Are you using science centers this year? I have to tell you- WELCOME! I am always getting questions so I am compiling all of the questions into one blog post!
Where do you get science centers from?
I get them from all over! In fact, I will purchase some from Teachers Pay Teachers. If I can’t find what I need, I will create my own. I have created a variety of them to use and I LOVE how they can be used as paper or digital.
Should you use paper or digital?
At the time of writing this, Coronavirus is still here. I plan on using digital science notes this year. If/When we go back to the classroom, I will probably continue with the digital version. The last thing that I need is to have a student get COVID. I do love having the students use this often (before COVID) on paper in my classroom. It was fun and engaging throughout the year. I highly recommend that you look at your students and figure out if COVID is still playing a role in your decisions.
How long are the centers?
I tend to spend fifteen minutes a day on this. I will spend 15 minutes a day but 5 days a week. By the end of the week, the students have spent over an hour on this. It definitely makes a difference in their learning because they are able to pick up things based on their own learning.
How do you grade the students?
Usually on Fridays, I have the students take a 10 question quiz on the topic. It is based around what they read for the week. If we run out of time, I will have them do it over the weekend as homework. It’s really not a hard quiz because we still have unit tests but this is a great way to follow up with what they learned.
How do you set up science centers?
Setting up science centers can be done by having 4 spots that they can go to. They can also just do the center at their desk. Usually when they get to me, they will have an experiment and that is always at my back table. The digital will be on their own personal computers since we are a 1:1 classroom.
Using Science Centers can be tricky!
Don’t let the science centers trip you up. You are able to control all of these centers and what you want the students to do. Let your students use science centers even if it’s for 15 minutes a week. Get into the groove of science centers!
Want to try some science centers?
Download a few science centers to use in your classroom immediately!
