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Using Words Their Way To Differentiate Work Work Instruction

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Using Words Their Way To Differentiate Work Work Instruction

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How To Master Words Their Way Organization and Differentiation

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When I switched schools, and moved to second grade, everything started to click. I reading blog posts about different approaches to using Words Their Way, dug deep into the teacher's guide, and made a more realistic plan for how to successfully use it in my classroom.

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Differentiating Word Work: The Power of Student Choice - Miss DeCarbo

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Differentiating Word Work: The Power of Student Choice - Miss DeCarbo

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In this post, I'm going to share how I differentiated word work during our Daily 5 time!

Because my district uses Fundations on a daily basis for spelling and phonics, my students use their Daily 5 Word Work time to practice their sight words. As you know, in first grade, our students are ALL over the place in their reading levels. The same goes for their sight word identification and their ability to successfully spell these words. I have a few kids who have been mastering the second grade sight word list, and some little babies who are still working on spelling words on the kindergarten list.

I use to put the SAME word list in my word work bins each week. The kids would grab a word work bin and use the word list inside to practice their words. The words on the list were current words and some review words from our units in Fundations.

You can read all about how I organize my word work by clicking HERE.

I'm sure you already see the problem with these word lists- many in my top group had already mastered those words. Some of the kids in my lowest group still couldn't READ the whole word list, let alone work on spelling them.

I needed a quick, easy, and EFFICIENT way to differentiate these word work lists for my kids. I'm big on making everything in my room effective but not time consuming. (I teach first grade and let's be real - I don't have time for fluffy, over-the-top sight word systems!) 🙂

The solution? Our My Word Work board!

To kick off this word work routine, I met with each child individually and together, we worked to decide on 8 sight words that they really wanted to practice and get better at spelling. (Yes, this initially took a little time but after this initial meeting, my students will choose and write their own word lists!) It was so neat to hear them say things like, "I always forget how to spell "because" and I write it ALL the time!" or, as one little firstie pointed to the list of words said, "I can read this word but I can't spell it yet." I adored this whole process and my kids were SO excited to have a word work list all to themselves.

After they picked out 8 sight words from our word wall (and for my top kids, they chose 8 words from the second grade list), they got to pick TWO words from anywhere in the whole wide world that they wanted to learn how to spell. Haha this was my favorite part! I got everything from "Elsa" to "giraffe" to "Minecraft" to "ribbon." (Ribbon? Not sure where that random word came from...I'm looking forward to reading a narrative that has to do with lots of ribbon though.)

After they made their list, they slipped it into their library pocket on the board. Now, when they choose to go to word work, they grab a word work bin and they grab their list from the board to practice.

When the bell goes off for our next small group round, they clean up and put their list back into their library pocket.

When students feel they have mastered their list, they have a friend give them a little informal "test" using their whiteboards. When they are ready for new words, they use the word wall in our classroom, grab a new list, and write their new words on it! (I help them with the 2 words they can pick out from "anywhere in the world!")

My students have taken on more responsibility for their sight words since we started our My Word Work board. In reading groups now, I'll hear, "Hey! That word is on my list!" and I'm starting to see these words transfer into their writing more. This makes perfect sense, because they have now attached their personal touch to these words and the words are suddenly THEIR words. My top kids are challenging themselves and every child is practicing sight words that are on his or her level.

And that makes me a very happy teacher!

Pin the image below so that you can share this blog post with your teacher friends!

Thank you so much letting me share our new word work board with you! I hope you found it helpful! Remember, differentiating student learning doesn't have to be complicated, "fluffy," or over-the-top. It just has to be meaningful!

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Differentiating Word Work: The Power of Student Choice - Miss DeCarbo

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In this post, I'm going to share how I differentiated word work during our Daily 5 time! Because my district uses Fundations on a daily basis for spelling and phonics, my students use their Daily 5 Word Work time to practice their sight words.

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How to Differentiate Word Work and Engage Your Students | Mrs. Beattie's Classroom

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How to Differentiate Word Work and Engage Your Students | Mrs. Beattie's Classroom

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Word work is an important component of a primary literacy program, and when the needs of your students vary from early readers to very accomplished readers working beyond grade level, the task of preparing activities can be daunting every week. I've got some suggestions for how you can differentiate your word work component without pulling your hair out!

Differentiation

Differentiation is no easy task. Every classroom I've ever taught in has a range of abilities that spans a minimum of four grade levels. From time to time that gap is even wider!

In my classroom I generally have three groups. Is this perfect? No. But in the small time that I have for word work activities, and because I have limited planning time (and a life outside of school!), sometimes that has to be enough.

I begin the school year with a Words Their Way spelling assessment to get a handle on where my students fall on the continuum. From there, I can assign them to one of the three lists: List A, List B or List C.

Please don't feel like you need to give a paper-and-pencil assessment every week to determine which list will be best for each student. You are a well-educated professional. You know your kids better than anyone. Trust your instincts. I can't think of a single test that will make a more accurate placement decision than you will.

I use a Daily 5 structure in my classroom, and our many discussions of how to pick a "Good Fit" book also carries over to our word work. I direct my students to an appropriate list, but sometimes they surprise me and are able to do more (or less) than what I am expecting. I trust my students and have built such strong accountability into my program that I am able to give them some control and flexibility over which list they use. (You can read more about this in the blog post I've hyperlinked at the end of this one.)

Back to word lists... my lists are organized by spelling strategy, although they could be organized by student as well. I have multiple sets of the three lists attached with a small binder ring and these hang on magnetic hooks on my chalkboard. (I've also seen utility boards and hooks used for this purpose.) I don't require a set per student since my students are not all working on word work at the same time - this is the beauty of The Daily 5 and especially helpful when you have limited resources!

Each week, I introduce the new word work pattern and we complete whole-group activities around them before my students head off to Daily 5. During word work, my students will grab the lists and then activities begin.

Engaging Word Work Activities

The actual centers that I provide to my students can be used with any list of words, making them great for differentiating in a discreet way. I include many options and give my students their choice over which center they work on. The power of choice is HUGE!! When students have control over which activities they use, engagement increases! I've seen this year after year!

My students don't ever feel centered out for working on something different from their peers because I make every list look just like the next, and everyone is successful with the activities I've provided since they are simple enough that detailed instructions are not required.

Here are some of the word work activities that I use in my classroom that my students are particularly engaged with:

Alphabet Stamps

I grabbed these stamps at Michaels. They weren't cheap, but I did use a 40% off coupon! These days you can find them in many more stores, so keep your eyes open!

The students have been keen to use them. I understand why... I would have loved using these at school when I was a kid!

Chunk Magnets

I inherited these when I moved to my primary classroom. I have no idea where they came from, or where they can be purchased, but they are great!

Did you notice the blur to the second photo? That's because this student was so engaged with these that I couldn't catch him in a still position!!

Rainbow Words

A simple center to include, but this one really speaks to the artistic students in the class. :)

Bananagrams

I knew this would be one of the most popular choices, and I was right! Typically, it is the first activity to leave the drawer!

Other Options I've Offered:

These are some of the favorites that we are currently using, but my most recent resource update includes options for dry erase boards, Play Doh and Play Doh stamps, stencils, Wikki Stix, letter beads, letter tiles, keyboarding, and Boggle. You can see my Boggle board on display here:

Common Questions:

Is keeping students engaged an issue? No! That power of choice really does provide the interest and drive that keeps students going.

Are students actually completing the activities while I'm working with other students? Yes! Be sure to check out the linked post at the bottom of this page. In it, I explain all about how I keep my students accountable for their work during independent centers.

Does this take a lot of time to prepare each week? No way! Once the centers are set up once they are good to go. I have four sets of word lists on each letter-sized page, so each week I print 4 pages - yes, you read that right - attach them with the rings and they are ready for use. I save these from year to year and only occasionally have to replace a set. I do NOT laminate them, although you certainly could.

Word Work Center Storage

I get many questions about storage. I got my centers organized in this great storage rack that I inherited from another teacher who was purging her classroom! Score! :) It is perfect for these!

Assessment

I also get many questions about how I assess my students' word work. What I don't do is give my students tests. They are not a good use of my time and do not really tell me anything about my students as spellers. Rather, I look for my students to use the spelling patterns they've learned about and worked with during their daily writing. It is that transfer from practice to authentic, everyday use that matters to me. That's a true measure of success.

If my students struggle with words they've already practiced, we spend time adding them to their personal dictionary/word book, and I encourage them to access the word lists throughout the day during other content writing.

Interested In Trying These?

My students are SO engaged in all parts of The Daily 5 program, but Word Work is the favorite! They love it, but I love it more!

All these centers PLUS the updated storage labels, activity sheets AND an editable package are available in my TpT store! Grab them here:

Need word lists for use with YOUR word work centers? Look no further! I have you covered, in a BIG way!!

This 630+ page resource is easily assembled either by spelling pattern OR by student and are COMPLETELY EDITABLE!

Are YOU using The Daily 5 and CAFE in your classroom? What does your word work look like? I would love to hear about how it is going - leave me a message at the end of this post!

You might also be interested in this blog post about keeping your students accountable during center work:

Check out more great word work ideas and resources on this Pinterest board:

Pin this post!

Want more great teaching resources like this one to use in your classroom?

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How to Differentiate Word Work and Engage Your Students

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Looking for engaging word work ideas for your classroom that are differentiated to meet the needs of all your learners? The resources and ideas in this blog post are easy to set up and will work with ANY word list all year long!

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Organizing Daily 5 Literacy Stations in Kindergarten and ...a freebie for you. - Differentiated Kindergarten

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Organizing Daily 5 Literacy Stations in Kindergarten and ...a freebie for you. - Differentiated Kindergarten

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Daily 5 Literacy Stations!!!! Holy email, you all have a ton of questions, and while I'd love to claim that I'm an expert, I can really only tell you how this works in my own classroom.

As some of you know, I do a form of Daily 5 . . . We call it Daily 6 in my classroom. Even though six stations are going on in a given day, students only travel to three in a given day for 20 minutes each.

So it looks like this on paper (no this isn't my lesson plan but it is a good visual - I'll show my lesson plan in my next post).

So for instance, on a Monday, Group 1 will go to Word Work 1st, then to Meet with the Teacher 2nd and finally to Read to Self. You can start any group with whatever station you would like...it really doesn't matter. For me, this schedule just assures me that every group gets to every station every two days. (Remember, if you want to see my actual activities for the first two weeks for each of these stations, you can find the HERE.)

Now the above schedule only shows students meeting the 'teacher' every other day. However, when I have an aide or a classroom volunteer (or a student teacher like I'm going to be having those first few weeks of school) , I actually have that extra adult meet with students who are "working on writing or word work". So if there are no aides or volunteers that day, students will see this card on their rotation

If there is an aide or volunteer however, they see this card.

Either way, they go to the same 'work on writing' station. Really though, you can substitute that second 'meet the teach' station where ever you think students need extra help. You may want your more independent groups to go to 'work on writing' independently that rotation and put your second 'meet the teach' card with a group that needs help rhyming at a word work station. Just move the cards around or substitute them as needed.

There are also two 'word work' stations in the beginning. This is because students have not yet become independent enough to 'read to someone' in the beginning of the year during our station rotations. So I prefer to have two 'word work' stations until they are. Some groups might be ready for this before others. When they are, their group will see this card,

instead of word work.

My classroom is small, so their are very few stationary stations. Students take materials and whatever they need from these drawers and go.

The Work on Writing drawers will be the same and there will be a station card for Listen to Reading over by my listening bags. This will be helpful for those students that need that visual aide and connection.

Do I do this for the beginning of the year? Absolutely not. I have not done any assessing, I have no idea where my students' readiness levels are that first week or two, and they need time to just learn to use the materials and to master the procedures and routines. Remember my post about getting them started? They need to explore. I also do not have a lot of choices within those first several stations.

Even though I may have several drawers in my Word Work #1 station, those drawers only fill up one at a time, little by little. Students need to be taught what their jobs are with station choices and which activities are choices and which activities are 'Have Tos.' There will be a post for these subjects too...I promise. Remember we're going to take this slow.

Ok so how does a student know where to go? Well, here's an example of how you could set up your board. It doesn't matter if you use the wall, a pocket chart or magnetic strips on your white board. Whatever you choose, just stay with it and don't change it around too much so your kinders can get used to it and know exactly how to read it. (I'm actually going to use much smaller name cards, but I told you my room is torn up so this is what I had on hand.)

You'll see here that for Monday and Wednesday, students have one schedule and for Tuesday and Thursday they have a different schedule showing exactly which stations they go to first second and third on those days.

Students look for their names and the icons of where they are going. Remember, there will be matching icons where the materials are stored in most cases. I don't really plan on placing a 'meet the teach' card on my own forehead but, for those first several weeks, there will be a 'meet the teach' card where we meet.

When a student gets lost, I can point to the board and say where should you be? Is this the right card for that station? They usually can figure it out from there.

So how do students know which day it is? I have a little magnetic that I stick either in front of Monday/Wednesday or in front of Tuesday/Wednesday. That way I am physically only changing one thing on the rotation board each day. There is no moving things up and down and around . . .just the magnet.

Why do students have different colored name tags? So that I can tier their activities in their independent stations. So if I have a students with their name on a green name tag, when they go to word work, they will select the materials with the green sticker or in the green envelope. Students do NOT all have to be the same color within a group this way. Also, I never print off my students name on cards because I may need their color to change quickly. I always write with a dry erase marker. One day you may be working on rhyming with students and you can have this one student that is a rock start at it. But the next day, you may be doing segmenting and that student struggles with that skill. You can easily change his skill level by removing his name from one colored tag and putting it on another color. You don't necessarily have to change the group. Just the student color.

What do I do on Friday? Yep, you'll notice there isn't a Friday literacy station day on my schedule. That's because once a month, we have a late start day that interferes with Daily 5 or there always seems to be an assembly scheduled when my Daily 5 meets. By opening up my Fridays, I can make up missed literacy days easily (we had like 11 snow days last year so I really needed it) and when I am able to get all of my Daily 5 stations in Monday-Thursday, Friday's are used for small group intervention, whole group literacy art activities, whole group science activities and experiments or poetry work.

Now are your students going to know where to go and what to do that first day? Of course not. You are physically and verbally going to have to say, 'OK Susie, Max, April and Johnny,' you will be a 'Word Work #1.' This is word work #1 (point to their schedule) and this is where word work #1 is located (point to the place where they will go). Susie, Max, April and Johnny now you point to where you will go first.' Then they point. You will have to do this for every station and for each time you rotate those first couple of weeks. But you will see, eventually, there will be a few of those kinders that catch on and know before you tell them. They will tell the others in their group. And so on until everyone has a plan of action for stations and knows where they should be.

I love this type of schedule board. It is so low maintenance. I literally have to move one thing. All I do is move a magnet to show which day we are on. It's flexible enough that I can move kids readiness levels when I need to on the fly. And...students do NOT have to be grouped by ability.

So I know some of you like to use a pocket chart for your rotation board and some of you prefer a wall or a board, so I made up some different sized charts and name tags for you to grab.

Also, if you need other materials for setting up Daily 5, I want to encourage you to head on over to my blogging buddy, Lyndsey's, from A Year of Many Firsts, to grab her materials. I will be using a ton of her charts this year, but I needed to make my own Daily 5 rotation cards in order to coordinate with my tiering colors. Believe me, she has a ton of free printables you are going to want to grab.

I'll be back later to show you how all this looks in my lesson plan. But until then, please feel free to leave me any questions or comments. Like I always say, I'm not an expert but these are the things that have worked in my class. You really need to be daring enough to take what works for you and adjust it to your students, your classroom environment and your schedule.

Thanks for stopping by.

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Organizing Daily 5 Literacy Stations in Kindergarten and ...a freebie for you. - Differentiated Kindergarten

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Daily 5 Literacy Stations!!!! Holy email, you all have a ton of questions, and while I'd love to claim that I'm an expert, I can really only tell you how this works in my own classroom. As some of you know, I do a form of Daily 5 . .

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How to Create Smart Literacy Centers that Last All Year | KindergartenWorks

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How to Create Smart Literacy Centers that Last All Year | KindergartenWorks

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Literacy centers can be a blessing or a pain. I think it all hinges on the design, organization and effectiveness behind them that makes a difference. This is my philosophy on how to create literacy centers that are smart for me, the teacher, and effective for my kindergarten students.

I think that literacy centers for kindergarten can last an entire year, have little to no upkeep and can grow with students, putting them in charge of differentiation, offer choice and be open-ended.

What I'm not saying is that I think literacy centers can take no work on the teacher's part.

In fact, I think it's the exact opposite.

I think creating centers for kindergarten that are smart allow you to be the most effective at teaching. This is totally my own opinion and based on my teaching experience. {Just sayin'}

Working Smart

In our classroom, literacy centers is a time for learning and playing to happen together. And we take that job seriously! I have worked and re-worked my kindergarten literacy centers, but I fall in love with them more each year as I tweak the process!

I'm the kind of teacher who likes to work hard up front, but also work smart so that the effort I put in lasts all year long.

In saying that, my literacy centers do not change. They stay the same all year. They grow with my kinders as they grow by leaps and bounds. We use interactive, manipulative (which feels like play to kinders) ways of learning literacy.

We have 14 different standards-based centers that work on many of the same skills but with varied materials - so every center feels unique to my kinders.

They are all reading, writing or word work centers.

Here's my list of kindergarten center ideas. {Dum da dum} Click on any link to read more about the center set up, expectations and standards.

My List of Year-Long Centers

Reading Centers:

Word Work Centers:

Writing Centers:

Setting Up for Student Independence

Kinders are great at using labels with pictures to put things away and find them again, so my classroom is covered! I put lots of icons directly onto the container or bin to provide lots of visual support.

Centers can pretty much be done anywhere within the classroom, but my kinders often complete the activities wherever I first modeled them. They are routine-based creatures, aren't they? I'll admit - I am too!

I include literacy center posters for each center that illustrates with picture icons what options students have.

These posters help me teach the center at the beginning of the year, help me keep students on track throughout the year and inform administration as time goes on since they have all of our common core standards listed out.

Routines make centers successful since when students know what is expected, they are much more likely to rise to those expectations.

When I'm working with small groups of students, this also gives me the opportunity to offer suggestions on how they can take and apply what we've learned in a small group back to practice at their center.

Building upon their regular routine with new skills or challenges keeps things fresh, but with solid expectations.

Why I Create Centers the Way I Do

Time

Time is a huge factor. I need time to teach small groups while other students work independently.

I also need the time I spend creating something for a center to be worthwhile. If it doesn't last a long time, forget it - it wasn't worth it.

And lastly, the time I spend creating and setting up should should be able to set the long term value my students get out of it.

Modeling = Working Smart

I want any modeling or teaching that I do whole group or in my small group lessons be something that students can try on their own.

I want to be able to capitalize on what we're already doing and utilize the skill or method.

If I were to have to model new centers past the first 30 days of school, I don't feel that's a worthwhile use of my time.

I'd much rather use sharing time edifying students who are challenging themselves or model a new way to extend their thinking in a center they are already used to.

Open-Ended = Flexibility

Creating a center that is open-ended is the smartest kind of work for me.

By making the kindergarten center activities be choices or have options then I also have flexibility to meet with students or groups for as long as I need.

This flexibility level alone makes me a more relaxed, happy and confident teacher knowing I can get it all done.

Productive = Effective

My thinking is that if I can create centers where students can be productive and engaged then that is going to be much more effective in the long run.

Motivation, interest and choice all play into the work that goes on during our center time.

Plus, I figure if there is a center they don't love, they only have to visit it once (maybe twice) a week and will enjoy practicing the same skill at another center with different materials.

How I Roll Them Out

This is my 4-step process for rolling out centers.

I start with one center on day 1 of my introduction schedule and build upon that each day until a center has rolled through each step of the 4-step process.

During this time, we are building both stamina for working and fully understanding what to do and not do.

Most days I am introducing one literacy center, modeling one center, practicing one center and reviewing 1-3 centers. This is how we quickly build up our stamina.

1. Introduce

I first introduce a center with it's name, icon and location in the classroom.

I describe our main goal for the center and pick one choice to model.

I explain my expectations of getting items out and putting them back with the actual objects.

2. Model

I review the name, icon and location from the previous day.

I model what to do and what not to do.

I get ridiculous with some of my not to do's to keep short attention spans on me.

Someone helps model where to put materials away.

3. Practice

Students point out the location, give the name when I show the icon.

Someone models what to do.

Someone copies a model of mine what not do to.

Small groups of 3-4 "practice" for 1 minute doing it the right way and placing the materials back on the shelf. Note: We practice the listening center whole group.

4. Review

Review what to do, what not to do, where its located and choice option.

If a literacy center has more than one choice/option then I start on the modeling step for that activity when I decide to teach it later on. I will make sure that they have the first activity down pat before teaching another at the same center. There's no reason to add mayhem to madness otherwise.

It normally takes me about 20 days of actively teaching the centers.
Say what? Isn't that a waste of time at the beginning of the year?
Umm... no.

In the beginning of the school year there is no routine to our day. So, I take advantage of this flexible teaching time to gradually build up the time we spend doing literacy centers.

Once we have learned how to effectively do one activity at at least 5-6 centers, then we take the following day to actually "do" a center rotation.

On this day we are also learning to read the workboard. They learn to find their name, go there and stay there.

Now, we can add one rotation into our normal daily routine and schedule. And even though we begin cycling through one center a day, I continue to build upon our knowledge of the other centers using the same 4 step process.

Spending this time up front saves me time all year long. {Working smart, remember?}

When we have built up enough knowledge of 8-10 centers, we begin to rotate through two centers a day.

During this time, I begin to experiment with pulling a small group to teach them the ABC center. It's a little harder to "practice" and experience in the 1 minute I generally give the others. I want to reinforce the 'must do' portion of that center before students work on the open-ended piece.

A note on pulling students: I do not make myself a center. So, I teach them that the reason we do these literacy centers is so they can keep on learning while I'm teaching each of them in a small group. I essentially let them know there is no complaining about being pulled since it's the reason we do centers - so others can keep learning while they get their turn with me. We hit that one right off the bat and I've never had an issue!

Purchase Centers - Instant Downloads

I have rounded up as many centers as I could for you to purchase complete with the instant download materials needed along with the poster and workboard icon to make each center a complete package.

A little more about the first product listed - It's just that there are a few centers that don't need tons of materials from me - rather, materials that you already have on hand!
Score, right?
So, I've bundled those particular center posters and organization labels into a Literacy Center Poster and Workboard Icon set.

[Continued] How Do You...

You asked. I answered.

Think I'm crazy for doing centers this way? What are your thoughts on making centers smart?

If you like what I do here on KindergartenWorks, then be sure to subscribe today. I look forward to sharing ideas with you weekly.

Guided Reading During Literacy Centers

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How to Create Smart Literacy Centers that Last All Year | KindergartenWorks

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Literacy centers can be a blessing or a pain. I think it all hinges on the design, organization and effectiveness behind them that makes a difference. This is my philosophy on how to create literacy centers that are smart for me, the teacher, and effective for my kindergarten students.

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Word Work Tubs are created so that students can easily access language arts materials for learning centers. Word Work tubs can literally be a tub where materials are stored, a container such as a clear pencil box, or a collection of activities that are stored in individual zip-lock bags.

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Spelling activities that will keep your students busy as bees!

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Spelling Ideas

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Can you believe we're just days from November?? I swear time just speeds up. Although at the moment I'm really antsy! Yes, in part because I want to get past the hopped-up on Halloween feeling in my classroom, but I'm also excited to switch out my writing station. It tickles me to see how much the kids are enjoying this!

Now that I'm in my 2nd year of doing this, I'm much more confident and things are running sooo much more smoothly (except for Working with Words-don't ask). As it's outlined in the Daily 5 book, the stations don't change too much. At least not the way centers used to! And that, I think, is why it is so easy to maintain. The kids always know the expectations and understand their choices and Teacher isn't run ragged trying to come up with something for the next week. But I've realized that kids need something new to keep their engagement fresh. So I've tried to devise a balance between predictablity and novelty. The station's framework stays the same all year, but the content changes monthly.

So here's what we've had goin' on in September:

I found these " Create-a-Prompt" flipbooks at Lakeshore. I was excited because 10 in a box = a new one each month. But the kids haven't really gotten into these. Oh, they love flipping through it to make silly sentences, but it hasn't sparked any real writing. :/ Oh well.

I had the Take-it-to-Your-Seat writing center folders last year (I also have science ones), but this year I got wise and am only putting out 4 or so a month. That way no one is getting sick of seeing the same thing.

One of the main things each month are the journal prompts. The expectations are constant, but displaying them in a novel way really keeps things interesting. This is a little bus box I got at Target. Inside are apple shapes from the dollar store. I just wrote the prompts on the back of each.

(Get the rest of the months' tags and journal prompts here.)

The letter and list writing choices are the same as last year. I've accumulated a massive collection of $1 notepads from various stores. The kids are limited to one "fancy" paper a day-and they use it! Letter writing is still a favorite choice.

Download Writing list steps

Download Writing letter model

Download Writing letter arrows

List writing has gotten more popular thanks to a lightbulb moment I had in the dollar store. I needed an excuse to buy the cute school bus notepad at the dollar store and decided to make it the "list writing notebook." Apparently all the kids needed was a way to share their writing because someone always has this out.

I bought a pumpkin notepad for October (I got mine from Target) and an owl for November (I got mine from from Dollar Tree). Michaels had cute Mary Englebreit Christmas and "wintery" themed ones for cheap, so now I'm good until I can find a Valentine-y one!

The class journals are getting more use this year, too. The kids enjoy looking at last year's entries and then adding their own. They also write comments to each other. I love reading these stories. The journal topics are: Ouch, Vacations, Halloween, Christmas, First Grade and Kindergarten Memories, Sports, Lost Teeth, My Family, and Birthdays. I tried to pick topics that 2nd graders write about a lot.

The Research choice is one I introduced part-way through last year. I have an assortment of flashcards from the Target dollar spot on random topics: bugs, landmarks, presidents, musical instruments, American animals, etc. I also have a couple sets from Jo-Ann's on transportation and jobs. These cost a little more and they're about a 2nd grade reading level, but the ones from Target are on more interesting topics so they get used more. I switch out the decks each month.

The kids choose 1 card, read the information on the back, and fill out a paper. These are collected and each month I bind a class book. Having a format for publishing their work makes them much more excited about this choice!

Download Research form

Download Research sign

In a few months I'll introduce the Rory's Story Cubes. These are cheap from Amazon. I made a class story book for these stories. For a few of my kids, this was their choice every day and even some of my reluctant writers were composing 3 page stories! Well worth $7.50!! However, when I made the class journal I didn't expect such epic stories. I just copied each page front and back. This year I'll fix it by adding lots of lined pages between stories. Maybe a binder would be more practical than a book. Hmmm...something to think about.
Download Story cube paper 1
Download Story Cube cover

For birthdays I found this f un set from Really Good Stuff. On the day of a birthday, everyone is expected to write the birthday child a happy wish very first. Who wouldn't love getting a sackful of wishes?

Another writing choice is the Write & Publish center from Lakeshore. This is the only thing that's changed weekly.

I still have room on my writing board for one more choice. I haven't narrowed it down yet. I want to do something with poetry, but I haven't found an idea that really gels for me. I'm leaning toward "Super Sentence" writing, but I'm not sure. If I figure it out I'll let you know!
Check back tomorrow and I'll give downloads and lists for each month's writing activities!

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Can you believe we're just days from November?? I swear time just speeds up. Although at the moment I'm really antsy! Yes, in part because I want to get past the hopped-up on Halloween feeling in my classroom, but I'm also excited to switch out my writing station.

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A blog providing literacy work station ideas, examples, and reproducibles for educators of secondary students (middle school and high school).

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The sound of activity echoes throughout the classroom. I find myself engaged in a small-group conversation around the igneous rocks that the students in this group are holding. Remembering that shortly before that conversation I'd been about to redirect some students, I quickly scan the room searching for off-task behavior. To my delight, I find that a wide array of learning is taking place. In one corner, I see students watching a video and typing online reflections. In the other corner, I see students comparing their drawings on the rock cycle. This is what a good day built on learning centers looks like.

As teachers strive to find ways of promoting key success skills while making use of limited resources, learning centers can be an invaluable tool in the secondary classroom. In addition, learning centers provide time-strapped teachers with opportunities for meaningful formative assessment that helps drive the classroom instruction. What are some strategies that secondary teachers can use to successfully launch learning centers in their classrooms?

Use a Roadmap

Developing a one-page roadmap that outlines the station progression is a must. My co-teachers Bob Wandel and Nate Alkire have found that including a "check-off" space for a teacher signature or stamp of approval brings higher levels of accountability. In fact, our middle school students love the traditional stamp or sticker. In addition, we include items such as learning target questions or need to knows if we are in the middle of a project.

Image credit: Ted Malefyt

A sample road map to an igneous rock-themed learning center experience

Leverage Your Resources

As teachers bring authenticity into the classroom, the resources and materials needed become more complex and thus more expensive. Learning centers can ease some of the financial concerns by integrating a lab experience as a center. For example, a teacher may not have enough stereo microscopes in the classroom for each pair of students. By creating a station or two that uses the microscopes, momentum can be maintained. In other situations, limiting the amount of resources can lessen the burden on the teacher. For example, instead of having eight paint stations set up around the room, a single station can eliminate a big mess! In these situations, the cleanup and setup times are reduced, freeing up precious time to meet the demands of the day.

Diversify the Experience

Image credit: Ted Malefyt

A hand-drawn infographic is one way to diversify students' learning experience.

Here is your chance to try a variety of methods for helping students uncover the critical content that your learning centers are geared toward. Feel confident in trying different activities, labs, and experiences that you typically have shied away from. Think about how you can add drawing, technology, physical movement, reading, reflecting, observing, graphing, etc. In addition to finding a variety of methods, feel free to diversify where the experience is taking place as well. The bottom line is that many students like learning in different ways, and teachers like safe environments to try new things.

Build in Wild Card Time

Building a culture of voice and choice while providing opportunities to develop self-management skills doesn't happen overnight. By building in wild card time, you allow for students to manage relevant items related to the learning centers. In all situations, wild card time can provide the structure to support the students who want a little more and those who need to catch up. In cases where learning centers are in the middle of a project, wild card time can provide students a valuable opportunity to build their ideas based on what they are learning in the centers. Sometimes the management of project-based learning requires the space for students to carry out simple tasks like email or phone calls.

Carry a Clipboard

Image credit: Ted Malefyt

Sample spreadsheet

Sometimes simplicity is the best option! Carry a clipboard with the class list formatted in a spreadsheet. Using this spreadsheet, you have your own record of which student is meeting your expectations and who needs extra help. As formative assessment takes place, quickly document with simple checkmarks. This documentation can provide really important data and information that will inform your next steps.

Search Out One-on-One Conversations

One of the hidden secrets of learning centers is your ability to have the critical one-on-one conversations that our middle and high school students need. Relationships are incredibly important, and we need to find ways that will allow for them to happen. By building in opportunities for more meaningful conversations, we can gain a better understanding of our students in the context of our classroom. Sometimes the simple conversation is what moves the student forward.

The possibilities are endless when we continue to build ideas and structures that support high-quality teaching and learning. Learning centers are a tool that we can all leverage. What are some learning center strategies that you can share?

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Learning Centers in the Secondary Classroom

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Learning centers diversify student experience, encourage student voice, leverage available resources, and give teachers built-in opportunities for formative assessment and critical one-on-one conversations.

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Differentiated Learning Centers! Don't panic! I have come up with ways to offer differentiation for your kindergarten learning activities. This might make you want to roll your eyes... but hang with me... I will show you HOW!

The idea for this post all started with a conversation I had with a teacher in Chicago after one of my presentations. She was feeling overwhelmed trying to work in thematic stations and differentiated stations with her students. This was a district requirement and she was drowning.

Why differentiate your stations?

It is said that differentiating is the center of quality teaching. I certainly agree that it is a cornerstone and a foundation of strong instructional practices. We already work differentiation into our small group lessons by the material we select. We work differentiation into our whole group lessons by the way we scaffold our instruction. So why do we need to differentiate center or station work? Because it is part of our instructional day.

Differentiate EVERY ACTIVITY?

Yes and no... Some activities are automatically differentiated. For example... the writing station/center or the listening station/center. These are already differentiated. Students are only going to write what they are capable of writing. Those students who have letter/sound correspondence will add words. Those students who do not will respond in pictures... Easy!

How do you differentiate?

How your differentiate is based on ongoing assessment and observations. In an effective classroom, assessment is ongoing and neverending. Assessment is necessary because it informs the TEACHER and the STUDENT. So how do you keep track of all of this? ESGI is one way.

I have my fictitious class listed here, but you can easily see how my students did on the rhyming assessment.

If you are more of a print out person... this is a great view. As the year progresses, this is my preferred report. I can print it out and see where my students fall under each skill. (NT means Not Test).

You can grab your 2-month FREE trial HERE. If you want help in setting up your ESGI assessments, you can read THIS POST.

Make a Plan!

Now you know where your students fall, you can create a plan! NOTE: Snow White did not make the list.... Sad City!

or you could use the ESGI report to color code it.

Now put it in action!

Slide the card behind the student picture so they know which task to complete.

When this student goes to the work center bin he/she will see 3 zippered pouches. He/she will take the pouch that matches their target skill and work on that particular activity.

Early Finishers

This could also work for early finishers. I talk more about Dessert Tubs HERE. Put the 3 zippered pouches in the bin. The student takes the pouch that matches their learning target.

For Dessert activities, I would not have a response sheet. These activities work perfectly without them.

You can also use the color code for other existing activities you use. Just add a dot!

Materials

I found the colored zipper pouches at WalMart for CHEAP! They were in the Back to School section, so I am not sure if they can be found at other times. HOWEVER... these are similar from Amazon (aff.). You can also use plain envelopes and color code them. I would recommend laminating them and adding a velcro closure. You can find the round labels also on Amazon by clicking HERE (these are cool because you can print on them).

I have put all of these pieces in this unit. It includes 3 levels of rhyming identification activities with 2 centers each (both in color and black/white). This is the first of many, but I am not planning on bundling right now.

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DON'T PANIC You can differentiate without losing your marbles!

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Differentiated Learning Centers! Don't panic! I have come up with ways to offer differentiation for your kindergarten learning activities. This might make you want to roll your eyes... but hang with me... I will show you HOW! The idea for this post all started with a conversation I had with a teacher in Chicago after one of my presentations.

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Before I talk to you a bit about how I tier my activities by color. I always think it's important to preface things with a little review. Some of you have seen some of this so you can just skip over this first part. I never know who is going to stumble upon my differentiated ramblings without having ever seen my previous posts. So, that being said, bear with me for a moment...

When we tier, we are address a student's level of readiness. Readiness is meeting your students where they are. It's recognizing what they know and what their abilities are NOW. Optimal learning takes place when a student is moderately challenged. It provides the means for reinforcement or enrichment depending on the student's mastery of the concept. When a student is neither frustrated from too complex tasks nor bored from too simple tasks, they are more likely to be motivated and feel successful. Too much challenge and a learner will feel frustrated and shut down. Too little challenge and the learner becomes bored. Both situations usually end up in some kind of behavior problem. (I don't know about you, but I do EVERYTHING in my power to avoid THAT.) Brain research tells us that optimal learning takes place when a child is moderately challenged and when the outcome is just beyond the learner's ability.

*Task should be based on an essential concept or skill.

*Levels should be driven by ongoing assessment.

*Utilize various materials and different levels of complexity as wells as learning profiles.

*Regardless of level, tasks should all be meaningful and interesting.

**I like to have these guidelines near me when I'm tiering just to assure I'm on the right track.

Remember one of the guidelines for tiering is that your instruction is driven by ongoing assessment. You HAVE to know where you students ARE before you can decide how to tier an activity to their ability. You can't just guess. You really need to KNOW. That doesn't mean you spend a lot of time doing formal paper-pencil assessments. I do very little. But through observations...simple games . . . thumbs up thumbs down . . .formative assessments...I always have a very good understanding of the skills my students still need to master and where they are.

NOW YOU CAN START THE PROCESS OF PLANNING A TIERED LESSON

Steps for Tiering an activity:
Below you'll see the steps for tiering an activity along with a simple example.

And the example:

I have had so many people ask me for a blank one of these that I went ahead and made an editable one. It's not very practical to complete one of these for every center or station activity that you do, but actually going through it step by step for a couple of activities may help you get so that it becomes second nature when planning. (Click on the picture if you'd like an editable copy.)

So how does this translate into your lesson plans and eventually your stations? That is the 100,000 dollar question. And I'm going to show you with the Community Helpers Stations. Now I want to preface this a bit because, if these are your first math stations to be used in the school year, of course, you are not going to tier them UNTIL you have had a chance to assess your students. Right? These my Back To School stations are used before these and are designed to help your students become accustomed to the routines and procedures of math stations. That being the said, there will be those students that latch onto those basic routines easily and will be ready for the challenge of learning about the 'color' routine of tiered activities by the second time you go through the stations. For those students, this is how your lesson plans might look as you tier your math stations.

Now if you remember correctly, I have nine stations ready to go, but only 6 stations are being used at any given time. I have no more than four students at a station at a time. Each day that we do stations, we attend two. Each station lasts about 20 minutes. When the 20 minutes are up, we clean up and move to the next station. (Station numbers move down the pocket chart.

Inside each station drawer is an activity that may be tiered (or may not be because we don't tier EVERYTHING...). Remember to start with only a couple of tiered activities to begin with so your students can slowly get accustomed to the routine. My tiered levels are color coded: orange, green and blue. I've been fortunate enough to never have a problem having a child that was color blind or who could not differentiate between the colors (which would be a huge issue), but if I did, I could always tier by patterns (stripes, dots or chevrons) or shapes or whatever was available.

When a student goes to a station, they look in the drawer and, if the activity is tiered, there will be activities stored in a color coded container of some kind. I use poly folders to hold tiered materials and place a small colored sticker or piece of washi tape to indicate the color.

I also use colored pencil bags for smaller items. But really, you could just use a ziploc bag with a colored dot sticker and it would do the same trick.

How does a student know which activity they should use? All they have to do is look for their name tag. If their name is on an orange tag, they use the activity stored in an orange coded container. If they are on a green tag, they use green and so on.

Here's another important thing to note. All my name tags are laminated so that if I need to quickly change a student's tier I can do so by erasing their name for instance on a green tag and placing it on a blue instead.

The other thing is that all the same colored tags need not be in the same group. I never set my groups up for math based only on ability. I can have two colors in the same group although I do like to make sure that everyone has at least on partner with the same color for any partner games.

So for instance, if I had a group of students at the write the room station, even though they are all doing the same highly engaging activity(and desirable...kinders love to write the room), they are each doing it at their own level. Some may just be counting the items while others are counting the items AND then telling me the number that comes before and after.

So let's consider those guidelines again, and ask the important questions:

Were the tasks in my lesson plans based on an essential skill or concept?

Yep. They were all aligned to a common core standard with the exception of patterning. Here's where I am a bit of a rebel, because I think seeing and extending patterns are a precursor for so many other kinder skills that I will always have these kinds of activities at the beginning of the year.
Are the levels (tiers) based on on-going assessment?
They will be. I will use my Common Core Checklist data, observation notes and experiences to make sure all students are working at their readiness level.

Have I addressed different learning profiles and use various materials?

Hmmmm...I think I'm good here. What do you think?
Regardless of the level, are the tasks meaningful and engaging?
Yes. It wasn't just a matter of giving more work to a set of students because their readiness level was higher than others or less work to those who were not as ready. Nor did only the students who were more advanced able to do the 'fun' stations or vice versa. Levels were designed to extend learning while allowing all students to complete the same engaging tasks.

I hope this makes sense. It's always the one question I get over and over so I want to give everyone a little insight as to how I make it work for me. Make sure you leave me your thoughts. I'd love to hear other great ideas for organizing differentiated stations and centers.

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Using Color To Help You Tier Differentiated Activities. - Differentiated Kindergarten

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Before I talk to you a bit about how I tier my activities by color. I always think it's important to preface things with a little review. Some of you have seen some of this so you can just skip over this first part. I never know who is going to stumble upon my differentiated ...

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Hi, friends! I'm stopping by to share how I've stepped up my differentiating-game this year. My new team is fabulous at finding just-right learning materials for our 1st grade friends, and we have found a just-right system to make sure these materials get in the right friends' hands. (To read a MUCH updated post with specific examples for reading and math differentiation, as well as, organization - click here or the picture below.)

Like most teacher stories, it all starts with school supplies. This time, it's three reams of Astrobrights colored cardstock - green, yellow, and blue.

We flexibility group our friends into these 3 groups - green (below grade-level), yellow (on grade-level), and blue (above grade-level) for math and reading. To make it easy to remember think of a first grade outside picture (green = grass, yellow = sun, blue = sky). Our kids can move anytime they are ready, no big deal. Right now, I actually have 2 yellow groups and am slowly transitioning them into a blue group. I have a FABULOUS group of friends this year!

Our friends know what color they are in math and reading. During Daily 5 or centers, students grab the folder or word-ring that is just-right for them. In our Word Work center, our word rings hang on Command Hooks in an extra cubby. Students grab a word ring and an activity tub (Versatiles, Magnet Letters, Super Sentences, etc.). Students are able to work on the same activities, but with their just-right words.

In Math Stations, we use Sterlite Tubs to hold our materials. When students go to grab a math tub, it holds 3 folders - green, yellow, and blue. Students grab their just-right tub and get to work. If we were playing a game of Go Fish - the blue folder would have cards for Make 40 Go Fish. The Yellow Folder would have cards for Make 20 Go Fish, and the Green Folder would have cards for Make 10 Go Fish. Same game, just-right for all my friends.

In our listening center, the 3 colored folders fit on top of the shelf. Students can choose any book to listen to. Then, after carefully listening, they pull a recording log out of their folder. The papers in the green folder often include a word bank and space for drawing their ideas, the yellow folder includes more lines for writing, and the blue folder includes a recording sheet for a 2nd grade reading skill. (You can grab these differentiated listening to reading sheets here.)

Here is an example of folders for our Versatile Tubs in Word Work. Our skills for the week were Short E and Beginning Blends. The green folder is focusing on short e, the yellow folder us focusing on blends using picture clues, and the blue folder focuses on blends in the context of complete sentences.

It's really that simple and effective. Students have access to the content and material that is just-right for them, and it requires little management. I am not planning 15 different reading/math tubs each week. Rather, I plan 3 Word Work activities and just change out the word rings each week. I plan 4 math tubs and just change-out the cards or numbers in the tub each week.

This is what is working for my friends. What works in your classroom? How do you manage differentiate with your friends? I'd love to hear about your system!

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Differentiating Your Classroom with Color - The Brown Bag Teacher

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Hi, friends! I'm stopping by to share how I've stepped up my differentiating-game this year. My new team is fabulous at finding just-right learning materials for our 1st grade friends, and we have found a just-right system to make sure these materials get in the right friends' hands.

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Mrs. Seegert's Blog: Literacy Work Stations

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Mrs. Seegert's Blog: Literacy Work Stations

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This section is UNDER CONSTRUCTION.

Literacy Work Stations

Literacy Work Stations are a great way to practice the skills, concepts and new material learned in class! Each child completes 8 stations a week. That means each child will do two stations a day. Each station last approximately 20 minutes each.I use Pat Pavelkas Guided Reading Management system.

Spelling Station:
We use Words Their Way word sorts to find the patterns in our words. We also play spelling games such as hangman, BananaGrams and Boggle.

Grammar Station:
We complete Mad Libs, go on grammar searches,complete sorts, use grammar dice and much more!

Writing Station:

The Writing Station focus's on the Target Skills that we have learned in class.

Top 10 Station:
This station's topic changes every week to a Social Studies topic, Science topic or a topic of the kids choice. After the children create their Top 10 list, they complete an activity with their words.

Newspaper Station:
We use Newspaper Task Cards, respond to articles, buddy read and other fun activities.

Dictionary Station:
The children look up words that I display. The words go along with a topic we are studying in class. They must find the definition, pronunciation, part of speech, use it in a sentence and draw a picture of it!

Computer Station:
Activities on our blog! Most blog posts on this site are activities that we have done or will do at computer station!

Buddy Reading Station:
The children read in a "library voice" with a partner.

Handwriting Station:
Cursive handwriting practice!

Reading Response Station:
The children read a piece of literature such as an article or debate and must respond in writing.

Library Station:
Chose a book and read anywhere!

Research Station:
Read the non-fiction text and write down one connection, question or thing you learned to share with the class!

Reading Games:
Compression reading games that work on particular skills.

Occasionally I will add holiday related stations.

Our Station Wheel
See the book Pat Pavelks Guided Reading management for complete details.

Station Contracts
The children fill out contracts that keep them accountable.

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This section is UNDER CONSTRUCTION. Literacy Work Stations Literacy Work Stations are a great way to practice the skills, concepts and new material learned in class! Each child completes 8 stations a week. That means each child will do two stations a day. Each station last approximately 20 minutes each.I use Pat Pavelkas Guided Reading Management system.

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Differentiated Literacy Centers - Conversation Pieces: Building Bright Ideas

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Differentiated Literacy Centers - Conversation Pieces: Building Bright Ideas

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Conversation Pieces: Building Bright Ideas

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Detailed information about managing centers during literacy block or language arts instruction. Practical options for scheduling and ideas for differentiation are included.

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Literacy Station Activities - Mrs. Warner's 4th Grade Classroom

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Literacy Station Activities - Mrs. Warner's 4th Grade Classroom

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Students read, talk, work with a partner, research, and read some more! The following activities were created or compiled from fellow teachers to help students engage in meaningful literacy...

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I Love 2 Teach: Literacy Centers {free printable}

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I Love 2 Teach: Literacy Centers {free printable}

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Last year my district started using McGraw-Hill's reading series. While the station ideas for each week's main selection are good, someti...

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Literacy Centers for BIG Kids! - The Brown Bag Teacher

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Literacy Centers for BIG Kids! - The Brown Bag Teacher

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A former 5th grade ELA teacher, now visiting 1st grade. My 1st grade friends loves all things Daily 5, Guided Math, Google Classroom, and Mo Willems.

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A Teacher's Treasure: 5th Grade Literacy Centers!

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A Teacher's Treasure: 5th Grade Literacy Centers!

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ateacherstreasure.com is your first and best source for all of the information you're looking for. From general topics to more of what you would expect to find here, ateacherstreasure.com has it all. We hope you find what you are searching for!

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Life and Times of a Third Grade Teacher: Literacy Centers

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Life and Times of a Third Grade Teacher: Literacy Centers

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Since I just started my blog, I want to go back and put up some ideas for things that I used at the beginning of the year that I found too be really effective. I used literacy centers at the beginning of the year while I held guided reading groups, and the kids LOVED the centers! I have included pictures and descriptions for how I managed the class below!!

This is the timer that I use to let the kids know when it is time to clean their center and rotate to the next center. If you are interested in purchasing the timer, click here.

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Since I just started my blog, I want to go back and put up some ideas for things that I used at the beginning of the year that I found too be really effective. I used literacy centers at the beginning of the year while I held guided reading groups, and the kids LOVED the centers!

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Managing Literacy Centers with NO Adult Help! | Heidi Songs

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Managing Literacy Centers with NO Adult Help! | Heidi Songs

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What is the best way to teach small groups of children with only one adult in the room? It seems that most of the time, teachers are left alone in the classroom with no help at all and are expected to pull small groups to teach reading and math while the other children occupy themselves quietly. This is a problem that riddles just about every teacher at one point or another, and is probably the most common question that I receive, so this is the question I am trying to answer today. And this is probably the simplest way that I know of that is usually successful for the most people: combine some of the routines of the Daily Five with learning centers in an organized way. If you are not familiar with the Daily Five, then you can read a little about it here.

The Daily Five is a system of literacy instruction and classroom management designed by two sisters, named Gail Boushey and Joan Moser. They wrote about it in their book at the link provided. The book is worth reading and has a lot of helpful insights on how to train a class to follow the system, I think! But for a person that is struggling with just figuring out what to do with a class of little kids, it offers concrete suggestions and a routine for your kids every day, and you don't have to reinvent the wheel (and then laminate it!) to do it. However, you certainly can do as much of that as you would like!

The Daily Five includes these five areas of literacy work each day. It is these five things that could then be included in your centers.

1. Read to yourself.

2. Read with someone.

3. Writing

4. Word work.

5. Listening to reading.

Since I have never been inclined to implement the Daily Five exclusively, I would consider these five things centers to fall back on and know that you can always do, not things that you are "stuck with" and MUST do every day. (Please don't start throwing eggs at me, all you fans of the Daily Five! This is just my opinion.) You can always rotate them in and out. In any case, at my school, we have a prescribed program that we are supposed to be doing, and therefore we cannot just throw everything out and just do the Daily Five.

But first, let's talk about center organization.

Center Organization
I am not a person that likes to have kids "roaming freely" around my classroom at any time, so I like to assign them a place to go and ask them to stay there until I say that it is time to move. It's not that I don't believe in free choice; I just don't want to give it during my literacy block. Now that's just me, and these are my suggestions. You are certainly free to change things around and do whatever makes you happy! But I think that this system will give you good control of the room and make it so that when an administrator walks into the room, he or she will see that each child is busy and working- hopefully!

So, my students are all assigned a color group and they must STAY WITH THAT GROUP, DOING WHAT THEY ARE ASSIGNED UNTIL THE BELL RINGS. There are four groups. If they finish early, there are instructions for that, but they cannot leave that center and wander around the room to look for something else to do- period. If they do, there are consequences, and I am consistent with them- especially at the beginning of the year. I know that if I let it go, I'll be sorry for the rest of the year! The children ALWAYS test me on this. They need to know their boundaries, and once they find them, they are secure and happy ( I think.)

Anyway, I know that if I give a child the motivation to finish early and go find something more interesting to a five year old to do (like play with a toy), then he of course WILL. But what I need that child to do is practice reading or writing for the full fifteen minute block, etc. Therefore, I insist that the child stay there and take away all other "rewards" of finishing early and finding something else to do. And THAT is why I don't give the children free choice during the literacy block! If they want to go back to one of these activities and pursue it more during their play time in the afternoon, they are always welcome to do so.

The best thing about having assigned groups/centers that children MUST do and go to is that you don't need a complicated system to keep track of what they have completed and what they have not completed, etc. And if a child has missed a day of school, then they just missed those centers, and that's the end of that. Oh, well!

To implement literacy centers by your self, the key is to have everything set up the afternoon before you go home for the day. I put all of the materials and supplies on the table where they will be used so that they are ready to go. Then the next day, I explain to all of the children what they will do when they get there so that there is no need to stop to explain again during the rotation. We rotate groups and everyone sits down to work. Once you have it going, it works great. This should work out for the Daily Five activities as well. All you have to do is put the Daily Five activities at those other three work stations while you pull your guided reading groups. Rotate them through, keeping each group together as they do their activities.

This is how my art table was set up for the children before I left for the day. Art was one of our centers, so I had each child's space all ready to go. Whether or not anyone showed up to help me, I knew I could give the lesson.

A sound sorting tray was set up for another center before I left for the day.

You will also probably need to find a couple of really good helpers to be in charge of organizing and putting your center materials away for you when you are done. If you show your very responsible kids what the materials should look like when they are put away, there's always a few kids that can handle the responsibility! This will save you a ton of time after school, and children usually LOVE to be helpers. It's good for them, too!

An Example of a Group Rotation

So for example, this is what one day might look like:

The Red Group : Guided Reading with YOU

I meet with each group every day, although we don't necessarily do guided reading every day. Sometimes we do guided writing, or small group directed lessons in phonemic awareness, phonics, or sight word instruction.

The Green Group: Reading to Self for half of the time; Read to Someone Else for the rest of the time. (Set a timer)

These children are reading the Rhyme Book, which is one of my Singable Books from Little Songs for Language Arts. It's a lift the flap book that they made themselves!

Yellow Group: Word Work (There are lots of ideas for this on my Learning Centers Pinterest Board.)

These Sight Word Wands were a fun way to look for, read, and record sight words! Read about them here.

Writing in Journals or Listen to Reading
(You could switch off and do one two days a week and the other three days a week.) OR, you could split the group and have half the group listen while the other half writes, and then switch. But I think it is easier for the teacher to manage if the group stays together. Remember that if they are listening to reading, it doesn't have to be a professionally recorded book! It could be just YOU reading a book into a tape recorder or your computer! That's all it takes. And kids enjoy writing in journals, even when they can barely just draw pictures. Just give them a topic, and they are off.

My students really enjoyed writing in blank books, with or without a topic! But even a blank piece of paper will do.

In the beginning, keep your groups very short- just ten or fifteen minutes- and you won't have to worry too much about your students getting bored at the independent centers. And as you go along, you can always give them some different things to do if it seems that they are getting tired of one thing or the other, and you find some new things.

Remember to give your kids a chance to stretch in between centers. I ALWAYS have my kids stand up and sing three, four, or even five songs with me on the carpet in between centers! It's just part of our routine. The children expect it. It also gives the ones that are not finished cleaning up their centers a chance to finish doing that while we are singing. And it is a great way to review sight words, math, or phonics concepts throughout the day!

We put one of my HeidiSongs DVD's up on my big screen and sing in between every group!
If you are having trouble fitting math instruction in due to a half day schedule, you could consider doing some math instruction rather than always language arts instruction during the time the children meet with the teacher.
Remember, if your schedule gets interrupted by specials or recess, etc., it is always possible to start and stop your rotation, and then pick it up again later, as long as you keep your groups together and the children are required to stay at their assigned spots. I have done this many, many, times! In fact, we did it all last year and the year before! We would do the first two groups before recess, and then the third and fourth groups after recess. Once the children get used to the routine, it works out great. In fact, it gives the children (and you!) a nice little break in between groups!

If you would like to see exactly what my schedule are, then see this post here:
Heidi's Kindergarten Schedules for Half Day, Extended Day, and Full Day K

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Managing Literacy Centers with NO Adult Help

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What is the best way to teach small groups of children with only one adult in the room? It seems that most of the time, teachers are left alone in the classroom with no help at all and are expected to pull small groups to teach reading and math while the other children occupy themselves quietly.

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Serenade to Second Grade: Literacy Work Stations / Centers FREEBIE

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Serenade to Second Grade: Literacy Work Stations / Centers FREEBIE

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Literacy Work Stations / Centers FREEBIE

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If you are looking to implement literacy work stations / centers in your classroom this year, look no further! Below, you will find everyth...

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Literacy Learning Centers | Erica's Ed-Ventures

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Literacy Learning Centers | Erica's Ed-Ventures

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I have had many questions about how I run literacy centers in my classroom. I thought it was about time I did a post on them. Let me s...

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Home Click here to give feedback Click here to add your ideas to the wiki Background information DI & Understanding by Design Planning & Managing Supportive Learning Environment Knowing the Learner 21st Century Learners and Learning Respectful Tasks Pre-Assessment Continuous Assessment Leadership for Differentiation Professional Development Tools Universal Design for Learning Personalized Learning Differentiating Instruction for English Language Learners Differentiating Instruction for Advanced Learners Choice Boards Content Differentiation Cubing and Think Dots Curriculum Compacting Flexible Grouping Learning Centers Questioning & Thinking Skills R.A.F.T.

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"Raising the Bar" - Differentiated Learning: Centers

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"Raising the Bar" - Differentiated Learning: Centers

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"Raising the Bar" - Differentiated Learning: Centers

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"Life isn't the daily twists and turns which seemingly engulf lives, but instead it lies in the choices made in driving those curves during the journey." Stacy Bodin

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Differentiating Your Literacy Centers: One Size Does NOT Fit All - The Red Bench

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Differentiating Your Literacy Centers: One Size Does NOT Fit All - The Red Bench

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For Educators | Florida Center for Reading Research

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For Educators | Florida Center for Reading Research

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TPRI IAG Blackline Masters

Instructions: Click on the link below to download the activity you wish to view. Each Blackline Master includes instructions and a complete description of the activity.

If you have any problems, questions or concerns related to printing the BLMs, please email us at tpri@uth.tmc.edu.

Explore the TPRI Resources:

Explore the TPRI Resources:

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The TPRI is a one-on-one instrument designed to be administered by the classroom teacher. The TPRI consists of both a Screening Section and an Inventory Section. With a short series of student-friendly tasks, the Screening Section allows a teacher to quickly identify students who may be at risk for reading difficulty.

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Margo Southall - Differentiated Literacy Centers

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Margo Southall - Differentiated Literacy Centers

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Differentiated Instruction Strategies: Learning Stations - TeachHUB

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It's difficult to reach every student with the same teaching strategies. Learn how to differentiate your instruction using learning stations.

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How Does Differentiation Work With Literacy Centers? | Scholastic.com

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How Does Differentiation Work With Literacy Centers? | Scholastic.com

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This article is excerpted from Differentiated Literacy Centers by Margo Southall.

The differentiated literacy centers (DLCs) I developed contain reading and writing activities that directly support whole class and small-group instruction. Each center offers multilevel literacy activities that are assigned to individuals and groups of students based on their demonstrated (data-based) need in order to strengthen specific skills and strategies. Differentiated center tasks also take into account student interests and the level of support students require in order to complete their literacy assignments. The ultimate goal of DLCs is to support an easy-to-manage, success-oriented literacy program.

What's Different About Differentiated Literacy Centers?

Traditional Literacy Centers

1. Activities are based on whole-class instruction.

2. Differentiated resources are not available.

3. Students may become bored or frustrated.

4. Individual levels of support are not part of the center design.

5. One level of response is provided for each activity.

6. Students may select activities that are outside their instructional zone.

Differentiated Literacy Centers

1. Activities are based on student assessment data.

2. Students work with multilevel resources.

3. Students are engaged in their learning.

4. Levels of support based on student need are incorporated into the design of each center.

5. Tiered activities include varied responses for each skill or strategy.

6. Students follow a simple coding system to select activities within their instructional zone.

The Structure of DLCs

We begin with setting up three core, yearlong centers that develop skills in the key literacy areas: comprehension, fluency, and word study (phonemic awareness, phonics, high-frequency words and vocabulary), as shown below.

Three Core Literacy Centers

Reading Comprehension

Students will:

Develop fluent reading strategies using independent-level text

Increase reading accuracy, rate, use of expression, and meaningful phrasing during oral reading

Participate in repeated readings within collaborative and self-monitoring formats

Fluency

Students will:

Develop fluent reading strategies using independent-level text

Increase reading accuracy, rate, use of expression, and meaningful phrasing during oral reading

Participate in repeated readings within collaborative and self-monitoring formats

Word Study

Students will:

Acquire an understanding of how words work through multisensory practice and the use of tactile materials

Transfer phonics skills to reading and spelling. new single-syllable and multisyllabic words

Achieve automaticity in recognizing and spelling irregular high-frequency words

Multilevel Center Activities

Multilevel center activities are strategy-based tasks designed at three levels of challenge: beginner, intermediate, and advanced. By using these tiered center activities, teachers enable students with different learning needs to apply the same key skills and strategies but at varying levels of complexity and open-endedness (Tomlinson, 1999). For example, three students at the comprehension center may all work on a questioning activity, yet each one will be reading a different leveled text and completing an activity page that has been designed to meet his or her needs, based on assessment.

Differentiated Literacy Center Materials

Reading materials, activity sheets, graphic organizers, and other learning materials such as word cards all need to be differentiated for the three levels of activities. Reading materials should be provided at each student's independent reading level (95-100 percent accuracy rate for fiction, 97-100 percent for nonfiction). You can select from the alternative task cards, student prompts, recording forms, and suggested manipulative materials in the following chapters to meet the needs of students who struggle with reading or require additional support with organizational skills. In this way, you can modify tasks while still allowing students to participate in the same activity as their peers. These modifications maintain students' self-esteem and support their engagement and motivation.

How Do Differentiated Literacy Centers Support My Instruction?

The three core centers address the essential skills and strategies as identified by the National Reading Panel (2000). These include phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Differentiated literacy centers are part of the daily instructional cycle as we assess, plan, and implement instruction according to our curriculum. They provide opportunities for students to practice skills and strategies at their level and based on their needs. The figure below illustrates how DLCs can support your daily instruction.

A differentiated classroom meets the learners at the point of need on a continuum of literacy learning and provides developmentally appropriate learning activities based upon ongoing assessment and an understanding of how our students learn. By using the organizational guidelines for determining student need provided in Chapter 2, together with the center resources included in the following chapters, you will be able to implement a differentiated literacy center program that addresses demonstrated student needs within a multilevel classroom. In this way, every student may be both challenged and supported within a differentiated instructional framework.

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How Does Differentiation Work With Literacy Centers? | Scholastic

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This article is excerpted from Differentiated Literacy Centers by Margo Southall. The differentiated literacy centers (DLCs) I developed contain reading and writing activities that directly support whole class and small-group instruction. Each center offers multilevel literacy activities that are assigned to individuals and groups of students based on their demonstrated (data-based) need in order to strengthen specific skills and strategies.