The Puzzle Center is a station at the end of my counter. It has a puzzle between 60-100 pieces. I display books relating to the theme of the puzzle. Students can choose to race a timer to see if they can hold the current record regarding how fast the puzzle can be completed. Examples from the past include: a koala puzzle with non-fiction books on Australia and worksheets, a world map puzzle with atlases on display, and a Hungry Caterpillar puzzle with Eric Carle books on display.
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This center has activities to inspire students to create their own graphic novel. The comic book format is especially great for getting reluctant readers excited about reading. Comic books improve inference skills(reading between the lines,) create confidence, and boost camaraderie. We keep example of graphic novels like Dog Man here along with a few comic book templates to get the students started. Similar to board games, card games are also a great way to develop social skills. These card games are all housed in the same bin and include: Uno, Phase 10, Old Maid, Go Fish, and Spot It(original and Christmas editions.)
This center is stocked with dry erase markers and boards. We also have a collection of write and wipe activity books in this bin. This is frequently a popular place to connect with other students over a game of hangman. At least once a week the books and boards must be cleaned with dry erase cleaner. This is a great job for that student who always wants to help.
This center consists of plastic pieces that you can connect multiple ways to build the ultimate run for marbles. Our marble run will help students develop refine problem solving skills while increasing their creativity, patience, focus, spatial awareness, and motor skills. When students invite a partner or two they also practice cooperating and team building.
In this center you can find a mini projector that projects the moon onto the wall. This is a very detailed display with all the lakes and craters visible. We have a selection of books on the night sky. There is also a deck of cards on the constellations. You can work with a partner to see how many you can recognize without peeking at the answer. We also have an activity in this center where you can make a set of your own constellations to project up on the ceiling with a flashlight. There is a magnetic solar system play set. Finally there is a key ring space torch that will project a set of 3 slideshows on the wall of NASA photos. Board games are a great way to learn and improve the social skills that are vital to becoming successful at communicating, dealing with difficult people, collaboration and compromise. We have a great selection of games to choose from including: Chess, Checkers, Sorry!, Boggle JR, Connect Four, Art Memory and Totally Gross!
We have coloring pages of various levels from simple to adult with a container of colored pencils. We keep the original books in the office to make copies as we run out. There are also plenty of great spots online to print out free coloring pages for whatever current interests there are. Higher end colored pencils and a great sharpener make this center more popular. Crayons and markers are available for those who prefer them.
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Mrs. LandisProviding library services at Lorain City Schools since 2015. Archives
April 2018
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