This is what we started with this week:
The Puzzle Table- a definite hit with students of all grade levels! I'll change this out as the puzzle is completed.
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| An ocean themed puzzle paired with ocean related books |
The Pop-Up Book Center- FINALLY I have a way to share the pop-up books with students! Even the books that come with the extra inserts, like this year's Texas Bluebonnet winner Postcards From Camp, are perfect for this table.
The Bookmark Center- students have card stock, markers, crayons, etc to create their own bookmarks. For the younger students, there our bookmarks to color. Stickers would make a great addition to this center.
The Research Center- here, students are given the opportunity to research a topic of their choice using databases and resources provided by the library. Bubble maps are at the station so that students can document their learning. Students enjoyed using TrueFlix while here, as well as WebPath Express. The hardest part seemed to be narrowing the topic, which would make a great library lesson in the near future!
The Almanac Center- I found a set of almanacs with a question of the day flip chart in the media closet. The almanacs are a bit outdated, but the students are still enjoying them. I also added a 2013 almanac to the table for the students to compare. There are activities to go with the almanacs but the students enjoyed just looking through it on their own for the first time. I even had a teacher come through and learn a couple of new things! :)
The Book Review Center- This is something I have done in the past and it fit perfectly into the library centers. Students will create a speech bubble with the title, author and a short summary of a book they have recently enjoyed. These will be displayed in the library windows for other students to use when searching for a good book to read.
Leisure Reading Area- The LRA is always an option for students because sometimes you just want to read the book you just checked out! It was surprising that with all of the new centers, several students in each class wanted to READ. Love it!
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| After one of these girls finished her book, she passed it to her friend and went on to the next one! |
Depending on the grade level, small adjustments had to be made during the week. When 1st grade came in and enjoyed A Butterfly is Patient by Dianna Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long, they had the option of going to a table with butterfly books as one of the centers. Students used the books to draw and write about butterflies.
As one of the other librarians said, centers won't replace reading books with the students, but it is a nice addition to our library program! Now for some fine-tuning for week 2 of the library centers! Any other center ideas??
Way to go! I've been super happy with my centers--looks like your students are liking them and are engaged. You'll have to keep us all posted on your revisions and thoughts as your centers rotate/change.
ReplyDeleteSandi
Thanks, Sandi! We are loving it! This week, I added microscopes borrowed from a science class. They are enjoying those also. :)
DeleteWhat about having students create their own magnetic poetry? Cut out words from magazines and use magnet tape. I've done it before where students tape the words onto a ticket (from your standard carnival, door prize roll) and that makes the word more durable. Magnets can be put on metal serving trays from a dollar store.
ReplyDeleteCarolyn, that is a great idea, especially with April coming! Thanks for the idea! :) Shawna
DeleteYour centers look great! I love the almanac center idea. I have a set of old ones I'm going to pull out, thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDelete@Okle_Miller
Thank you, Audrey! The ones I am using are from 2003! Fortunately, I bought a 2013 at the book fair! :)
DeleteWhat a great idea. I love it!
ReplyDeleteThanks Suzanne! We are having a good time with them! :)
DeleteTerrific sum up of #TLElem chat and love how you are using centers in your library. I am going to add the magnetic poetry to mine in April thanks to Carolyn who suggested it in your comments. Nice post.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could have a Listening center with cd/cassette player or iPad/tablets, fiction/nonfiction sort using books or little photos from Book Fair flyers, Caldecott Committee - students pretend they were on the committee and pick out the book with the illustrations they like best & justify, draw new covers for "forgotten" books - select books that are good but just haven't been checked out often & have students draw new covers for them or make up advertisements like posters, brochures, or book trailers.
ReplyDeleteThose are GREAT ideas! I am taking a break from centers for a couple of weeks and will bring them back the first week of May. I LOVE the idea of creating posters for books that haven't been checked out recently, especially since I am doing the Shelf Challenge! Thanks for sharing!
DeleteShawna
Hello! I stumbled upon your library via Pinterest but it turns out we have a mutual acquaintance as I am going to be video conferencing with April Leppla and some of the kinder and first grade classes at Curtis Elementary. I am a librarian in El Paso, Texas and I am always looking for new ideas to jazz up my library and library activities. Love all of the wonderful things you are doing in your library! Please stop by my webpage at hrmoyelibrary.weebly.com.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment! I saw some of the kinders getting ready for your "visit" and they were very excited! I would love to connect our libraries next school year! I am bookmarking your library page! Have a great summer!
DeleteShawna
I have a NOOK center, a "be the illustrator center" (art), geography center with a talking globe, talking map, and Geo-Safari, Puppet center, storytelling/felt board center, listening center, computer center with my website as the homepage, TAG reading center with a tag reading pen and books
ReplyDeleteMaria LaBarbera
Lake Ridge School
Maria, thank you for all of the great ideas! I have some additional centers for the new school year and I might have to borrow some of your centers! We are hoping to implement a "makerspace" as well as a "citizen scientist" area. I'll try to share how that goes in the fall. Enjoy the rest of your summer!
DeleteShawna
Hello! I am new to the Library and am hoping to implement centers. What is the timing like? Thank you for all of the fabulous ideas!
ReplyDeleteMarney
Marney, thanks for checking out my blog! I have 45 minutes with each class. On weeks that I have centers out, I have the students check out books first and then they can go to the center of their choice. I only have 5 chairs for each center, so students know that when chairs are full, the center is closed. I don't leave the centers out all the time because I also want to have time to teach lessons and read books. :) Hope this helps! Cari Young has a book on centers that would be helpful for you and there are several other librarians on Twitter that are doing wonderful things with centers! You can check out Mrs. Lodge's Library blog for more ideas! http://www.mrs-lodges-library.com/centers/ Good luck!
DeleteI think in my little library I would need some type of center rotation schedule...any ideas on how to do that? Do you just let the kids choose?
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by! I do not have a center rotation for a couple of reasons. First, I like the students to be real excited about their center, so I let them pick the one they are most interested in. I try to make sure that there is variety in the centers. Second, I see the students for their 45 minute library time every other week. On the week they don't come for the 45 minutes, they come in with their teacher for "quick check in/check out" and there is not enough time for centers. That being said, for me, trying to work out a rotation schedule is more than my brain can handle! ;) I have the centers out for just 2 weeks each 6 weeks, so each class will have one center week per six weeks. This works for me, but others do it much differently. See above for other resources for library centers. -Shawna
DeleteI added centers this week and so far they are fairly successful. I decided that since we have a large influx of new students that I would have one center be a reading survey. I also had abc order, a heart writing area where students can write about Valentines day or create a Valentine poem and lastly was the leisure reading area with our stuffed buddies a selection of stuffed animals students could read to or with. I will vary complexity as we go and am working on tying more into the current lessons of research.
ReplyDeleteDo you allow students to change centers during their library time?
ReplyDeleteWe generally do not have time to change centers during our time. Only 5 students are able to be at each space, so if they want to switch with someone, I don't mind them doing that. It is usually "controlled chaos" and some switching might happen. :)
DeleteI'm not exactly sure how to carry out setting up centers. How much time do you see each class? How long is your actual lesson?
ReplyDeleteI see each class for 45 minutes. I have the centers out on the tables, so that after students check out books, they can choose their center. I explain to students that there can only be 5 people at each station, and no one can stand around the table. It has also been explained that they must make good book choices & be in good standing (books turned in, new books checked out) to choose first. Everyone gets to go, but if a students is missing a library book,etc, they will have to wait until everyone has selected their station. During center days, I do not teach a lesson. I usually have the library centers out for 2 weeks each six weeks, as it takes me 2 weeks to see every class. Hope this helps!
DeleteI'm a first year librarian and I just started centers last week. I have the following centers: Puzzles, Accelerated Reader, Tablets(Digital/eBooks), Word Games, Reading Games, Art, Technology, Leisure Reading) It is really easy to set up for each center because I don't need much paper(copies). My students are in assigned groups and they rotate to a new center each week. They are pretty satisfied with each center because they're able to do activities that they don't normally get a chance to do in their academic classes. So far, I'm only trying them for my 1st-5th graders. It's really made things so much easier for me. I'm able to do book checkout in small groups. The students are so eager to return to their groups, so they don't spend much idle time searching for books as they used to do.
ReplyDelete