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Becca Eccleston

Cathy Lemble

ED 488

20 November 2016

3 Literacy Centers

This is a writing center that is geared towards Kindergarten. There are five activities in

this center that are developmentally appropriate for students who are in Kindergarten. The

activities focus on writing letter and numbers, tracing letters, practice writing words, and creating

their own book. These activities are appropriate for Kindergarten children because the students

are working on writing their letters and numbers. The students are also working on creating

things that come from their mind and being able to write and express what they are imagining

and learning. These learning centers will be worked into the classroom environment by having

areas on the outer walls of the classroom as well as using extra tables or empty areas in the

classroom. For example, The post office center could be along the outer wall of the classroom

with small cubby boxes similar to mailboxes. The centers will be functional so that there does

not have to be rearrangement throughout the day. The children will have access to these centers

during the free center play at the beginning of the school day, if a child needs a break or a

different space to work, and at the end of the day during center time when all students will rotate

through the centers each day.

I would like to hear recommendations from the children and at times I may have students

vote on the labs if I am undecided about what to choose for a lab. The learning should be

focused around the children and I want to know what their interests are, not what I think their
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interests are. If I read a book about firefighters and the students do not show a lot of interest I

would probably not add that into a center, instead I may ask what theyd like to have instead.

The activities in the writing center are:

1 Rainbow writing- The students will write over the letters in their name or site words. Each
time the student writes the word they choose a new color.
2 Post Office- The students will be able to write letters, notes, or pictures to classmates, family
members, and the teacher. When it is the students rotation turn in the center they will be able to
send a reply to their classmate or teacher.
3 Forming letters- Students will be able to practice their fine motor skills while tracing letters on
paper, over page sleeves, on a white board, etc. This activity is used to get the extra practice of
handwriting.
4 Shopping Time- Students will choose items they want from a catalog and write down what
the item is. The catalogs can be DIY and made from cutting out images from magazines and
making our own catalog.
5 Make a book- There will be blank book pages that the students can use to create their own
story. The students can construct the books how theyd like to and add words or not. We would
encourage the students to try and use words (Taylor, 2011).

This math center is geared towards Kindergarten students and their beginning math skills.

At least five activities at each center. The activities that I have chosen are developmentally

appropriate for beginning Kindergarten number skills because it allows the students who are a

little more advanced to be able to work on different skills, and it also allows students who are a

bit behind to get the extra practice that they may need to be more successful. During the centers

the teacher can also work around the room and watch the students as they are completing the

activities to determine if extra help is needed or if the students need to be pushed academically.

These math learning centers will be placed in areas around the room either together in one

corner, or at separate areas along the outer walls of the classroom. The center will be labeled

with a sign and the class will go on tours to learn about the different parts of the centers in the

classroom. The children will have access to these centers during the first part of the morning

when all the students are coming into the classroom. The children will also have access during

math time if they need extra manipulatives or help and there is another adult in the room who can
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assist with this task. At the end of every day there will be a scheduled amount of times when the

children will be able to rotate through the different parts of the center. For example. Monday

they may be in the math center, so they can participate in all of those activities. Then, on

Tuesday they may be in the writing center, Wednesday in reading, etc. The children will have

access to these centers during those times of the day because unfortunately we cannot play in the

centers during the entire part of the day. At the times when designated the children may be in the

labs, however they may also be in the centers if they need extra help or time to themselves. The

time at the end of the day will be designated for the students to be able to spend an extended

amount of time in each center and to explore as they wish.

I would like to allow the children to have a voice in the center activities because I think it

is important for the children to have a say in what they are learning. Some of the activities will

be determined by me, such as what the topic will be. However, the activities that the children

participate in that relates to the topic can be chosen by the students. In a core subject area such

as math it can be helpful to allow the students to give their input and to see what they like in

regards to the topic because if they are uninterested or do not like the activity then they may not

want to complete the activity.

The activities for the math center are:

1 Write the room- Students have clipboard and are allowed to move around the classroom, or a
small designated area to count different objects such as: pencil boxes, chairs, coat hooks, windos,
etc.
2 Link Numbers- This activity works on the students fine motor skills and counting. The
students will practice ordering number cards together (7,8,9 or 9,10,11,12) and then using links
or clips to piece together the number cards. Linking together the cards works on motor skills.
3 Playdough Numbers- With the use of rubber mats with #s on them the students will use
playdough to make the correct # of objects. For example, place mat 5 the student can roll out 5
balls and place them on the mat. Then, the student will use the clay to create the number as it
would be written. They can do this my rolling out the dough, filling in the # outline or
whichever way they think is best.
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4 Pattern Practice- The teacher will create patterns for students to make. The students will then
use real objects such as crayons, bears, dinosaurs, etc to create the pattern from the cards that the
teacher has created. Patterns with objects that can be found in the classroom or at the activity
station would work best for the student to be able to better recognize.
5 Color/Number Sorting. In a sand box or other type of box with sides will be a sensory bin. IN
the sensory bin there will be fake grass or shredded paper. The teacher will hide papers with a
number on it for the students to find. Once the paper is found, then the student must search the
bin for the correct number of objects. After, the objects have been collected, then the student can
sort into whichever type of groups they wish to create (McGuire, 2013).

In this dramatic play area it will be geared towards younger children, such as

Kindergarten or preschool. The activities that are chosen are developmentally appropriate to the

Kindergarten and/or pre school age group because that is a wonderful age to allow the children to

still be exploring what exactly it is that they enjoy. These learning centers will be in one area of

the classroom towards a corner because a lot of space may be needed. The center may also get a

bit loud if the children are very excited and having fun with what they are doing. This center

area could be used when reading aloud to the class if the story has multiple characters. This area

could also be used as another lesson such as story telling. The children can make up their own

stories and then perform them to the class. Children will have access to this center in the

morning before school, during classroom activities such as read aloud, and at the end of the day

for the designated time period for center rotations. Each child will get the opportunity to stay in

one center for the day, and then the next day they will move with their same group to another

center. To give the children more freedom it can be permitted for them to choose a new center

each day. Having a center like this that is very interactive and engaging by having it available

and open to children in the morning it may wake some of them more awake for the day. Having

these center activities available to children at the end of the day also allows them to interact with

their peers who they may not normally talk to. By having these rotations of centers it may be
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helpful so that some of the more quiet children are able to be in different groups and see if they

open up.

The children will have a voice in the classroom. I think it is very meaningful to watch a

child have their voice and opinion heard. In a center like this some children may be quite shy

and not likely to participate, but by having 5 different options hopefully there is something there

that grabs there attention. For the children who may have language delays this center will give

them an opportunity to practice speaking and using words that they may be familiar with. For

the children who may have sensory issues this center could be a bit overwhelming for them,

however since there are 5 different options the amount of children at each will be small so they

may feel more comfortable with less peers. I would like to hear input from the children and to

take into consideration the observations I have made of the children while they are completing

the centers. Depending on the childrens responses I will change the centers accordingly and ask

the children for the input on what theyd like to be able to explore next. This center is meant to

be changed throughout the year depending on the unit topics we are exploring (Levin, 2010).

The activities for the dramatic play center are:

1 Restaurant- This are will have a small table with chairs, place settings, fake food, menus,
chalkboard, etc. In this area the children will be able to create their own restaurant and act as the
servers, host, chef, etc.
2 Grocery Store- The children will have access to fake food set up in stands like a grocery store,
a cash register, shopping carts and baskets, reusable grocery bags, etc. The children can create
their own shopping lists. They can also use the grocery store if they need ingredients for the
restaurant.
3 Post Office- This activity will have small mailboxes, small cubbies, envelopes, stamps, ways to
write letters, send letters, etc. If the children would like to play that they are delivering mail they
can go to the other post office station in the classroom and mail their letters there.
4 Camping/Outdoors- There will be a tent, lawn chairs, a fake campfire, trees, camping
accessories, maps, sleeping bags, guidebooks,etc. The children can explore the area and use the
grocery store to buy food to take on their camping trip.
5 Farm Stand- This will be kind of like a farmers market type stand with more fake foods for the
children to buy. They can also use the recycled objects to create their own objects to sell at the
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farm stand (honey, salsa, etc). This farm stand, grocery store, and
restaurant would all be in the same unit of centers together and act as a
farm to table type of lesson for the children.
L to R: Math center, writing center, and dramatic play center visual
maps.
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References

Levin, V. (2010). Dramatic Play Center in Preschool Pre-K and Kindergarten. Retrieved

November 20, 2016, from http://www.pre-kpages.com/dramaticplay/

McGuire, M. (2013, July 16). Math Stations Tips. Retrieved November 19, 2016, from

http://differentiatedkindergarten.com/math-stations-tips-and-freebie-linky/

Taylor, S. (2011, December 2). A Kindergarten Writing Center in Action | Scholastic.com.

Retrieved November 20, 2016, from

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/2011/12/kindergarten-writing-center-action