Top 4 Mistakes When Using Centers in Lower Elementary Classrooms

Listen to the Full Episode on Top 4 Mistakes When Using Centers in Elementary Classrooms:

Do you have a love-hate relationship with centers in your classroom? I've been there. Managing and planning for centers in lower elementary classrooms is challenging.

There's so much to think about, between planning activities, organizing resources, and managing off-task students ... all while trying to teach small groups! You probably know that your classroom centers could be effective, but with the way they're going now, it feels like students are just doing "busy work" or like you're constantly managing interruptions when you could be teaching small groups.

In today's episode, we're covering the top 4 common mistakes that elementary teachers make when implementing centers in their classroom. These mistakes are ones I've personally experienced and know that when shifting away from them, centers can be more purposeful, and students can be more independent with.

What's Covered on Classroom Centers:

• What centers might look like when you're making these "mistakes." (Including my own personal experiences with this).
• How using more student choice can increase engagement (and decrease the amount of interruptions you get).
• What could be leading to students being completely off task during centers.
• A time-saving hack for you that also helps students build confidence and independence

Resources Mentioned In the Episode:

• Read this blog post on Organizing Centers to Maximize Student Independence
• Check out these Editable Math and Literacy Center Slides with Automatic Timers

Connect with Stephanie

• Connect with me on Instagram @teachinglittleleaders
• Subscribe to Teacher Time Tuesdays and get time-saving teacher hacks in your inbox every week