Great workstation activities and predictable routines enable students to learn, explore, and practice skills independently. When workstations work, they really work, but getting there isn't easy.

If you've ever tried to create a learning center activity, or if you've ever tried to teach a bunch of first graders the right-and wrong-ways to do a center, you know how hairy it can get!

Here's what you need to know about setting students up for success. You'll also find advice to make sure students continue to have successful workstation experiences, as well as plenty of ideas you can use in your classroom right away.

1st Grade Learning Center Ideas (No Login / Free Samples)

You have dreams of sending your students off to centers to work independently so that you can meet with a smaller group of students at the teacher's table. Getting students to work independently at workstations is one of the biggest goals teachers have for their first-grade classroom, but meeting that goal isn't as simple as shooing your students to their respective centers to get started.

You have to gradually release responsibility to your students, which means they aren't ready to work in a station until you help them get ready.

The process goes like this:

• Focus lessons where the teacher does it-students are not ready for independent centers
• Guided instruction where the teacher does it with the class-students are not ready for independent centers, but students are ready for a teacher-guided small group center
• Collaborative stage, where students work on it together-students are ready for independent centers because they can learn from other students
• Independent application, where students work on a new skill alone-students can work at an independent center without other students

Knowing where your students are at in the process will help you determine which kinds of learning stations they will be successful at and which ones they won't. For example, many math stations require students to be at the collaborative stage, but no focus lessons or guided instruction are necessary for a sensory station.

Here are some of our favorite workstation ideas, complete with actual activities you can try in your classroom.

Literacy centers are a popular choice with teachers. Not only do they help students build skills, but there are also a ton of fun ideas to choose from!

• Have students match picture cards to the elements of a short story
• Ask students to read a list of words and separate the real words from nonsense words
• Provide students with the last two letters of three-letter-words and let them add different first letters to create words
• Let students unscramble sets of letters to create words

• Create a vocabulary binder complete with pictures so students can look up how to spell words as they are writing
• Fill bags with random items that students have to use to write a story
• Let students use comic book templates to draw pictures and create a dialog in a story
• Create a mini post office where students can write letters to their friends and family

• Have students read simple sentences and choose a picture that matches the noun in the sentence
• Let students sort a list of nouns by determining if they are a person, place, or thing
• Use puzzle pieces to match prefixes and suffixes with their meaning
• Create sets of homophones, complete with pictures, and have students match up the cards (like flower and flour)

• Have students identify the first or last letter sounds in a list of words
• Provide students with letter blends and have them create words using those letters
• Give students an old magazine and let them cut out the words they can sound out
• Let students come up with a list of rhyming words after drawing a word from a bag

There are tons of ways to incorporate math centers into your classroom. No matter which kinds of centers you choose, it's important to rotate activities out according to what students are learning in class and according to whether or not you want them to collaborate with other students or work alone.

Any apps or activities that use technology can be used in this center. iPads and tablets are an obvious choice, but you can also find activities that incorporate the use of smartboards and laptops. Don't forget that old technology, like a calculator, is still technology too!

This station requires students to learn the skills they have already learned so well that they become fluent. In first grade, that likely means addition and subtraction, but it can also mean understanding basic fractions or telling time.

Worksheets are a great way to encourage students to become fluent in math topics! Just make sure you choose worksheets that are fun and interesting, like the learning center worksheets from edHelper.

• Have students roll two dice and add the numbers to see who wins with the largest sum
• Set out math cubes and let each student roll the dice to build stacks according to the number they roll Then, they must find the difference between their two stacks
• Use two hundred charts, a binder as a makeshift wall, and beans to let the kids play Battleship
• Let the kids race two cars, then measure how far each car traveled

This station includes activities that students have already learned but you aren't currently focusing on in class. This station is a great way to recycle learning center activities that you've already done earlier in the year.

Your science center stations will likely change as your units change, but you have more flexibility with the kinds of activities you offer since direct instruction isn't always necessary. This station is a great way for students to explore parallel science concepts and expand on the topics they are already learning about during class.

A few of our favorite ideas include the following:

• Let students sort miniature animal toys by their features, like whether they have teeth, hooves, or antennae
• Have students create a person out of playdough, then have them do it again using straws as bones
• Put simple messages in a bowl, have students draw one, and then communicate the message through a paper cup phone they built
• Have students measure their reaction time by having another student drop a ruler through their fingers. Then, measure how many inches passed through their hand before it was caught

The morning can be a tricky time in the classroom. Having morning bins can make it easier because students know exactly where to go and what to do as soon as they enter your classroom.

There is an endless array of ideas out there for you to try! If you're looking for easy bin ideas, try things like Magna-Tiles or K'Nex. If you don't mind a little bit of prep, try morning bins like these:

• Jumbo tweezers and pom poms, where students use the tweezers to sort or count
• Attach Velcro dots to craft sticks and let students build two-dimensional shapes
• Set out letter stamps and ink pads so students can practice their spelling words
• Allow students to create bracelets and necklaces out of pipe cleaners and pony beads

Learning centers are often created with the curriculum in mind, but they don't have to be! Free choice centers are a great way for students to learn other skills too, including creativity, teamwork, and motor skills. Not to mention, they can provide you with the ability to observe your students.

Try free choice centers like the following:

• Arts and crafts with a variety of materials, such as markers, playdough, stencils, and glue
• Gross motor centers that focus on activities such as hopscotch, bean bag toss, bowling, and dancing to music
• Dramatic play center complete with dress-up clothes and props that keep to fun themes like the doctor's office, space station, or grocery store
• Sensory center that can include anything from rice tables to textured balls, therapy putty, and beads

Learning stations only work if you set your students up for success. If you don't manage your expectations and start small, you'll find that you dread learning station time instead of looking forward to it.

At the beginning of the school year, have students spend only two or three minutes at a station. After the round is complete, invite students back to their seats to talk about what went well and what did not. Increase the time they spend at each station slowly over the next few weeks, correcting behavior and making adjustments as necessary, until you reach the ideal amount of time you want students to spend at each station.

Have an activity or a skill you want students to practice independently at a station? Identify those activities and integrate them into your lesson plans ahead of time. That way, students are more familiar with the activity when they finally reach the learning center.

Love the ideas on this list and want to integrate them into your classroom?

• Focused lessons where the teacher does it: Students are not ready for independent centers.
• Guided instruction where the teacher does it with the class: Students are not ready for independent centers, but students are ready for a teacher-guided small group center.
• Collaborative stage, where students work on it together: Students are ready for independent centers because they can learn from other students.
• Independent application where students work on a new skill alone: Students can work at an independent center without other students.

• Have students match picture cards to the elements of a short story.
• Ask students to read a list of words and separate the real words from nonsense words.
• Provide students with the last two letters of three-letter words and let them add different first letters to create words.
• Let students unscramble sets of letters to create words.

• Create a vocabulary binder, complete with pictures, so students can look up how to spell words as they are writing.
• Fill bags with random items that students have to use to write a story.
• Let students use comic book templates to draw pictures and create a dialog in a story.
• Create a mini post office where students can write letters to their friends and family.

• Have students read simple sentences and choose a picture that matches the noun in the sentence.
• Let students sort a list of nouns by determining if they are a person, place, or thing.
• Use puzzle pieces to match prefixes and suffixes with their meaning.
• Create sets of homophones, complete with pictures, and have students match up the cards (like flower and flour).

• Have students identify the first or last letter sounds in a list of words.
• Provide students with letter blends and have them create words using those letters.
• Give students an old magazine and let them cut out the words they can sound out.
• Let students come up with a list of rhyming words after drawing a word from a bag.

• iPads
• Tablets
• Smartboards
• Laptops
• Old tech, like calculators

• Addition activities
• Subtraction activities
• Basic fraction activities
• Telling time
• edHelper worksheets

• Have students roll two dice and add the numbers to see who wins with the largest sum.
• Set out math cubes and let each student roll the dice to build stacks according to the number they roll. Then, they must find the difference between their two stacks.
• Use two hundred charts, a binder as a makeshift wall, and beans to let the kids play Battleship.
• Let the kids race two cars and then measure how far each car traveled.

Reuse stations that you used earlier in the school year, especially previous fact fluency stations.

• Let students sort miniature animal toys by their features, such as whether they have teeth, hooves, or antennae.
• Have students create a person out of playdough, and then have them do it again using straws as bones.
• Put simple messages in a bowl, have students draw one, and then have them communicate the message through a paper cup phone they built.
• Have students measure their reaction time by having another student drop a ruler through their fingers. Then, have students measure how many inches passed through their hand before the ruler was caught.

• Provide jumbo tweezers and pom poms so students can use the tweezers to sort or count.
• Attach Velcro dots to craft sticks and let students build two-dimensional shapes.
• Set out letter stamps and ink pads so students can practice their spelling words.
• Allow students to create bracelets and necklaces out of pipe cleaners and pony beads.

• Arts and crafts center with a variety of materials, such as markers, playdough, stencils, and glue
• Gross motor centers that focus on activities like hopscotch, bean bag toss, bowling, and dancing to music
• Dramatic play center with dress-up clothes and props that keep to fun themes, such as the doctor's office, space station, or grocery store
• Sensory center that can include anything from rice tables to textured balls, therapy putty, and beads