using centers in the fl classroom

USING CENTERS IN THE FL CLASSROOM

NNELL Conference: 9/24/11Glastonbury, CT

Presenters: Augusta Gonzalez, Stefanie Sonstrom

ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD CENTERS

Familiar material Application Differentiation Time Accountability

CENTERS FOR THE TRAVELING TEACHER: Must be easy to set up and clean up. Must fit into a portable box or bin to be

stored on a cart. Should be activities that have already

been done or explained in a previous class.

Try to make centers that can be reused—for presentation, review and assessment.

PERMANENT CENTERS IN THE CLASSROOM Reading corner(books, stories, articles

with simple reports that students fill out to demonstrate comprehension.)

Writing Center – pictures/prompts that students use to inspire a writing sample.

Grammar Review- area with worksheets or games to practice grammar or with computers with internet access.

Listening Center- for one or two students ( use a splitter with 2 headphones) Students listen to a storybook or songs. Comprehension questions or cloze activities can accompany this activity.

USING DIFFERENT MODALITIES IN CENTERS: Viewing/Listening:http://www.bablingua.com/bl/icebreakers# http://www.miscositas.com/miscositastv.html Speaking Activities:http://www.worldatways.com/2009/04/03/voice/ Reading Activities:

http://zachary-jones.com/zambombazo/shakira-y-antonio-de-la-rua-se-dicen-adios/

Writing Activities: picture prompts/ story starters, whiteboards

EXAMPLES AND REFLECTIONS OF CENTERS IN A 7/8TH GRADE SPANISH CLASSROOM

SPANISH I REVIEW

STATIONSCarol Schlaefli

HMS2009

Station 1—Pick-an-Answer 7th and 8th: Classes and scheduleThree possible answers. Students put the golf tee in the hole of the answer they think is correct. They pull up the card. If it comes out, the answer is correct. (Correct answer has bottom of hole cut out)

Station 2—Worksheet Station7th grade—Regular verbs8th grade—Ir, Ir + a + place, Ir + a + infinitiveLaminated worksheets with answer sheets. Students check answers before moving on to the following station.

Station 3—Matching Cards 7th and 8th: Regular verb meaningsStudents have sentences with a missing verb. They have to match the verb to the sentence. In order to self-check, you can see the back of the cards at the top of the picture. Students know answer are correct when the stick on the back matches up.

Station 4—Pictures and Prepositions7th grade (shown) Classroom picture8th grade Community pictureStudents pick an item card (or a place in the community for 8th grade) and a preposition card. They are to form a sentence using that item (or place) and the preposition. Once students take turns sharing sentences, students had to write 3 sentences of their own based on the picture.

Station 5—Board Game7th grade Greetings and common expressions and questions8th grade Clothing/StorePlayed like a regular board game. Laminated bright paper has the answer key and game directions.

Station 6—Manipulatives and Worksheets7th grade: Subject pronouns (Create the subject pronouns chart and match the English meanings to the Spanish pronouns)8th grade: Comparative and Superlative formulas(put formulas in order)

I didn’t get a picture of this for some reason. After students completed the manipulative exercises, they completed a worksheet and then checked their answers.

Station 7—Matching7th and 8th: Food

Students had to match the word to the correct sentence. Students self-check answers to make sure that the sticker on the back matches up.

Station 8—Board Game7th and 8th: Irregular verbs (two different games)Students conjugate verbs (regulars and irregulars). I took this from an old worksheet I had titled “La rana Lucas” and changed the verbs to fit my needs. (Bright green sheet had answer key and directions)

Station 9—Keep-a-card/Take-a-card 7th grade: Classroom items and Definite and Indefinite Articles8th grade: Question words/ExpressionsThis is a game I made up. Students have a stack of 50 cards. They pick two cards at a time and put them face down. They turn them face up one at a time. If they answer correctly, they keep the card. If they answer incorrectly, student passes that card (and any other card that is still face down) to the team player to his/her right.

Station 10—Extreme Scattersquares7th grade: Ser + adjectives8th grade: Bedroom/House/ChoresI took the regular scattersquares idea and made it extreme! I bought two big blank calendars from Learning How and made a puzzle out of it. Puzzle was 6 x 7. The best part was actually having space to do more than just vocabulary words.

HOW DID IT GO?This was a really cool experience for

me as a teacher. Students were all actively engaged and reviewing and having fun! I loved watching them experience all of the different activities. I can’t wait to make more stations!

The favorites?Irregular verbs game, the Keep-a-card/Take-a-Card game, Pick-an-answer and the big scattersquares!

USING THE WEB TO EXPAND FROM CLASS CENTERS TO WORLD CENTERS The following examples of directions for

internet based centers were created by Dawn Rondot and shared in an ACTFL blog in 2010.

ESTACIÓN DOS # 1

Music video activity 1.) Watch a reggeaton video. http://vodpod.com/watch/1247509-calle-13-no-hay-nadie-como-tu-en-el-juegoOr F:\Tu.tv - Videos de Música - Video Calle 13 Café Tacuba - No Hay Nadie Como Tú (dedicatoria).m4v 2.) Please respond to the following:

Who is the artist (See lyric sheet)? ***Learning journal item*** Is there something about this video you like? How is the video like videos in your own culture? Where is the artist from? What is something interesting you learned about this artist? Did you recognize any words in the lyrics sheet? http://www.soundunwound.com/sp/contributor/view/Calle-13?contributorId=192158

Students can enjoy music from another culture. Students can compare cultural similarities and differences between cultures.

ESTACIÓN DOS # 2

2.) BBC video (Episode 3) http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/mividaloca/

Watch episode 3 After watching the video drama please select more practice

and listen to the grammar section Next click back to the practice section and practice el and la. (Episode practice pages are printed and in station notebook) Complete the first three practice sections on the smart board

Students can select directions and evaluate when to use el and la. (Review of el and la)

BBC WEBSITE

EPISODE 3

MOVIE START

GRAMMAR EXPLANATION

PRACTICE EL AND LA ON THE WEBSITE

VAMOS A PRACTICAR ESPANOL CON CENTROS DE APRENDIZAJE

Now you will have 3-5 minutes at each of the stations that we used with our 8th grade Spanish classes.

Manos a la obra!!!!!!

REFLECTIONS Name 1 center you would like to create

in your classroom tomorrow. Would you prefer permanent centers or

a centers day? How many centers do you need to

accommodate all of your students? List 3 centers that you can create easily.