Welcome back to The Not So Wimpy Teacher Podcast! In this week’s episode I am going to share tips on how to make reading centers easier to manage. Reading centers aren’t just about being busy; they’re about being busy with stuff that is helping to move them forward. Reading centers use activities that review and practice those reading skills that you absolutely need to have them master. 

Center time can get chaotic, so I learned how to make my center time more meaningful and better managed so I could handle it as a teacher. I know planning for centers can get really time consuming, so here are some tips to help you get some hours back in your life! I hope some of these spark ideas that will make a difference in how you create and run your reading centers. 

Tips from this episode:

• Spend all the time up front so you are prepared for the whole year, then review them a couple of times throughout the year. 
• Model your center procedures and then model them again! 
• Use anchor charts that record what it should look and sound like during center time. 
• Have a student model what NOT to do! Then, have the students point out what he did wrong and model the correct behavior. 
• Have students show YOU how to do center time. 
• Get a few of the centers started during your reading groups to help students get started on the right track. 
• Use consistent centers! Don’t waste time digging for new information each week. 
• Use things that won’t change all year like read-to-self, reading response center stations, and center technology!
• Use centers that focus on a specific skill. 
• Limit the number of transitions. 

CHECK OUT MY READING CENTERS

Help yourself out by getting a whole bundle; you’ll thank yourself later! We want your students to do well independently, so plan for a variety of center activities that will set them up for success. 

I hope you are inspired by these tips and create great reading centers for you students this year. 

Want more Not So Wimpy Teacher tips and tricks? Find tons of resources on our website at www.notsowimpyteacher.com and follow me on Instagram @notsowimpyteacher where I share daily!

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