I've been planning to work on this page
for weeks now, and can never seem to find the time
to get all the material organized, so I decided that unorganized (not
too badly, I hope) is better than not at all.
What follows is a hodgepodge of ideas
for Literacy Centers, and I hope you'll find them helpful.
No fancy pictures or categories, just a lot of information, some
notes I've written to my mailing list lately, and the now famous Walmart Shopping
Spree Letter :o)
There are also suggestions from other
teachers, and a copy of a special issue of KinderKorner
from the fall of 1998, with lots of ideas for centers sent
in by past and present KinderKorner subscribers. I've left in names
and email addresses, so everyone will get credit for their ideas.
I added some suggested books at the bottom of the page.
Here's the famous Walmart
Letter, about my early July shopping spree and the $9.95 Pocket
Charts. I subscribe to four different first grade mailing lists besides
my own, and there are still teachers on every list talking about Walmart
all day long ... as someone said today, there's nothing more dangerous
than a teacher at a sale.
It feels like Christmas in July :o)
I keep hearing from all you teachers
who are already out buying stuff for School, which for me doesn't start
until the last week in August. In July, I usually spend my money
on ME, since I don't get another check until the end of September. But it was making
me nuts reading about $10 pocket charts, so I went to Walmart this afternoon and
did some shopping.
I found lots of great stuff for Literacy
and Math Centers, and because we've had lots of new teachers asking about
what to put in centers, I'm going to tell you what I got, what it cost,
and how I plan to use it.
Here's what I found:
1. Pocket charts are $9.97.
I opened one in the store to check the quality, and it's identical to the
ones I paid around $25 each for over the past few years. I now own
14 pocket charts :)
2. I bought a rolling garment
rack to use as a pocket chart stand for $5.00! This is almost too good to be true,
so hurry if you want one. They actually had 3 different types of
garment racks. I saw one for $15.97, one for $16.97, and then this
other box that said $9.97, but there was no price on the shelf. I
took it to a scanner and it said $5. I wasn't sure it would ring
up that way. It did :) It's white tubular metal, with wheels,
and can be used tall or short. The brand is Mainstays, and the item
# on the front of the box is HR17041V. Even at $9.97, it's a half
price bargain :) I would have bought more, but I have 4 similar ones
already. You attach your pocket charts (it will hold 2, back to back)
to the top rod with "o" rings or metal shower curtain hooks.
3. I found jars of plastic letter
tiles, plastic number tiles, and paper money with coins, at $6.97 each.
I bought the letter set, upper and lower case, with 176 pieces.
4. Flashcards from the toy department
(I've bought a lot there before). They're on high-quality stock,
but I usually laminate mine so they last more than a year. I put
them in centers, or use them with open-ended board games (make your own
gameboard from a file folder with stickers for the path).
Today I bought --
* Colors and Shapes (around 50
cards, lots of shapes with the shape name and the color written on the
back, plus a lot of 2 sided matching cards). $1.97
* Three-Letter Words -- 36 sets
of 3 letter words, 54 cards plus a parent card with directions. Great
for my ABC center. $2.14
* Phonics Made Easy -- 55 cards
plus a 2 parent cards. Short vowels, long vowels, Y as a vowel, 13
blends and 5 digraphs. Colorful illustrations on one side, and a
list of words on the back of each one. The /ch/ card only has words
with one of the 3 /ch/ sounds, as in chick. My students will love
these! $2.14
5. Flash cards from the Back to
School area, next to the pocket charts. A package with 4 sets (addition, subtraction,
multiplication, and a memory game) for $3.97. These are the same
size as regular playing cards.
6. 2 "Flip and turn as you learn"
books. Spelling & Counting, and Matching & Sequencing (a HUGE K/1 skill!).
$3.97 each, and they've *very* high quality, laminated type stock and won't
wear out. Everyone should get these for their literacy centers.
7. Two sets of "Smart Slates,"
which are packs of 12 two-sided cards (approx. 8x10) that you can
write on with a non-permanent marker and then wipe off. I got Counting
Activity Cards and Writing Activity Cards. These will be great in
centers or in my Discovery Packs.
8. Two" What Time Is It" color
clings sets, to use on the side of a filing cabinet or window. They're
a large clock, with Colorforms-like stick on numbers and hands. Kids
will love them. $1.47 each.
9. In the toy dept -- 2 alphabet
placemats, one upper case and one lower case. Heavy laminated vinyl,
with space to practice writing on the back. Colorful and fun.
$2.47 each.
I spent a total of $62.62, and ended
up with enough stuff to set up the following Literacy & Math Centers:
* Pocket Chart
* 3 Letter Words (with flash cards &
flip book -- can also use cards in Pocket Chart)
* Alphabet Centers
* Free Exploration (letter tiles)
* Letter Recognition & Writing (placemats) Note: You could combine the placemats
with the tiles for a great visual discrimination/letter identification
matching activity
* Phonemic Awarness (flash cards for
letter sounds, digraphs & blends -- can also be used in Pocket Chart to play
concentration, or for sequencing -- lots of possible uses)
* Addition (flash cards -- can also
use to make a file folder game)
* Subtraction (flash cards -- can also
use to make a file folder game)
* Multiplication (flash cards -- can
also use to make a file folder game -- and, yes, many first graders like
to do multiplication)
* Memory game -- visual discrimination
and matching (can be played in pocket chart, on floor, or on table)
That's a total of 14 "centers," most
of which don't require space except for storage in a basket or bin. Every
one of those activities could be doubled or tripled by adding paper and writing
instruments (crayons, markers, pens & pencils, small chalkboards, etc.).
You could also extend them by adding a book or two, and a journal/class
book for kids to record their activities in. None of these centers
would take more than 3 to 5 minutes to explain how to use.
So, for just over $4 each, I got at
least 14 new center activities for my class. Not bad, huh?
And I know you can think of many additional activities to do with them.
Here's a short run-down on what they
had that I didn't buy (but you might want to get for yourself):
Back to School Section:
* Flannel Board that folds for storage
- $8.97 * 50 Counting Cats with 5 cups - $3.97 * 24 piece flannel board story sets
(6 to 8 stories in each) - $2.97 - $3.47 * Fraction Circle sets - $2.97 * Sentence Strips - $1.97 (great price!) * Many more flash card sets * Closing Pencil boxes - under $1
On the Clearance Aisle
* Shower Curtains for $2 -- great for
writing floor poems on or making bean bag toss games * Large plastic insects for under $3
each
In the Toy Department
* Time & Money Flash Cards (I have
these & they're great -- use plastic coins to match with the money cards, and
little Judy clocks with the time cards) $2.47 * Numbers 1 to 100 Flash Cards -- $2.47 * Cardboard Tray Puzzles -- PreK (pkg
of 3 five piece puzzles $2) & more difficult puzzles in pkgs of 4 for
$4.97
Auto Accessories
* Large drip pan/tray that goes under
car to keep driveway clean (approx 3x4 feet) -- use on floor or tabletop,
or lean against wall for magnetic shapes & letters -- $7.96 (I put the self-stick magnetic strips
on the back of a whole set of pattern blocks for the kids to use on one of
these boards -- it's a great activity!).
The good news (depending on how you
look at it) is that everything fit into one bag, except for the garment rack.
I could store everything else together in a dishpan if I wanted to.
So for those of you who want to do centers but think you don't have room for "all
that stuff," these are great.
Hmm, maybe next time I'll tell you about
all the stuff I bought at the Dollar Store for under $20 :o)
Thanks for your note. Yes, I do use "portable" centers.
99% of my centers are portable ... I don't like to dedicate space to one
single purpose, and I'm lousy at keeping my tables clean enough for the
kids to work on.
This first part will sound weird, but kids aren't allowed to read
in the Reading Corner ... if they did, no one else would be able to get
close enough to reach a book :)
My biggest storage problems are in the summer, when I have to pack
everything in boxes and label it, which means I have to take everything
out of the tubs and baskets I keep things in and then store the containers,
too. I probably have more than 100 tubs, baskets, dishpans, etc.,
in all shapes and sizes, and that's where my centers materials live.
During the year, they all have a "home" where the kids can find them and
take them to a workspot on the floor, at their desk, or at a table, if
they can find any free table space.
I don't own any of the kind of centers most teachers have to make
in college ... the ones made from 3 pieces of posterboard taped together,
so that they fold open and stand up while holding materials in pockets.
Too big and too limiting on activities, at least for me.
I use a graphic organizer Work Board for my Literacy Centers rotation.
There are 4 color-coded groups with no more than 5 kids in each, and there
are as many as 6 different activities each day (I begin the year with 2,
then gradually build up to 6 after Spring Break, when the first graders
are getting quicker at doing things).
The kids do the work independently -- sometimes alone, sometimes
with one or more people in their color group. There are rules, of
course -- you must do the activities in order, and you must follow the
rules for specific activities. For example, the reading activities
(song and poetry cards, big books, other book type reading), require them
to read at least 3 books/cards. They can choose to read ALL of them
if they want, and then they wouldn't go any further down their Work Board
activities that day, which is fine. What they *can't* do is skip
an activity to get to another, but there is no requirement to finish all
the Work Board activities on any given day or week. I have enough
different reading and writing activities that they get lots of practice.
I hope this is making sense. Here's what a typical group's
choices might look like on one day, with my comments in (
):
* Big Books (minimum of 3)
* ABC center (I have 3 tubs they can choose from ... all have flash
cards, ABC books, song and poem cards, and other ABC activities ... they
must spend at least 10 minutes before cleaning up)
* Write the Room (small clipboards -- about 6x9 -- they can copy
any print they see anywhere, and must fill one side of a page, even if
they can't read everything they wrote. I have beginning writers draw
pictures to help them remember the words).
* Rainbow Spelling (This one is at a table or on the floor. I post
the week's spelling words -- from our basal series -- on a half sheet of
chart paper, and the kids write them 3 times each with colored markers
or colored pencils. They love this one!)
* Pocket Charts (They have to read/do the activities in at least
4 charts)
* Stamp a Word (They take a tub with rubber alphabet stamps, stamp
pads, and large sheets of greenbar computer paper to a work area and stamp
any words they want to stamp).
At the end of the day (or the next morning when I remember -- they
remind me!), I move all the cards over to the next group. By Friday,
all four sets of activities will have rotated through all 4 groups, so
if we miss a day, everyone usually gets to do all that week's activities.
I have about a dozen activities that are ALWAYS on the chart -- read the
room, write the room, pocket charts, ABCs, Rainbow spelling, Book Boxes,
Star Author, etc. -- and I pick and choose from the other ones, so that
our work board is different every week.
I also have some activities that are done by two groups on the same
day, like Pocket Charts, so that the kids get to do them twice each week.
And I put the more academic (in my opinion) activities at the top, and
the really fun stuff (stamp a word, stencils, ABC magnets, etc.) at the
bottom of the column, so that they have added incentive to stay on task.
If it sounds hectic, it's really not. I find it's much better
to have 15 to 30 separate activities available so that the kids can move
at their own pace and in smaller groups. That way, I rarely have
4 or 5 kids in one spot, talking too loudly, being off-task, or fighting
over whatever materials they're using.
When I add new activities (like the neat stuff I bought at Walmart),
I introduce the activity on Monday morning right after Shared Reading,
showing them where the tub is kept and how to use what's in it, and the
card for that activity is already up on the week's Work Board Rotation.
I can introduce up to 8 actitivies in a week once the kids are used to
doing Literacy Centers, because the basic rules stay the same (inside voices,
treat the materials respectfully, be sure your hands are clean, etc.).
Anyone who doesn't follow those rules gets stuck at their desk reading
or writing until Literacy Center time is finished. I don't usually
have many kids breaking the rules, but they do get noisy all too often.
Every few weeks, the discussion of centers comes up again :)
I'm sending the info from a special edition of KinderKorner from last Fall,
when we devoted an entire issue to Literacy Centers (this was back when
I had to cut and paste the whole thing together every day, whew!).
I'll be adding these -- and more -- suggestions to the KK website very
soon.
Victoria :)
*** Forwarded message starts here ***
Most teachers I know use Literacy Centers in their classroom in one
way or another. Some use them during traditional Developmental Centers
time, choosing time-honored centers like the Listening Center or Magnetic
Letters. Others fully integrate Literacy Centers into their Language
Arts time, as an important component of literacy instruction that keeps
kids reading and writing all morning long.
I fall into the second group of teachers. I have over 30 different
Literacy Centers that I use on a rotating basis, while I do individual
instruction and guided reading. My language arts period lasts from
9 a.m. until 11:20 a.m. There is a 10 minute recess in the middle,
and after recess the students begin Writers Workshop. Whenever one
of my students has free time, they choose from a literacy activity.
Our afternoons are spent doing math, social studies, and science, and we
use reading and writing in those subjects, too. My kindergarten and
first graders read and write all day long, and have a great time doing
it.
I know how easy it is to get overwhelmed by the huge amount of information
available to teachers, and the seemingly insurmountable task of getting
all these activities set up. After the first Wright Group workshop
I attended 5 years ago, I wanted to changed EVERYTHING I was doing before
Monday came around again. Even though I had been told -- repeatedly
-- that it takes 2 to 5 years to get everything in place, I thought I could
do it all at once. More importantly, I thought I HAD to do it all
at once, or I would be shortchanging my students. Nothing could
be farther from the truth!
The best advice I can give you regarding any change in teaching is
to start slowly, so that you and your students have time to adjust to the
changes you're making. Small children need transistion time, and
they also need LOTS of modeling and time to learn the right way to use
each of your centers.
While some teachers may be able to start a whole bunch of new activities
at once, others can't -- their students aren't ready for it and/or they
only have a certain amount of time and money to invest in making changes.
It's OK to add things one at a time, if that's what works best for you.
My other suggestion is to ask for help. Ask other teachers
how they're doing something and what makes it work. Ask your principal,
PTA, and parents to donate materials. Ask your husband and children
to help you collect the things you need to get your centers set up the
way you like. Apply for grants to enhance your students' literacy.
I've received over $1000 in mini-grants in the past 3 years, and I'm applying
for two different $1000 grants for next year (one is from my school district,
and the other is a reading association research grant). Talk
to your district and your local reading association for grant information.
Have fun trying some new centers, and let us know which ones your
kids love most!
Literacy Centers My children really love writing around the room. They put
paper on a clip board and get a pencil and can write anything in the room that they
wish. Sometimes when they pair up, one may even use a pointer and tell
the other what to write.
They also love stamp and sticker stories. They use the stamps
or stickers (appropriate to the unit) and write rebus type stories using stamps/stickers and words. I usually put a limit of stickers to be used so
they will not go nuts with the stickers.
Using the overhead is fun too. I have many rebus type stories
for the overhead. They use the pointer or fly swatter to do activities
just like I do with them. Puppets to retell the story using a backdrop
is fun too.
****************************************
From: <A HREF="mailto:ReganHar">ReganHar</A>
Literacy Centers- This is my favorite and one of my most successful:
While doing a unit on Jan Brett stories point out to the children the
way she has borders on her later books. You can also compare some of her earlier illustrations with such books as The Mitten, Armadillo Rodeo and
others that show her beautiful illustrations on the borders. Talk about how
the borders show what will happen next. Then when the children go to centers
have some pre-made sentence strips with words such as Mom, Dad, happy, sad,
dog, cat, Me, etc. The children then write the word in the center of a white
piece of construction paper with a black crayon. They then draw pictures
around the word that illustrate the word with black crayon again. Then, using watercolors they paint the illustrations. Mount on a larger piece
of colored construction paper with their names on the border.
*************************************** From: <A HREF="mailto:LMBtwins">LMBtwins</A> My students love to write in their journals. Each day I have one
student write their journal entry on the overhead. The student reads the
journal. I ask their permission to have the class edit it. The student gets
to correct the errors and we reread it out loud. The students often choose
this activity during free language art centers because they like it so much.
I also have a making words center set up in a pocket chart. Throughout
the week the students go up to the pocket chart when they have a few
minutes and they try to make words out of the scrambled Mystery Word. On Fridays
we go through all of the words that the students came up with and we decode
the mystery word. It's a great activity for your average and high students.
I teach first grade in Keller TX. One of my student's favorite
literacy center is our Bookmaking center. In the basket of materials
I have numerous writing utensils (map colors, colored pens, markers, crayons, etc.),
a tablet of story paper and a stapeler. The children are allowed to
make a book about anything they want. This is the one center that students rush
to get to work at it. I have seen some of the most amazing books the children
come up with. I am looking forward to getting some more ideas.
As for literacy centers in my room, one that I do each week is research.
The students cut out letters from the newspaper and magazines for the
letter of the week. After we are done with the alphabet they will research
words I choose. They can either find the entire word or find the letters
to spell it on their paper. This is a variation from the program Success
in Reading and Writing.
We also keep individual Book Bags in the library. I have them
hanging on a drying rack, one for each student. They are just one gallon
ziploc bags. Then when we make individual books, they go in the bag. Students
may read them with pointers during centers and they are also good for when
parents come in, they can read one-on-one with the studnets by just grabbing
the bag!
***************************************
From: lllisan@aol.com (LLLisaN)
Writing centers (children need to write sentences uses sight words)
Whiteboard center
Putting the alphabet in order. Children put together the mixed
up letters in a pocket chart
File folder books. Children save all the easy reader books
we have made in class. They read them as a center.
Yarn center. Give kids yarn they use it to make letters and
words. Great for spatial skills.
*************************************** From: cheesehead4ever@juno.com (Susan E. Clark)
1) Spelling center- I have all kinds of different materials
with letters on them (magnetic, flashcards, rubber stamps, popsicle sticks, tiles, alphabet markers, bingo markers, etc.) I also have playdough and wikki sticks.
With those, they spell their spelling words.
2) Book Match- Find a book that relates to your theme.
Write the words from the book on sentence strips and cut apart all the words. Place the words in a random order in a pocket chart. They have to match the words to the book,
so it reads just like the book. Hint!!! Don;t chose books
that are very long!!
3) Poetry Place- I have a rhyming dictionary, many poetry books, samples of different types of poems, magnetic poetry kit (words that can be used to form poems: I
got it at Target), and different types of blank poetry forms.
I also do a poetry match, just like the book match. That I
do line by line though.
4) Sign Language center- This is one that I have done
on my own!! My kids are so into sign language, I made a
center under my cubbies. I put a poster with the letters, flashcards, and books. Many of my students go to it by choice daily.
5) Anything on the overhead!!! I do mostly math problems
from a book called Read it! Draw it!! Solve it!!
I give them actual abject to use on the overhead to make it more fun. A
sample problem would be: There are 9 ants going to the picnic.
6 of them are blue. The rest are yellow. How many are yellow??
My favorite center is Read the Room/Write the room
VERY VERY SIMPLE.... for read the room, the student may work
alone or with a partner, he or she gets a pointer and reads anything he can
find in my room. Poetry on the wall charts, the lunchline list on the door,
the abc charts, the conduct chart ( a big favorite for some odd reason :-)
), the word wall, the story starters, the pocket chart, directions for other centers,
student work on bulletin boards, etc.....
the room is similar, using a clipboard, the students copy text
from anywhere they can find it :-)
The children have their choice of pointers or clipboards, depending
on whether they choose to read or write, and they
simply go around the room deciphering all of the print they can. I know this sounds
way too simplistic, but am passing it along for new teachers who may not
have discovered the joy of this activity. The first week or so
require some HEAVY_DUTY modeling from the teacher,but after that it's an easy
one.
I try to use creative pointers for Read-the'Room, but the lids
really love just to use my old fashioned, everyone has one, classroom pointers!!
:-)
I also am constantly on the lookout for paper that can be used
for write the room. Sometimes we use newsprint, but lots of times we recycle
the backs of old newletters, dittos, notes from th office, etc. I am letting
my students use colored pencils for this activity this year for a little bit
of added spark.
Here's one that helps familiarize the kids with each other's names.
I stick a school photo of each child on its own quart sized zippered
baggie (Hefty One Zip Slider bags are best -- the kids can actually close
these bags -- I use them for everything now). Then inside the baggie
I include a strip with that child's name AND I include the individual letters that
make up that child's name. ("Making Words" type letters would work fine.)
The kid unzips the bag, takes out the name strip, puts it on the
baggie above the child's picture, then "spells" the name with the indivual letters
below the picture.
You do need to stress that the children s p r e a d this
activity over a big space so the letters don't get into the wrong baggies.
OR you could have the child spell a name, then clean it up, open another baggie, spell
that name, clean it up. But it IS rewarding for the kids to see
all their work spread out in front of them. It takes two kids about 15-25
minutes (with some talking) to spell my class of 20 names. The first few
days it is slow going, then it picks right up.
I have developed an interactive word wall...it is one of my literacy
centers.
There is a long bulletin board--about 10 yards long in one side of
my room..so that is my word wall. Above it I have the actual
word wall with the heavy duty words we have to learn and all the names of the class
members, pets included.
On the interactive wall:
1. An author place--with pictures of the characters we are
studying... (currently Kevin Henkes) and a place to write comparisons
of books
2. a velcro abc board with capitals, lower case letters, and
pictures to match
3. a changing display of skill-type pictres and words for children
to manipulate--short vowel words, long vowel, blends, contractions,
compound words, ending sounds, to name a few
4. a write-on word family page...i post the word family at
the top and the children write words on postits and stick them on: for example.
--at --an, etc. children write appropriate words.. cat, fat, hat, that, sat.
I change it each week.
Some of the more popular centers I use in my classroom (2nd grade)
are:
* In our reading corner I have a small plastic kids pool lined with
body pillows. Our theme is "Dive into a Good Book." The kids
love to partner read in the pool and complete mini-book reports (Author, Title,
one thing that happens, and whether they recommend they book) on the books
they chose.
* I have a small tent (called a Mega House) where children can chose
a book and listen to it on tape while they read using a walkman.
* Stampers- I have tons to use for illustrating stories, letter ones
to practice spelling or vocabulary words.
* Puppet making- children work together in small groups to create
puppets and write their own short play which they present to the class.
* Wikki Sticks to practice spelling words
* Writing center using dry erase boards. It seems like even
the most reluctant writers open up when using the boards.
*************************************** From: <A HREF="mailto:KATHIT1065">KATHIT1065</A>One of my
favorite centers is my writing center. I keep different sizes of pens, pencils and
paper there along with picture dictionaries and illustrated word cards. I make
the word cards on my computer each month.I make a variety of blank books
for our themes and have them available for my young writers to write books.
I have also collected a lot of rubber stamps for the children to use at
this center to make cards for people. Children often want to make "Get Well"
cards for sick family members and this is the perfect place to make them.
Currently, many children have been making "Happy Thanksgiving" cards
and Indian books. Blank books in the shapes of tepees or canoes provide
a lot of motivation for November. Cute seasonable notepad pages make interesting covers for a variety of books. I had a turkey notepad that I used
to make several blank books for this month. Just tear off a single page
and cut 3 or 4 blank pieces of paper to staple to it -Instant Blank Book! The
notepad page makes a wonderful front cover!
Some things that are poplular with my class this year are:
the Listening Center.... I have recorded many of the books that I read to the class.
They seem to like to listen to ME reading the stories because they know it is
me!! So, I have asked parents if they would like to record stories for the
children. We have a group that is now doing this and the children love it.
They love listening to their Mom or even their Dad. I have now also
suggested that even Grandparents or aunts, etc, might like to do this . The children
seem to be using the listening center much more because they or a classmate
know who is reading the story.
The Writing Center..... I made clipboards for each child. These are just made from
sturdy heavy cardboard that was donated. I cut it to size and covered with contac
paper and hot glued a clip clothes pin on each board. The children go
around the room and copy words that they can read. They must read them
to a friend and to me and then print each word out again. They love doing
this. I have also let them go out into the hall to look for words.
Another popular center... Pick-A-Pocket We use a child size hanging shoe holder. I drop plastic letters ,that I want to review, into the pockets. The children take turns choosing a pocket , reaching into it, feeling
the letter, and naming the letter or its sound. They love playing this game at center time.
How about adding a wet sand tub to the list of literacy centers?
Here's how I did it - I got the kids to help me take some sand out of the sand table and
put it into a large plastic tub. We then added water. I gave
the kids some alphabet cookie cutters and they proceeded to make molds with the
wet sand. I'm going to try doing this with the Jello Jiggler ABC molds next.
Here is a ABC activity for matching upper and lower-case alphabet
letters. You need to have access to an Ellison Die Cut machine (with various
dies) and purchase some "fun foam" at the arts and crafts store.
Purchase some tan foam to use with the "Gingerbread Man" die or some
light blue foam to use with the "Snowman" die.
Purchase pink or red foam to use with the "Tiny Hearts" die.
Cut out 26 copies of the Gingerbread Man (or Snowman) and 26 Tiny
Hearts.
On each Gingerbread Man (or Snowman) write one of the upper-case
alphabet letters, on each Tiny Heart write a lower-case letter. Use
a Sharpie Permanent Marker so the letters don't smear when handled by children. (Before you write the letters on the Gingerbread Men, figure out
where the children will end up putting the hearts, so you will know where
you should write the letter. You will want to be able to see both letters
when the center is completed.)
Children lay out Gingerbread Men in ABC order then match the correct
lower case alphabet letter to each capital letter by placing the corresponding heart on each Gingerbread Man.
Have fun! (I stole this from Amy Love, who is a wonderful teacher
in Suisun, CA)
I am a first grade teacher who is always looking for new literacy
centers. One activity that the children really like is the puzzle center.
I find copies of appropriate wordsearches, laminate them, and let the children
write on them with washable markers. When done, they use towels
to clean them off.
Another station that is very popular with the children is the magnetic
letter station. My big whiteboards in my classroom are magnetic.. The children
go up and practice their spelling words, etc. on the boards. I recently
purchased some foam magnetic letters, which have been very popular. They are
colored and a little larger than some which is appealing to the students!
Hi everyone, I tried something with my spelling words today.
I used graham crackers as "paper" and a plastic sandwich bag filled with a spoonful
of marshmallow creme as the "pencil". I cut a tiny tip
of the bag (the same way you do when decorating cakes etc.). It was tricky to fill
the bags with the creme but it worked fairly well. I filled them the night
before and had them ready to pass out this afternoon. I told the kids to
use their tongues as "erasers" and once they wrote four words to erase them and write
the others. They loved it! I am trying to do a "Eat Your
Spelling Words" activity each week. Last week we used pretzel sticks to spell
the words.
Any ideas would be appreciated for eating our spelling words each
week.
One of the most favorite centers within my classroom has turned out
to be the writing station. I take a piece of posterboard and cut across
it five inches across. Laminate the two pieces of posterboard then staple
the small part to the bottom to make it look like a large envelope. This has helped
with storage!!!!!
Then I put all kinds of stuff to help the students make cards.
I put in stickers...a bunch of titles such as Happy Birthday, I Love You,
Thank You,Get Well, etc. (This helps the students with recognition
and writing the words they really want to use. ) In addition I add anything from
yarn, pom-poms, wiggly eyes, letter and picture stencils, etc....I have
various sample cards for the students to look at for help, if needed.The
kids could probably stay at that station all day if they could. They
make cards for their family, teachers around the building, and students within
the room. Of course the students are now starting to recognize more words off
the word wall and incorporate them into their card making.
This is an idea for all centers.......(heard about this at a workshop
many years ago)........... I make paper (plain, colored, lined, etc.)
and writing tools (markers, pencils, pens, etc) available to the children at
all times (in the kitchen, by the computer, near the blocks, etc.) to record
their thoughts and ideas no matter where they are or what they are doing.
Another idea for literacy centers... I put picture/word cards
in the writing center. I change them periodically depending on the season,
month, holiday, or unit of study. I like to use these cards to create memory games
too. Just have to have two sets!!
Another idea, but it is really not a literacy center......(this idea
came from a friend of mine)........I write each child's first name in
red on a sentence strip, last name in green on a sentence strip, birthdate
(another color), address (another color), and telephone number (another color).
I photocopy their school pictures and glue that to the back of their
own cards. I use these cards when introducing each concept to the class.
For instance, at the beginning of the year, each child comes up each day
when his/her card is next. He/she tracks each letter and says the letter names
in his/her name and then reads his/her name. The rest of the class does it
with that child. Since we do this for every child almost every day, each child learns
all the other children's names quickly!! Then I had last names and
all the rest. Also use these when I am working with individual students on these
skills.
One of the tasks my children (kindergartners, ages 4, 5 and 6 at
the beginning of the year) do when they get to school each day is their
Special Word Card. They draw a picture on an index card (color-coded
depending on what color table they sit at) and I write the word that describes
their picture on the other side of the card. Of course, I model
letter formation and have them help me figure out how to spell the words. If
it takes more than one word to describe their picture, then we also get into spacing between words. They each have their own Special Word Box (plastic
index card boxes that I purchased at Office Max) that they keep their cards
in. At least once a week we take time to "read" our special word cards
to the other children who share a table with us. When it comes time to
write in journals (usually not until after Christmas), they have a great word bank
built up of words that they know -- makes writing a bit less intimidating for
those who are nervous about it. They love sharing their words with their
parents visit when they visit, and are very proud of their own card file box!
WRITE THE ROOM! Have the children take a clipboard and paper and look for words
of skills that you are working on............examples: words that begin
with "T"; blends; nouns; verbs; adjectives; word families like the _at, _it,
or _ug family and so on! the list goes on and on!!!
Also, my kids love READING THE ROOM. They work in pairs and
take a pointer and go around together reading posters, poems, word wall, etc!!!
THE OVERHEAD.............Using magnetic (or even better because they
aren't so noisy!) foam letters to practice making words from the spelling
list or word wall! Put the overhead on the floor...............it's much easier for
the kids to use!
1. The "Make A Book" Center. This is where the children
can create various kinds of books. There is paper of all sizes, textures,
shapes etc. to help in there book making. The children really love it, and it
gets them to write and to read.
2. Read the Room Center is another one of their favorites.
The children even use glasses without the frames when they go around to read.
The children get to read all of the charts, wall books, word walls,
etc. The children have a great time when in this center.
3. The Magnetic Board Center is another favorite. Using
the magnetic board and the magnetic letters the children get to create words and sentences. Very motivating!
Here are the names of two books that I use to develop reading centers
in my classroom. It is not all inclusive..but new to me this year....
What are the other kids doing...while you teach small groups? Creative Teaching Press--the book has 30 centers that you can easily use
in any classroom. Some can be the same for weeks at a time... others you
can change to go along with a specific skill or theme. It was about $20
The next book I just purchased. I am going to be making a few of
the activities into centers this weekend. It is called....Develloping
Literacy Uning Reading Manipulatives. 2333. $15.95 from Creative
Teaching Press.
Just before I came onto the computer I checked my mail and found
a Hammett's catalog. Inside there were two games that I thought looked interesting
for a center.
1. magnetic playsets--children could use the props to write
a story or could work with a partner to tell a story-- there was a construction site,
ocean set, ballet studio, and the one that I am going to go look at tonight....Fun with Letters. They are each $7.99. If they look good I am going
to see if the parents will each buy a set for their child to use at home.(Parents
in my school will often ask for gift ideas around the holidays) Then I
will buy 6 sets to use in school. I am going to look and see if I can add color
to the vowels. (I don't know about anyone else BUT I am tired of
the management of the paper letters.....!!!)
3. I also I lucky to have a few games and software to go with some
of our literature.
The Hammett's catalog also had a few of the games that I use for
centers.. Goodnight Moon game I Spy Memory Game Green Eggs and Ham The Cat in the Hat Software Franklyn Madeline
4. I am going to look at the new Clifford the Big Red Dog Make a
Match Game $12.95 and the Really Amazing Animal Game $19.95.
LITERACY CENTERS IN MY CLASSROOM Although the center areas stay the same the activities can vary
depending on skill, theme, story read alouds.
WRITING 1. Students respond to stories in a response journal 2. Sudents write about stories we have read and make a bulletin
board ie: Caps for Sale Students
cut and trace a monkey pattern. Make and
hat for each monkey...cut out
Then on the belly write the following My favorite part was when.... We paint a mural with a large tree.
We hang each monkey. 3. We make books following the pattern of stories ie: Mrs. Wishy Washy Students made an acordian style book with
pockets. They were adorable..predictable story line
..the students made a horse, a pig, and a duck. Tied them to
string and stapled each to a pocket.
SPELLING CENTER We use ideas from Month by Month Phonics for this center and making
words.
Students play games using magnets, stamps, chalkboards, shoelaces,
pasta, etc
LISTENING CENTER standard activities (some of the books on tape are children
in the class or their parents..I have begun to ask parents to tape stories as a
"birthday" activity for their child. I send home a book and tape for those
that would like to participate)
READING CENTER standard activities--books and pocket chart activities
GAME CENTER We use games that I have made or games that I have purchased. Mailbox
has some very good file folder games that you can laminate and use as
a center.
AUTHOR'S CHAIR Children have a chance to read their stories to a buddy.
COMPUTER CENTER Using software and the Living Books from my collection and the school
library
This is just a general outline. I try to have 4-6 centers open at
a time. While students are at centers I meet with book clubs. Sometimes
these are homogeneous groups other time a mixture of abilities..It depends
on what I have available to read.
*************************************** Victoria's Centers (some that weren't mentioned) ...
*Rainbow Spelling (kids write spelling words in colored pencil or
markers on large computer paper)
* Interactive Pocket Charts -- I use 6 to 8 pocket charts at all
times, and am adding some desktop ones as a new poetry center -- use for reading, singing, matching, Word Sort, Word Building, etc. My kids
use special magic wand pointers.
* Various collections of ... Big Books -- Song & Poetry Cards
(on 1/2 sheets of poster board) -- Thematic & Seasonal Book Baskets -- Individual
Book Boxes for students -- poetry books, jokes & riddles -- Picture Dictionaries
-- catalogs, magazines, shopping ads, menus, maps -- Weekly Reader
posters (they love them because they're big!) -- Daily Letter on chart paper,
stapled together weekly -- Browsing Box of leveled books from school bookroom
Yes, I have baskets and boxes EVERYWHERE and don't have a lot of
extra floorspace, especially when the kids are all busy reading and writing!
* Chalkboards (for writing & painting w/ water)
* Message Center -- for sending notes/cards to other students
* Library Corner -- reading glasses (no lenses), stuffed animals,
LOTS of books on all topics and all levels
* Stamp a Word -- Stencils -- Sticker Stories -- Pattern Stories
-- Frame Writing -- Publishing Center for Illustrating Books
* ABC center -- flashcards, mini books, flip books, etc. -- very
popular and it fits into 2 boxes just slightly bigger than shoeboxes!
* Word Cards -- a huge variety of flashcards, etc., for reading,
sorting, building sentences -- lots were discards of old PhonoVisual stuff
and other abandoned things, the kids love the word families and rhyming cards!
* Bingo and Word-O
* Word Hunt -- kids get a letter or digraph and see how many words
they can find that start with or contain it
* Author Study -- lots of books by featured author
* Computer -- always 2 kids work together
* Floor puzzles
* Dramatic Play -- baskets of book & props (Mrs. Wishy Washy,
etc.) -- a real favorite is my inflatable wading pool w/ flippers & masks &
water theme books
Lori Vig very generously sent me this information and said I could
post it here. You can visit her terrific website, Mrs. Vig's First
Grade Page, at http://www.angelfire.com/ma/1stGrade/
Here are the literacy centers that I have used, they are not on Victoria's page, so I thought I would pass them on! Lori
Literacy Centers
1. Literature Circle: A group of students will read a literature
selection together and discuss their favorite part. Once they are comfortable
with this process, they can map the story on large chart paper, make puppets
and put on a play for the class, etc. This allows children to own literature.
2. Browsing Box: Each guided reading group takes the books read during
group and puts them into a browsing box they can look at the books as
a group. This is an effective because the students are dealing with familiar text independently. Each day three students choose book to read from
their browsing box to share with the entire class. Once they read the
book and read it to a partner they write about the story they read. (see attached
form)
3. Independent Reading: Children can choose a book from our
class library, they complete a book review which is kept in a three ring binder
in our library for others to look at.
4. Buddy Reading: I have a box of two copies of books at all levels.
The students read with a partner, this can be familiar or unfamiliar
texts. Then they work with their buddy to draw or write about their favorite
part.
5. Writing Box: There are several options here, writing paper, picture
and word prompts. In the beginning of the year, this is a nice place
to use frames with sight vocabulary.
6. Journal Writing: I like to give the each student a picture to
glue in their journal and then they write about it.
7. Pocket Chart: I have an activity they work on. For example this
week I have the big book The Big Red Barn (we are studying farms) I have
the directions on sentence strips they have to choose a farm picture,
write at least 2 sentences about it. and draw a picture. This is good place
to use your themes.
8. Phonics Center: Phonics based literature, games, worksheets
and flash cards. I also have different activities on cards and have them in
an index card box.
9. Handwriting Center: I usually have a frame with blanks. I also have laminated alphabet cards for the class to practice either by
tracing over them in a marker or play dough. They can also use wikki sticks;
pipe cleaners, etc., to make letters. This is a good time to write seasonal
poem and not use whole class time for different holidays.
10. Overhead: I put cloze paragraphs on there a lot (kids love working
on the overhead) I also let the kids map out their stories on the overhead,
stories they have read or will be writing. This is also where my kids start
to develop their use of graphic organizers, I make overheads of plot
graphs, venns , etc., and have the children do them for a story they have
read.
11. Sight Word Center: (which may change to vocabulary center depending
on your students) They can make the sight words with rubber stamps,
magnetic letters, paint baggies, sand trays, and I have letters written on
shapes (shells for June) I use this to reinforce letter and word manipulation.
Plus it works great to help them learn the sight words! YOU COULD USE
YOUR SPELLING WORDS... I also might have them choose 5 sight words to
use in a sentence. I also do Making Words folder here.
12. Poetry Box: I have poems that are laminated, and another set
that are the words cut apart. The kids put the words together and glue them and
illustrate it. I also have pieces with magnets on the back for them to put
in order too. I also have their poetry laminated and poetry books, rhyme games
etc. My kids keep a three ring binder of poems in there are poems we have done
in class, and original works. I also put all the poems we did in group there
the kids use pointers and can stick wikki sticks or highlighting removable
tape over words.
13. Listening: This is always followed up by a writing activity.
I also put books on tape recorded by our "guest speakers" principal, custodian,
nurse, etc.
14. Read and Write the Room: The kids use pointers, etc., to read
the print that is hanging in the room. They also carry a clip board to hunt
for certain words or letters in words and write them down.
15. Big Books: The kids use pointers, etc., to read the books.
I sometimes put a post it outside a book a want them to read. I might put a
post it that says circle all the Days of the week in this story. So they use
pipe cleaners or wikki sticks to do that, and might write them etc.
16. Computers: (I only have 1....) I usually have a living book or
Ed CD ROM. They have a log to record what CD they did and three things new
they learned.
17 Stamp a Story: Kids use rubber stamps (I have tons) to make a
picture, and write a logical story to go with it. (this is a favorite!)
18. Build a Sentence: Kids choose sentence parts out of a bag they
put them together to make a silly sentence which is copied onto a sentence
strip and illustrated) I have them color coded beginning words (a, the) on
yellow, nouns on green, verbs on red, describing words on pink.
19. Deal a Story: I have cards I purchased that allow kids to choose
one of each color to write a story about...my kids love this! I also
add cards for themes we are doing.
20. Post Office: I have all sorts of neat stationary etc. for the
kids to write letters on. I have a laminated class list and names of teachers
there too. On rings I have words that would be used to write letters like
dear how etc. I have the Wee Deliver Program so I got a rubber stamp and
sorter and small mailbox. Plus it is great to learn names for the postal worker
of the week.
21. Tape- A- Story: I have blank tapes from Crystal springs the child
can tape themselves reading, this is nice to bring home and for record
keeping too. They can even ask to put it in our listening center also.
22. Book Making: In the beginning of the year I use this as the center
for kids to make those reproducible books we do in shared reading. (like Scholastic’s My Books) Then my kids will begin to publish their
own original books, these have a special spot in our library and can be used
for DEAR time, be sure to include a blank page for comments!
23. Non Fiction Center: I have available lots of nonfiction emergent
readers (from Scholastic and Wright group) I have a card that goes with
each book that has some questions to answer. I made this center because I
felt like my kids did not do enough with nonfiction, this is one of the last
centers I introduce.
Angel18658@aol.com writes:
> I have used page protectors with dry erase markers. Slip
a piece of lined > paper with numbers or letters or even the child's name,
into the page > protector. They can practice tracing the numbers,
etc., then use a sock to > erase and try again. Put the pages in a folder with
brads and use it in a > center.
From: Qwerkee1@aol.com Subject: Re: First Week Learning Centers.
Sally and I sound a lot alike. I do very similar things. One
management tip: those little hand held tape recorders....they are great.
I bought five of them. They are strategically placed at each center that
has
any activity in it. The children's' conversations are recorded so that
I may listen to the discussions later. I listen for learning, discovery, questions,
and misunderstandings in learning. It is also great for keeping
the kids on track in their discussions. Now I don't penalize for tangents
or the occasional "what are you doing this weekend?" But I make sure
there isn't a whole lot of that going on. It's worked for me.
ITeach5@aol.com writes:
> Another simple idea... the little pads that you write on and lift
up the > plastic and the word disappears. I have the theme
of The Hundred Acre Wood > in my classroom. There were little pads like this
with Pooh and friends... > about $1.37. Great for practicing word skills, math,
etc.
Simple things. coloring books, dot to dot. I have mine
write words on the blackboard with water- Large paint brushes strengthen fingers
and with water no mess. Match nuts and bolts using several sizes.
Use tongs and tweezers to pick up and move things like cotton balls again it strengthens fingers. Get a large plastic box I have a square under the
bed type and fill it with sand, or rice. You can put in measuring cups
and spoons. Also get stencils or make patterns that they can trace around.
This is a good place to put seasonal things.Beth- teaching First Grade and loving
it <dbkagan@cub.kcnet.org>
> In my first year I made lots of games by using the die cut.
If your school has > one you can cut out all sorts of shapes and program them with
activities. You > can take the shape put a math problem on 1/2 of it, cut it a jagged
pattern and > the answer on the other half. Do several cutting each in
a different way. You > can do this with any skill. You can also use the die cut
shapes to make games > boards on poster board or in a file folder. Die cuts are
wonderful. If you > don't have one you can cut shapes by hand - just a lot more work!
-- Boni Fulgham First Grade
Here are some books to help you plan center activities.
Quick
and Easy Learning Centers Phonics If you're looking for ideas for Literacy
Centers, this is a great place to begin. Easy to set up, easy to
use, centers for emergent readers. 20% off Scholastic's price
I have several pocket chart poetry centers. This book has Poetry
for each and every day of the school year, with corresponding activities.
Filled with great, easy-to-use today ideas! 20% off Scholastic's price.
Topics include the stages of reading development, alphabet
recognition, and phonemic awareness. Lots of ready-to-use lessons,
word lists, games and learning center ideas. 20% off Scholastic's price.
Another outstanding resource that makes
phonics fun to teach and learn.
20 % off Scholastic's price
Pocket
Charts for Emergent Readers Terrific interactive pocket charts for beginning readers. This practical guide includes easy-to-follow
directions for making more than 30 interactive charts using poems, songs,
predictable stories, and more. 20% off Scholastic's price.
Wonderful activities tie in to all your favorite themes throughout
the year: snowmen, penguins, rainbows, kites, friends, birthdays,
Christmas and Thanksgiving, losing a tooth, butterflies, wishes, and more.
Something I especially like about this book are the sections on Pocket
Charts for Making Things, Pocket Charts for Math, and Pocket Charts from
Poem to Project. They make terrific centers! 20% off Scholastic's price.
Building
Literacy With Interactive Charts A Practical Guide for Creating 75 Engaging
Charts from Songs, Poems, and Fingerplays Especially helpful to teachers setting up
Literacy Centers and designing an integrated curriculum, balanced literacy classroom. 20% off Scholastic's price.
Interactive
Bulletin Boards Graphing, number games, shape stories, attribute boards, and more. Designed to change as learning takes place. 20% off Scholastic's price
My bookstore pages
have lots of information on how I use various materials in my classroom,
and on activities you can do with your students. The thematic pages
are complete unit resources, with lots of poems, songs, and links on each
page. Make yourself comfortable and take a look around!
Choose from the
categories below. Underlined subjects
are links, the other ones are coming soon!
