Practice with Purpose: Literacy Centers for Grades 3-6

1. Practice with Purpose: Literacy Centers for Grades 3-6

3. What are Literacy Work Stations?

4. What is a Literacy Work Station? “An area within the classroom where students work alone or interact with one another, using instructional materials to explore and expand their literacy.

5. What is a Literacy Work Station? “It is a place where a variety of activities reinforce and / or extend learning, often without the assistance of the classroom teacher.”

6. What is a Literacy Work Station? “It is a time for students to practice reading, writing, speaking, listening, and working with letters and words.” (Diller, 2003)

7. What are the differences between literacy work stations and traditional learning centers?

8. Materials are taught with and used for instruction first. Then they are placed in the work station for independent use. New materials were often placed in the center without first being used in teaching. The teacher may have shown how to use the center once, but it was often introduced with all the other new centers at one time. Differences BetweenLiteracy Work Stationsand Traditional Learning Centers Literacy Work Stations Traditional Centers Diller, 2005

9. Stations remain set up all year long. Materials are changed to reflect students' reading levels, strategies being taught, and topics being studied. Centers were often changed weekly to go with units of study. Materials often changed every week. Differences BetweenLiteracy Work Stationsand Traditional Learning Centers Traditional Centers Literacy Work Stations Diller, 2005

10. Stations are used for students' meaningful independent work and are an integral part of each child's instruction. All students go to work stations daily as part of their "work". Centers were often used by students when they "finished their work." Centers were used for fun and motivation, for something extra. Differences BetweenLiteracy Work Stationsand Traditional Learning Centers Traditional Centers Literacy Work Stations Diller, 2005

11. Practice materials are differentiated for students with different needs and reading levels. All students did the same activities at centers. There was not usually much differentiation. Differences BetweenLiteracy Work Stationsand Traditional Learning Centers Traditional Centers Literacy Work Stations Diller, 2005

12. The teacher and students write directions for activities together to share and build ownership. The teacher wrote all the directions and prepared everything beforehand. Differences BetweenLiteracy Work Stationsand Traditional Learning Centers Traditional Centers Literacy Work Stations Diller, 2005

13. The teacher works with small groups during literacy work stations (doing guided reading, word study, and/or literature circles/book clubs) and differentiates instruction within each small group. If the teacher met with small groups, each group often did the same task. Differences BetweenLiteracy Work Stationsand Traditional Learning Centers Traditional Centers Literacy Work Stations Diller, 2005

14. How do I Guarantee Independence?

15. Guaranteeing Independence Student Less teacher control Teacher More teacher control Handholding Modeling Independence Pearson and Gallagher, 1983 and Diller, 2005

16. Guaranteeing Independence • Risk-Free Environment • Independent Work Level • Clear, Explicit Expectations Keep in mind prior knowledge, ability, and motivation.

17. Mini Lesson Format, p. 4 • A Focus • An Explanation • Role Playing • Direct Application • Reflection and Feedback “Using Centers to Engage Children During Guided Reading Time: Intensifying Learning Experiences Away from the Teacher, “ Ford and Opitz, The Reading Teacher, May 2002

19. Management

20. Management Space Time Assessment

21. Planning for Space • Charting your classroom, pp. 14-15 (book) • Large-group teaching area (perhaps a rug on the floor) • Small-group teaching area (table that seats 4-6 students) • Classroom library • Publishing/writing area • Places for students to work independently

22. Management Systems, pp. 7-11

23. Planning for Time STIR THE CLASSROOM Share ways that you incorporate or would like to incorporate work stations in your classroom? What did you like / dislike about the movie clip? How much time do you spend on reading and writing? How is that time structured (refer to pp. 15 and 16 in your book)?

24. Planning for Assessment “If students are enjoying their work and learning from it, you won’t have to hold the accountability ax over their heads every minute of the day. Work that is satisfying provides its own intrinsic rewards.” ~Diller, 2005

25. Seven Effective Practices • Use summative assessments to frame meaningful performance goals • Show criteria and models in advance. • Assess before teaching. • Offer appropriate choices. • Provide feedback early and often. • Encourage self-assessment and goal setting. • Allow new evidence of achievement to replace old evidence. • Seven Practices for Effective Learning by Jay McTighe and Ken O-Conner, Educational Leadership, 2005

26. Management Boards • In grade level teams, discuss ways that you currently manage center rotations. • Look at pp. 21-23 in your book and refer back to pp. 7-11 in your packet. Discuss ideas that you like. • As a team, be ready to share a few ideas with the rest of the group.

27. RECAP

28. Independent Reading and the Classroom Library • Look at the list on page 37 in your book. Highlight the items you currently have in your classroom library and put a star next to the items you would like to add to your library this year. • Discussion cards, pp. 187-188-use the prompts from your grade-level flip chart. • Possible problems and troubleshooting ideas on page 44 in your book.

29. In Work Stations, Students Should Be… • Reading, writing, and talking about books and authors. • Reading and recommending books to others. • Reading independent-level books. • Using tools to mark their thinking as they read (sticky notes, bookmarks, etc.). • Exploring language.

30. Reading Work Station Ideas

31. Reading Possibilities, p. 16 • Reading A-Z • Short Text: Magazine and Newspaper Articles • Poetry • Websites • Genre and Author Studies • Guided Reading and Literature Circle books • Partner or Buddy Reading • Reader’s Theatre Scripts • Independent Reading • Audio Recording • Audiobooks, Podcasts, and Videos • Webquests

32. Reading A to Z Website, pp. 17-22 http://www.readinga-z.com/

33. Short Text: Newspaper and Magazine Articles • Content-Area Integration • Text Structures and Features • Explore Language • Newspaper in Education Program, pp. 23-24

34. Poetry • Poem a Week • Fluency Practice • Vocabulary / Word Study

35. Genre Studies, pp. 25-31

36. Text Structure Study, pp. 32-35 • Cause and Effect • Sequence • Compare and Contrast • Description • Problem and Solution

37. Guided Reading and Literature Circles, pp. 36-39

38. Guided Reading and Literature Circles, pp. 36-39

39. Paired Reading, pp. 40-41 Chunk #1: First Paragraph Person A: Give a short summary of the reading “chunk” Person B: Ask 2 questions and clear up any confusion. Person A: Answer, solve, or clarify. Person B: Prediction for the next “chunk of reading. Chunk #2: Second Paragraph Person B: Give a short summary of the reading “chunk” Person A: Ask 2 questions and clear up any confusion. Person B: Answer, solve, or clarify. Person A: Prediction for the next “chunk of reading.

40. Fluency Center, pp. 42-43

41. Fluency Resources, p. 16 • http://www.readinga-z.com • http://www.aaronshep.com/rt/RTE.html • http://literacyconnections.com/ReadersTheater.php • http://www.teachingheart.net/readerstheater.htm

42. Technology Integration, p. 16 • Audiobooks • iRiver • Podcasts • Videos (United Streaming) • http://www.unitedstreaming.com • Webquests • http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/archives/webquest.shtml

43. Writing Work Station Ideas

44. Writing Possibilities, p. 44 • Reading Response Folders (Guided Reading/Literature Circles) • Strategy Sheets • Writing Prompts • Literature Letters • Book Reports / Reviews • Writing Workshop • Class Newspaper • Research / Inquiry • Technology Integration • Webquests • Software • Websites

45. Reading Response Folders • Create a schedule to read and respond to their writing. • 4-5 students a night (example on pp. 63-64 in your book) • Reading Response Rubrics, pp. 180-181 in your book.

46. Letter Evaluation Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency by Fountas and Pinnell, 2006

47. Activities that Extend Thinking, pp. 45-59

48. Writing Workshop • Daily Writing • Writing for real purposes and audiences • Different Genres • Choice • Structure • Mini lesson • Write and confer • Share

49. Newspaper Work Station • Compare and contrast articles. • Collect newspaper articles in file folders • Community events • Heroes • Political, Vocabulary, Text Structure Cartoons • Mistakes in Newspaper • Sports • Weather • Newspaper Question Cards • Commercially Available Newspaper (Time for Kids, Scholastic News, Mini Pages) • “I Can” List • Create a class newspaper, pp. 66-99.

50. Research / Inquiry • Content-Area Research • Brochures • Reports • Posters / Advertisements • Experiments • Genre and Author Studies • Text Structure and Features Inquiry