Wow, another post? I must be on a roll, or was just snowed in up in the great white north for a few days, you may never know.
Centers, one of my favorite things. I loved being able to create tasks that students were able to take the lead on as I sat back and watched them work and guided them along their journey. Some students would jump right in to the task while others needed a little extra hand holding. This was ok though and gave me not only insight to the student’s level of ability but also allowed me to do some observational assessment as well.
Since I was a music teacher, doing centers in my room was a little tougher to schedule but I was able to get creative with it. There are two types of centers that are useful and can be done in the music classroom. The first are permanent centers, ones where they are always in a space in your classroom and can be used by students during certain periods of the class or day. These are the perfect type of center for students who need a little extra challenge or for some who need a little extra practice.
The second type of center are ones that are just temporary and are used as the instruction rather than a permanent center. There were times that I would schedule centers for grades 3-5 and would do them for the entire week. I saw each class at least 1-2 times a week and saw all my grade 3-5 classes in the morning so I could have centers set up all morning at different ability levels, have students come in and sit, explain the schedule for the period and directions, and then set them free. If I saw the class twice that week I would just let them come in and go since they already knew the directions.
I’ve already written a lot about centers on this blog, here are a couple of the good ones!
One of my most popular posts about a centers kit for your classroom!
Some center ideas to start your day!
Some out of the box ideas for center time.
Ready for Music in the Schools Month?
What kind of centers have you done? What could you try out in the new year?
The Celtic Novelist 