Decide what type of center you want to have in your classroom. Designate an area in your classroom for the center and include those items that will fulfill your objectives. Make a list of the different objectives you want to accomplish in your center.
Tailor your center to meet your objectives. For example, you may want to include a literacy center in your classroom. You objective is to get students familiar with the letter "C" and "F." Items you can include in your literacy center are wooden alphabet pieces of these letters. Include different objects that start with the letter "C" and "F," such as a stuffed cat and frog. Picture books having to deal with learning about the letter "C" and "F" are also useful.
Include many things in your center to make it a learning-rich opportunity. For instance, in the previous example of a literacy center, you might also want to include several picture books, wooden stamps of animals that start with the letters you want to teach, and audiobooks. There needs to be a purpose for your center. such as reinforcement of a previous lesson.
Check to see that the center can be used for individualized instruction, peer-to-peer instruction and teacher-student instruction. If the center can be used under these three different conditions, then it can be effective. Ensure that there is a set time for a student to spend in the learning center. Students should be able to go from center to center after completing a set task.
Periodically change your centers to meet the needs of new lessons and to keep your students interested. You should set up a learning center for one week before making changes so all your students will have had a chance to benefit from it.