But Aren't Centers Noisy?

Students working on literacy centers can get noisy if they are not properly managed. This means you need to be proactive and expect to have to tell your students they are too loud. Be prepared by setting up procedures and materials to handle this occurrence. 

• have a variety of places in your room for students to work: tablecloths, blankets, carpet squares, clipboards, cookie sheets, small desks, in the warm weather I let them sit outside the classroom window
• have a signal such as a bell (try out the Whisper Bell idea from Teacher Tipster) or a clap to let students know they are too loud so you can signal without words if you are working with a small group
• I saved my broken computer headphones over the years (just cut off the cords) for students to either wear when they are in a center or to wear if they are completing an assignment while the other students are in a center. The headphones are hanging up where students can get them whenever they want to use them. They aren't Bose noise-cancelling headphones but they do the job!