Read and Write The Room:
This is one of my students' favorite centers. This center actually takes place all around the classroom.
You will need: clipboards,fun pointers (and fun glasses) pencils, and paper. Students walk around the room and collect words from anywhere in the room. They write their words on paper. After they get a determined amount of words, they get with a partner in their group and read their words to each other. For my third graders, I give them an "assignment" for the day. I will give them a phrase or sentence from something we are studying...like Johnny Appleseed. They have to collect words that begin with each letter of Johnny Appleseed. I might even ask them to write sentences with those words and read to a partner.
Listening Center:
Students listen to stories on tape/cd- if you don't have tapes with your basal reader, you can get blank tapes and record yourself reading the story. I bought my listening center from Classroom Direct. There is a reader's response for students to do after they have listened.
Word Wall:
put up words that I call "popcorn words" (words that should just pop right out at you-sight words). We ususally add about 5 words a week. You can have younger students copy the words and read to a partner. You can have students make picture cards (index cards--write word on one side and a picture of the word on the other. Keep cards in a labeled ziploc and add to it each week). Write words in ABC Order or make up sentences. Find words with three letters, four letters, two syllables, consonant clusters, etc. The possibilities are endless!
Poetry Center:
My students have a Poetry Notebook where they add a poem a week. I make a classroom copy of this, as well, and leave it in the Poetry Center for them to read. I also have our poems on sentence strips and displayed in a pocket chart. On Friday afternoon, I place these strips with previous poem strips in this center. Students enjoy putting the sentence strips back together to make the poem in a pocket chart at this center. Also, add a basket with lots of poetry books, photocopies of poems, etc. for partners to read to each other.
Book Nook:
A comfy place to read~This center has some beanbag chairs, whisper phones, and lots of books! Sometimes students partner read and sometimes they read independently.
Recording Studio:
Have a tape recorder set up with cassette tapes labeled with each child's name. Have books for different levels of readers. Students tape themselves reading a book. By the end of the year, students can hear the improvement in their reading--and they have a nice tape to keep!
Puppet Theatre:
This is always a winner! Students can try their hand at acting while practicing on their fluency! LOTS of puppets are in my center now, but it takes time to build them up. Buy a couple of sets that can be interchanged with stories to start off with. Oriental Trading is where I bought most of mine. I rescued an old puppet table-top stage from another teacher's trash. If you are handy, or have a wonderful hubby who is, this is not hard to make. Two teachers took a picture of mine home to their hubbies and had them make one.
BIG Books:
In this center, you just need BIG books and pointers. BIG Books can be fairly expensive, but I found several at book warehouses for $5.99. If you run across any, snag them right up!
Guided Reading: I meet with various groups each day. I plan read alouds, reading skills, vocabulary, phonics lessons--whatever that group needs. I make it a fun center and my kids love meeting with me! I sometimes use our Weekly Readers during this time.
Discovery Center:
I have something for students to examine and maybe research here. A couple of examples are a rock collection to examine and identify (by reading--did you wonder how I was going to get literacy in this one?) examining apples and using a Venn Diagram to compare, or observing plants' growth--reading books about plants and their life cycle, etc. I told you that you could take regular lessons and make a center (literacy, no less!)
Information Station:
Reading doesn't have to be a book or magazine. We read all the time everywhere we go. You can use maps, globes, cereal boxes, newspapers, poems, calendars, phone books.....you can bring in so much here!
Vocabulary Center:
Two sets of cards~~I have our week's vocabulary words on one set of cards and the definition on another set of cards. Students work to match the word card with the definition card (they check this on a self-check page). Then they make a pictionary with the words (fold paper to make enough blocks for the words. They put one word in each block. Write the definition and a sentence with each word. Finish by drawing a small picture for each. They keep the pictionary page in their folder each week. By the end of the year, they have all our vocabulary words to make a booklet.
Literacy Board Games:
I have a variety of board games that our Literacy Leader bought for us.
Stamp Center:
Stamp our spelling, vocabulary, or Word Wall words.
Author Study
Click each link below to download. Enjoy!
Work Page 1
Work Page 2
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