Learning Centers for the Middle School Classroom
How to structure and implement learning centers in the middle school classroom.
By Dawn Dodson
Learning centers should provide essential practice, support, enrichment, or reinforcement of skills and concepts taught. As a middle school language arts teacher, I incorporate learning centers to differentiate my instruction. The goal is to set aside a time each week to focus on individual learning needs, and provide intervention and enrichment opportunities for everyone. In the middle school setting, learning centers can be difficult to implement due to time constraints, class size, and space - but it is certainly possible.
My primary objective is to find ways to be able to meet with students one-on-one and in small groups in order to provide remediation of skills/concepts covered in class. I place students in groups based on class assessment results, both formal and informal. Once I have established “who needs what” I find independent activities for the remainder of the class to work on while I work with small groups. Since I already have plenty of things to plan and paperwork to keep track of, I try not to add to my daily tasks; otherwise my “plan” wouldn’t last two weeks! I want the center activities to be meaningful for students and simple for me to assess.
After some searching, I found a learning center model that addressed the levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy, and provided an easy means to monitor student progress. Using this model, I pick a story or poem and design activities that address levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. I place folders with activties in different areas of the classroom, and students are given a week to complete the tasks. I create a few different assignments highlighting literary concepts covered in class, pulling out key words. For example, I would have students practice the "application" level of Bloom's Taxonomy by asking students a question like “What elements within the story would you change in order to alter the ending of the story?” Students can choose to work on activities independently at the learning center, or in groups.
I also allow students to choose short stories and poems to complete tasks. I pull out a variety of short story and poetry books for students to use. Students are then instructed to choose a story or poem, read it, and complete the activities at the learning centers. According to the student's ability level, I adjust the assignment accordingly. One student might be summarizing, while another might be evaluating.
For assessment purposes, students have a labeled folder in which they turn in completed assignments. During our individual/group time, students share their folder with me. This allows me to assess and discuss answers/responses simultaneously with students, while not adding to the grading load. So far, using Bloom's Taxonomy is the best strategy I have found to differentiate instruction and to meet students’ individual learning needs. Below you can find more ideas to help you implement learning centers in your classroom.
Learning Centers for the Middle School Classroom Lesson Plans:
This practical lesson has a variety of writing center ideas and activities that students can complete individually or in a small group. The activities can be easily modified to accommodate younger and older students.
Guided and Independent Reading
This lesson contains a variety of literature activities that can be used with students at any reading level. Students complete the activities independently or in a small group. This lesson addresses the structure of both guided and independent reading times as well as material lists.
This fine lesson describes how to create a year-long learning center that requires students to use a dictionary and to keep track of terms defined. This lesson can be used for any theme, and could be restructured for general classroom use and resource book practice. Bulletin board and assessment record ideas are included.
