Are you ready for some easy steps to get centers setup and running effectively for the entire year? If you follow this simple system, you’ll learn to LOVE centers from day one until the last day of school! Don’t forget to snag your must-have freebie too!
Organization
The first and most important piece to setting up centers is organization. It’s important to take time and really think through where centers will be located, where you will house unused materials, and how students will access their center materials independently. Our ultimate goal when setting up and thinking through centers is independence. How do we help our students become independent learners during centers so they are learning, growing, and of course, having fun? Organization and labels help SO much with building independence in the classroom.
Want more tips and tricks for getting centers organized for success? Check out THIS post full of more helpful tips!
Accountability
Let’s talk accountability next. This is a very important part of centers setup. How many times have you found students playing instead of working? Not getting work completed? Unsure about what to do? These things can be a real problem for center success if proper systems are not in place. So what needs to be set up for students to hold them accountable?
First, students need to learn how to turn in their work. We spend the first few weeks discussing how we complete work and what success looks like. At the end of each center time, we debrief our work and discuss how we did when completing the standard. This Levels of Understanding system really shows students what they should be aiming for and helps exponentially to be more successful with center work completion.
Levels of Understanding System
Another piece of accountability is student expectations. Do students understand exactly what is expected of them during their work time? To ensure students know precisely what I need from them, what everything should look and sound like, I love using slides. Displaying slides on our whiteboard, I am able to provide an ample amount of visual support. At any point during center time, they can look up and know exactly what their expectations are. Notice on the slide below that there is a visual of their comprehension activity, with notated expectations, as well as sentence stems for support. This leaves no wiggle room and students know EXACTLY what to do.
The next biggest part when it comes to accountability is all that pesky unfinished work. I like to make it crystal clear for students with the Unfinished Work System. Create a home for all work and then create a weekly check in of work completion. I like to have a “ketchup” and “pickles” day. Students who have not finished work for the week must “ketchup” while students who have, get to “pickles” what they would like to do for center time. It works great as a motivator!
If you loved these tips and want more, check out additional tricks for center accountability HERE !
All of these components will ensure you have the best time during centers every day. To go even more in depth, check out my FREE ultimate guide to center setup success. This will walk you through exactly how to set up every part of centers successfully. The best part is you can grab it FREE by subscribing below!
Management
Center management is always the area teachers most reach out for support. It is SO important and can make or break center time. So how do we manage centers effectively? Here are a few easy management favorites to think through during centers setup.
First thing first is to determine what type of centers you’ll have in your classroom. There are so many different types that work well, such as free flowing, must do/may do, rotations, and more. You can also choose a combination of these centers that run smoothly. Remember that great guide I mentioned earlier? You can take your center management style quiz and find out which best suits you! Subscribe below and snag it! Once you figure out what type of centers you will have, then you can work on how to manage them.
One of my biggest tips is creating a simple framework that works. My simple, super effective framework includes having the same type of center with different skills each week. What does this mean exactly? It means I teach the students a simple center type that they can play all year and I simply change out the skills when they are ready for a new challenge. Some of my favorites are Roll and Read, Fluency Poems, Phonics Game Boards, and there is so much more! These centers are fun, simple, and easy for students to complete independently, which means it WORKS all year long. Grab the Growing Bundle of no prep hands on centers for all these and more!
No Prep Hands On Center Activities
Small group interruptions can also be a huge nuisance during center time that will mess with your management. An important part of your center management system needs to teach students how off limits you are during small group time. Luckily I’ve got you covered with some more helpful freebies to support you and students. Check out our Do Not Disturb sign that is a wonderful help below. You can grab it FREE!
And if you have students who NEED help no matter what… try a Waiting Room! It’s an engaging and very easy management tool to implement. Simply display your Waiting Room sign, put numbered clothespins on the sign, and when students need something, they grab a number to bring back to their desk and continue working. When you’re ready you can help each student that has a clip in the order they pulled them! They still get their needs met, after practicing some patience, without interrupting you. A total win-win. This is another must have freebie you can gain access to in the freebie library by subscribing below!
First Weeks of School
The first weeks are crucial to a successful year with centers. It’s important to take your time and GO SLOW. Centers setup requires ample time to run smoothly. Start by teaching students one center at a time and have EVERYONE practice simultaneously. This avoids the dreaded, “I don’t know what to do.” While practicing, take pictures of students exhibiting the desired behaviors and add those to your anchor chart for students to see exactly what is expected.
Centers Expectations Lesson Kit
During those first few weeks, plan on being there for support for every little thing and slowly get less involved. I DO NOT start pulling students for small groups until weeks three or four depending on how students are working with groups and independently. This ensures students learn how to solve their own problems before I become unavailable. Take a look at some of our charts we built together and learn even more first-week tips HERE!
The One Tool You Need
Want to dive into centers but not sure where to start? Don’t worry, I’ve got you COVERED with the jam-packed Centers Management Ultimate Kit! You will have everything you need to take charge of centers and THRIVE from day one. Students will know EXACTLY what to do and you’ll have everything planned out for YOU! Grab yours now with the link below!
Centers Management Ultimate Kit
These first weeks of practice are CRUCIAL to how the whole year will run. Just remember, I WANT to be there to support you! Centers are a beautiful thing when done right and you will LOVE this time in your day. Let me help you through every step of the way! I HIGHLY recommend you enroll in the course that will allow you to say goodbye to the hassles of classroom chaos and hello to confident, effective centers – Mastering Centers for Good!
I really hope you enjoyed learning all about creating successful centers for the entire year with your students! Be sure to check out all the other tools included to support you in your centers setup journey. And believe me, it is a journey worth taking! Don’t forget to subscribe to my email list! Not only will you get the most up to date tips, tricks, and classroom projects… and of course more fun FREEBIES including the Mastering Classroom Centers For Good: Turning Chaos into Calm Guide FREEBIE! You will also have exclusive access to tons of digital how-to videos! If you would like to learn about this and other things happening in my classroom follow me @sweetnsauerfirsties on Instagram.
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I absolutely LOVE the Waiting Room clip chart! I use it every morning for those who want/need to visit the media center. However…my OCD self is bothered by the fact that #1 on the chart is blue and #1 on the circle for the clip is purple. If you ever visit it again, would you consider changing one so they match? Thanks so much!!
Hi! Thank you for calling this to my attention. I will fix it ASAP and get it re-uploaded to the freebie library!