Welcome back to the Not So Wimpy Teacher podcast!   Do you think of centers as time-wasters?    Today we’re talking about centers and why I’ve loved them ever since my first year of teaching.    I love an activity that stretches my students’ learning, but they also think it is fun, and centers do that for me. I’m going to teach you how to improve the quality of student work in your centers so that you don’t have to worry about them wasting precious classroom time.    By the end of this episode, you’ll know when and how to use centers effectively in your classroom.    Episode 87 Takeaways:  + Take time to model exactly what you want your students to do.  + Review procedures that you taught your students before winter break.  + Make sure your students are confident about what they’re doing. + Add consistency to your centers.  + Use centers as a review.  + Give your students some choice during center time.  + Give students a simple rubric or checklist.  + Make time for corrections. + Celebrate your students’ success.   I hope these tips help you and your students to love centers even more. Improving the quality of student work will make them more valuable in your classroom.    I’d love to know what other ideas you come up with, so head over to our Instagram @notsowimpyteacher to share those with me!    Resources Mentioned:  Reading Centers for 3rd Grade  Reading Response Menus for Grades 2 - 5 Math Centers for Grades 2 - 5   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!