Not So Wimpy Teacher Podcast

Welcome back to the Not So Wimpy Teacher podcast!   Do you think of centers as time-wasters?    Today we’re talking about centers and why I’ve loved them ever since my first year of teaching.    I love an activity that stretches my students’ learning, but they also think it is fun, and centers do that for me. I’m going to teach you how to improve the quality of student work in your centers so that you don’t have to worry about them wasting precious classroom time.    By the end of this episode, you’ll know when and how to use centers effectively in your classroom.    Episode 87 Takeaways:  + Take time to model exactly what you want your students to do.  + Review procedures that you taught your students before winter break.  + Make sure your students are confident about what they’re doing. + Add consistency to your centers.  + Use centers as a review.  + Give your students some choice during center time.  + Give students a simple rubric or checklist.  + Make time for corrections. + Celebrate your students’ suc