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K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

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centers

Learn more about centers

Sample classroom floor plans
Basic floor plans and explanations for a traditional classroom, discussions/debates, a horseshoe arrangement, and centers.
By Mitch Katz.
Let's be firefighters!!!
In this lesson, we will look at firefighters and the role they play in our community. This lesson will familiarize the students with the types of equipment used by firefighters, the special clothing worn by firefighters, and the responsibilities each of them have in our community.
Format: lesson plan (grade K Social Studies)
By Lavonne Holland.
Chinese art and writing
In Northern and coastal Vietnam: Waterway settlements and Chinese influences, page 11
Ethnic Chinese populations are found in all urban and trade centers of Vietnam, but they are particularly large in Hoi An. Thus the frequent use of Chinese characters in art and on public buildings. The plaque this artisan is making depicts an outdoor mountain...
By Lorraine Aragon.
Geography centers
A geography unit in which students investigate and compare their hometowns and other cities. The unit incorporates nine centers: math, science, social studies, reading, writing, computers, puzzles and games, art, and listening. They all have activities that are integrated with the geography unit.
Format: lesson plan (grade 2 Visual Arts Education, English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies)
By Laurie Perry.
Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center at Purchase Knob
Visit the Learning Center at Lake Junaluska and participate in a scientific research program that focuses on the scientific method, air quality, or soil health.
Format: article/field trip opportunity

Find all 200 resources in our collection.

Instructional and organizational strategy in which groups of students rotate through various work stations in the classroom, each with a different learning task or goal. Centers present students with a variety of activities and supply necessary resources and materials to meet the learning task. Centers may have a developmental or educational focus.

Additional information

Classroom centers may be arranged around a particular topic (for example, five science centers related to plant growth) or to present a variety of lessons concurrently (such as a language arts center, a math center, and a science center). Organizational considerations include the size limitations of the classroom space and the preferred number of students in a group.

Examples and resources

Sydney Brown’s article “Arranging for Independence” describes a kindergarten teacher’s use of centers to foster student independence. Kathleen Casson’s article “One Room, Many Uses” describes centers in an eighth-grade science classroom.