Literacy Centers

Literacy Centers

It seems like every year I tweek my Literacy Centers.  I have taught the Daily 5 in my classroom and I loved it, however we got a new reading series last year so I decided to do something different.  Last year I did the Literacy Centers in four different centers.  I liked them, however they just didn't seem right to me.  This year I changed them again.  This year I have 9 different centers.  I know that sounds like a lot of centers, but the great thing about these centers is that each child has a partner instead of a whole group.  Each child has up to four centers per day they can go to.  Before they are allowed to go to their center they have to complete their seat work.  Our seat works consists of worksheets from Read Well, handwriting practice, sight word and phonogram practice.  I do love using manipulatives, but I do think students need to be able to write too.  I have students at centers for about 15 to 20 minutes each.  It kinda depends on how long I need for my reading group that I am working with.  My partner groups can change whenever they need to change and the same as my reading groups.  Here is a picture of the Literacy Center Board I use.  All I have to do each day is move the pictures down one level and then they are ready for the next day. 

 The pictures are for each Literacy Center and the numbers by their pictures are for our Math Centers.  Here is my list of centers that I am currently using.  (FYI- I do switch the centers out to work on things the students should be working on per quarter or things I know they need more practice at)

Computers- students play Education City

Partner Reading- Read with a partner

Writing- Students write a sentence and illustrate it.

Blocks- students are working on sounds.

Sand Table- tracing pictures.

Playdough- rainbow writing sight words.

 

Library- Students choose any book

 ABC- students are working on ending sounds.

 Handwriting- students are putting a sentence together correctly with nice handwriting.

 Star- Review beginning and ending sounds.

 iPad- right now the students are playing Teach Me Kindergarten

My students LOVE centers.  I think it is their favorite part of our day.  They really enjoy being up to get up and go to a spot in the classroom.  I recently just added that the students have to write down what they need in their notebook.  This way they have accountability for what they worked on during their centers.  Plus, I can check to make sure they are understanding the different concepts.  At the beginning of the year when we start centers, the playdough center is actually a playdough center.  The same with the block and sand table.  As the students get smarter and smarter I switch the centers to help them become even smarter.