time in the beginning, teaching the routines and expectations. But it was well worth it.
'Count your Money' is completed once a week. Each of my students is assigned one of the days of the week to count the money in their bank. They then make the decision to cash it in for a prize or save for something bigger. Last year, I had all students counting on Friday and it felt like 20-25 minutes of pure chaos and impatience. So I wised up and have 2-3 students a day take their turn. Now it takes 5-10 minutes depending on the students' abilities. But it
IS getting faster...and that is the whole point. The more I can put money in their hands, the more secure the skill will become. I did devise a cheat sheet for students to reference, helping them see what coins equal a quarter or dollar and so on. Some use it, others have graduated from it, and others simply never needed it. It's fun to see the progress.
The dollar was cut from Cuttin' Up. The stickers were given to me by another teacher in my building.
Punctuation Poetry is the combination of two different ideas I've learned over the course of my career. For students with reading fluency issues, it is often recommended they read poetry because the sing-song cadence lends itself to speed with repitition. I also took a training where one of the presentors taught some kinestetic movements to help students recognize the conventions of writing: capitalization, periods, commas, quotations marks, questions marks, and exclamation points. All the things my friends ignore in both their reading and writing.
I spent the first couple of weeks walking the students through the movements as I introduced the new poem for the week. As the students read the poem, they raise their arms straight above their heads in a point for capitals (most of them end up clapping), swing one arm in front of their bodies for commas, stamp out periods, and more. I developed another cheat sheet for this one. My girls were nice enough to be my models and act out the movements for me while I snapped photos. Each student referred to sheet in the beginning for help. Now they have the actions down.
This one is fun because there is no doubt when a student is completing it. You see and hear them at their desk reading, clapping, jumping, swinging, etc. It's great! I do have them come and show me the card before they start so I know to give them a little peek while I am working with other groups. I did have a few sneaky friends who tried to put their cards up on the board without doing the work. So I found a way to work around it, if you don't show me the card and I didn't see/hear it, it didn't happen. I don't have a problem with it anymore.
This center helps students learn to pause when the they see punctuation. A lot of my little friends blow through punctuation in oral reading which can change the meaning of the text. When they have to stop and complete the action before reading the next word it forces them to pause. This idea can be used during guided reading as well. Trust me, it breaks up what can become mundane. And who doesn't appreciate getting up out of their chair and moving a little? It can also be used when students edit their own work. If they only stamp out one sentence, they have to go back and find where the ending punctuation is missing. And those capitals that are often left out...it's like a little treasure hunt in their own writing.
The punctuation marks were all cut using Disney's Mickey Font.
Not a lot to say here. These are more drill and practice activities, worksheets that review and reinforce activities we have worked on during math. So many of my friends get it during math group, but when presented in a different fashion, or left to independent practice, forget or get confused. So this is an opportunity to see where the holes are and what needs to be revisited. My aide will work with students who are making mistakes so we are not constantly practicing the same mistakes over and over. We have worked our way from 2-digit addition with no regrouping to 3-digit addition with regrouping, 2-digit subtraction with regrouping, and rounding. Multiplication is on its way...and the kids are excited!
The math symbols were cut using the Cursive cartridge.
FastMath is a computer program by Scholastic my District utilizes to develop automaticity of basic math facts. Each student spends 10-15 minutes per day working on their basic facts.
The computer image was cut from the Cursive cartridge.
I used the Christmas Cheer cartridge to cut the Santa and the list out. The rest is ribbon from Walmart and paper from one of my favorite places (the dollar bins at Target).
The inside of the card, had to of course rhyme. It is a little hard to read, so it says: "He's made his list and checked it twic, Your name topped the list as nice! Merry Christmas." Then I had each of my kids sign their respective teacher's cards. Then a gift card was tucked inside the ribbon.
I also included a little treat for the elementary teachers. Here's a little warning to all you teachers out there...your students notice your little treats! I asked my girls what their teacher's favorite treat was and they easily told me a 3 Musketeers bar - mint. When I asked the 5th grader he said, "Mrs. Smith doesn't really eat treats, but she LOVES Diet Coke. Like seriously, Mom. I mean she LOVES it. She drinks like four a day." To which the girls added that their teacher likes Diet Pepsi. So I filled gift bags with the appropriate soda and threw the tissue paper wrapped card on the top. Hopefully they know they are appreciated!
Each student has a 'name tag' that stays on the board. I used different images from the Life is a Beach cartridge. I assigned an animal or beach item to each student. This same image is found on their take home folder as well. At their desks, stored in a quart sized ziploc baggy, are 10-4x4 inch cards, one illustrating each center. When the students have completed an individual center, they place the corresponding card on the board. At the end of the day, students 'cash' in their center cards. Each center is worth a nickel and students have to complete a minimum of 5 in order to be paid. The students count the cards in front of me or my aide. Then they have to show us the easiest way to make that amount of money using the fewest coins. Students are working on skills such as counting by 5s, multiplying, money name and value identification, and counting money -- all those skills that need constant repetition in order to be retained.