Valerie

Posted on 6/13/09

On 6/04/06, Kelly wrote:
> On 6/04/06, Pennie wrote:
>> Has anyone read the book Teaching with Smart Centers by
>> April DeCesare? I was wondering if it would be useful in
>> my 1st grade classroom and if it is worth the money.
>
>
> Our district had a whole day long training on smart
> centers. It is a great idea... it will take A LOT of
> prep... but then not a lot of up-keep. The IDEA is great if
> your students can be independant for close to 45 minutes.
> They say that you can teach any type of child to work well
> with smart centers because they are so engaging and that it
> also doesnt matter about ability level... they adapt
> themselves to meet the needs of the students.
> I personally have taken some of the ideas and adapted them
> to fit my 2nd grade class and my personality. I do no own
> the book but rather the handouts and notes that I took.
>
> The first grade teachers from my school thought that it was
> REALLY far fetched for their level....
>
> I guess it all depends on your class and their behavior and
> their level and your style.
>
> Also... time... depending on how many days you have for
> it... and how much time you have for it daily.
>
> I dont know if I was any help...
> I just kinda rambled!... SORRY! :-)

When I was in the regular classroom the past 3 years, I did use
Smart Centers in second, then first grades. I loved them, and
the kids loved them. I purchased every book that they had at
that time because it was easier to just copy the centers I
wanted during that rotation. When you use them for first
grade, you just have to use books that are fairly easy at the
beginning of the year. At that time, I would have them to read
the book twice since it was usually short.

It wasn't difficult for the kids to stay on task because they
were "fun" but yet they were learning. Sometimes they would
skip the writing activity, but I usually kept on top of that.
I loved the part of being able to allow my higher level kids to
do some challenging activities that are hard to get in the
classroom. I usually used 45 min. for first graders and 1 hour
for second and third graders. Yes, it was hard to allot that
amount of time, but I tried to get it in twice a week. I kind
of used it as an incentive, too. If they didn't have their
home work done from the night before, then they did it during
the first part of Smart Centers. They would still get the
reading and writing in, and part of the activity, but at least
they got their homework done in the process. My students
absolutely loved them, too. I was able to pull kids out after
they all got to the reading part to do a guided reading
activity.

Yes, it takes a while to get everything ready, but they would
last anywhere from 3-4 weeks. To me it's worth it to keep the
kids involved in learning and it was fun for them. I feel they
learned a lot and they were using cooperative and integrated
learning.

Valerie Murbarger
West Salem Grade School
West Salem, IL

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