By second grade, students should have a fast-expanding vocabulary, and learning centers are a good way to introduce them to new words and definitions. Choose a activities that challenge the students to put new words to work in a sentence and start identifying nouns, verbs and adjectives. Get students to form and write sentences in a creative way. Have students choose three cue cards from a basket. Write either a noun, a verb or an adjective on the cards. Tell the student to form two sentences using all three words in each. Students finish the center once they have recorded their two sentences, with accompanying illustrations, and hand it in to you. The same cue cards could be used in a sorting game, where each student places each word into the appropriate category by sorting them into baskets labeled NOUN, VERB and ADJECTIVE.
Second-grade math learning centers can focus on making practical use of students' addition and subtraction skills by applying their knowledge to money. Lay out several toys on a table, each one marked with a price tag that includes dollars and cents, such as $4.59 or $13.12. With play money in hand, have the student playing the customer pay the cashier for the item, and the cashier return the correct change to the customer. Have students perform this exercise four times, rotating roles each time. Students finish the center once they have correctly made all four transactions and recorded each detail of their transactions in their center workbooks.
Collage-making can teach students about composition, perspective and basic art materials. It also serves as an introduction to drawing. Have students create a collage that shows these concepts by placing and affixing solid colored shapes and magazine cut-outs in a meaningful arrangement. Demonstrate how small shapes and larger shapes can be used in layers to give the illusion of depth, foreground and background. Have students make two collages during this center -- one that focuses on a single theme and one that focuses on a single color.
In second grade it's usual for teachers to see a broad range of reading levels and abilities. The reading center should cater to a variety of reading materials that represent a range of levels. Challenge students to move up to a new level once they're mastered one. Have the center introduce the students to critical thinking and analysis of literature through a comprehension activity. Ask the students to choose a book from baskets that are divided by reading level. Include only books that can be finished within the learning center time in the baskets. Tell students to read their chosen book and complete a reading center tracking sheet that has at least two comprehension questions. Examples of comprehension questions: What emotions did the main character display throughout the story? Is there a moral or lesson in this story?