Small Group Areas

 

      Small group areas usually consist of a reading area, centers area, and art area. These small group areas can also be used as a general meeting area in the room. Teachers who seek to provide their students with a student-centered environment will need to create small group areas in their classroom. These areas allow students to work with a group and learn how to collaborate well with others. These areas should be placed in areas in the room where the teacher can observe and monitor the students at all times. The job of the teacher in a student-centered environment is to walk around these small group areas and aid in the learning process of the students.

 

      Students may work in an area in the room for reading. These small group areas can be used to allow students to have some down time to read. It can also be used for students to discuss the reading material that was presented in class or was assigned for homework. Teachers may also choose to work with a small group of students to review the reading assignments or help those who appear to be struggling. Students may also meet in a small group to do centers. Centers are where students come to work on a special activity or to study a particular topic. A center will often have special materials such as a computer, learning games, and worksheets. Centers may be designed to reflect upon a science topic, social studies topic, writing topic, etc. This area of the room is great for giving students more opportunity to explore and expand their knowledge on a particular topic. Students may also meet in an area of the room to work on an art project. This area will usually consist of colored pencils, markers, paint, scissors, etc. In this small group area students will work together to create a piece of art work or create their own art work. I believe that as a future educator it will be necessary to create a student-centered environment with small group areas in order to accommodate all of my students. I believe that it is also necessary for the teacher to work with small group areas in order to accommodate all of his or her students learning needs. Here is a short clip of a teacher explaining who she believes small groups are necessary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8if72ROI7ws.